Tesco boss raps school standards

baby_boomer

Here's a suggestion.

Remove the bureaucracy.

Partly replace it with departments which provide teaching resources and lesson plans for the whole country.

Imagine how that would improve the performance of a newly qualified teacher - especially if (s)he doesn't have to meet all the other silly requirements. Imagine the respect they would gain from their class for this increased competence and the improved performance of the class as a result.

And imagine the change in the wider educational culture.

These departments would actually be aiming at increasing standards in their subjects :eek:

As opposed to pretending that everyone was equally competent and providing phoney qualifications to "prove" it whic no-one any longer believes in. Not least the government's own appointed advisor, Sir Terry

Davesnave

baby_boomer wrote: »

I've come across many good teachers who have torn their hair out before finally giving up in despair at the madness that cascades down from on high.

Here's one of them! I went self employed. There were other reasons for my decision, but the lunacy being imposed upon us would have been sufficient in itself.

I felt sorry for the kids, whose progress was no longer being monitored so much for their benefit, as for the glorification of the school through the league tables. The brighter ones had cottoned-on to this by Year 6.

It had become a case of 'Work hard until May and then we'll let you do all the fun activities in your last term.' Funny, I remember exactly the same thing happening to me in 1960, but then it was the 11+ and, if I recall correctly, those tests were over by February/March.

Well, there's progress for you! :rolleyes:

Davesnave

baby_boomer wrote: »

Here's a suggestion.

Remove the bureaucracy.

Partly replace it with departments which provide teaching resources and lesson plans for the whole country.

Imagine how that would improve the performance of a newly qualified teacher - especially if (s)he doesn't have to meet all the other silly requirements. Imagine the respect they would gain from their class for this increased competence and the improved performance of the class as a result.

And imagine the change in the wider educational culture.

These departments would actually be aiming at increasing standards in their subjects :eek:

As opposed to pretending that everyone was equally competent and providing phoney qualifications to "prove" it whic no-one any longer believes in. Not least the government's own appointed advisor, Sir Terry

This has already been tried. For example, in Primary maths a framework of lessons was disseminated over the Internet, ensuring that the syllabus was covered and topics were re-visited at appropriate intervals.

Maths seemed particularly suited to this approach. I certainly found the framework useful and the lessons easy to adapt to my children's needs. On the whole, I'm sure the structure introduced through the National Curriculum had a very beneficial effect on the maths teaching in my school, and standards rose accordingly.

There are many bodies providing a plethora of resource material and development ideas for other areas of the curriculum, so 'new' teachers are not short of high quality material. What they need most is the authority to deal with the discipline issues which arise, and time to reflect upon their teaching, rather than piles of paperwork threatening to overwhelm them at every turn.

baby_boomer

Ah authority.

Plenty of it in the Far East where our economic rivals already steal a march on us via educational achievement.

A dirty word in the UK. It goes against the Zeitgeist.

macaque_2

The Cambridge Primary review came out today.

Private school pupils are four times more likely to get three straight As at A level than those at state schools....

Private schools produce more pupils achieving these results at A level than every comprehensive put together - despite educating just 7% of children.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1220741/Stalinist-schools-Labours-centralised-control-primary-education-driving-standards.html

The difference is shocking and even more so when you realise that many children are sent to private schools because they have learning difficulties.

So why the huge difference? Teachers in private schools don't get paid differently. Many private schools have little more money per child than the state system.

The difference is that, in a private school, the contract exists between the school and the. In the state system, the contract is between the school and the education authorities. The education authorities tell the parents which school they will send their children to, who will teach them, what they will be taught and how they will be taught. Because parents have no choice, they have no control over the type and quality of education their children recieve.

Parents and children have paid the price for this government's arrogance. They believed that they knew better than the parents and more than the teachers. The result is a 'Stalinist' education system that costs untold £billions and is letting down a generation of children.

A decent government might have seen the gulf between private and state education as an alarm bell. What did they do? They made the exams easier. They manipulated the points systems so that peripheral subjects and NVQs scored as highly or even more highly than A level maths. They sent the monopolies commission to harrass the schools. They forced Universities to bias their selection procedures to favour state schools. They sent in the charity commission. They sent in Ofsted.

I am strongly in favour of good state education. We will only get this however once parents have control over how and where their children are educated. A voucher system would be a big step in the right direction.

lynzpower

lynzpower wrote: »

Cant believe moneysavers missed this scandal in development- tesco-ward
http://www.eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk/content/towerhamlets/advertiser/news/story.aspx?brand=elaonline&category=news&tBrand=northlondon24&tCategory=newsela&itemid=WeED08%20Oct%202009%2015%3A05%3A14%3A517




Another totally unacceptable reposnse to the Olympics- if this goes ahead expect to see this rolled out nationwide. This looks like something Tories woud like.

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:
I actually cant believe what little attention this has had, I am going to highlight it again.

Tesco want to build a ward within a constituency, providing housing, schooling, shopping ! Obviously. :rotfl:

Does no one think this is wrong? Leahy is the landlord? Or are we just all adjusted to the fact rip off merchants tescos could be teaching our children. :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

Although they might not teach the children ( clearly this is a stat role- isnt it?) they will own the school and what-a -surprise- can set and rise the annual rents having taxpayers over another PFI barrell. :eek:

Meanwhile Im bagsying my spot at the front of the hypthetical waitrose-land queue, my child shall wear a fairtrade knitted blazer and aorganic straw boater

kennyboy66_2

macaque wrote: »

Many private schools have little more money per child than the state system.

I hate to use the Daily Mail as a reference, but as it seems your favourite paper, then it seems only reasonable.

2005/06 State Schools £4750 per pupil
2005/06 Private Schools £8000 per pupil.

A difference of 68%

Must be all those children with 'learning difficulties' that private schools take.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-511211/Cash-pledge-state-school-spending-20-years.html

bo_drinker

Slightly O T but who @ Tesco has stocked the shelves with Xmas food that has a use by date in October or November . Labelled Christmas food, unbelievable.

macaque_2

kennyboy66 wrote: »

I hate to use the Daily Mail as a reference, but as it seems your favourite paper, then it seems only reasonable.

2005/06 State Schools £4750 per pupil
2005/06 Private Schools £8000 per pupil.

A difference of 68%

Must be all those children with 'learning difficulties' that private schools take.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-511211/Cash-pledge-state-school-spending-20-years.html

Kenny

There is a difference in (average) spending and it would be silly to suggest otherwise. Do you honestly feel that this difference explains the yawning gulf in performance between private and state schools however? Some independant faith schools with the same funding arrangements as state schools achieve outstanding results. Teachers pay scales in the private sector are very similar to state schools. A big chunk of the extra money in private schools is used for extra cariculla activities. Private schools tend to do much more sport, music and cultural activities.

The government should cut back on the armies of public servants in Whitehall and Local Government who are taking a large slice of the education budget. This money should go to headmasters/headmistresses to run their own schools in response to the wishes of parents.

P.S. I am a Telegraph reader when I get the time (which is hardly ever these days)

A_fiend_for_life

lynzpower wrote: »

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:
I actually cant believe what little attention this has had, I am going to highlight it again.

All shopping delivered via blue and white striped Brazil-style ducting of course.:eek:

The school my brother went to had a replacement built by Tesco and a new Tesco built on the site of the old school at the expense of the playground. The council could only agree to such a deal.