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Nice people thread part 4 - sugar and spice and all things

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Comments

  • neverdespairgirl
    neverdespairgirl Posts: 16,501 Forumite
    zagubov wrote: »

    I'm not connected to this uni or course in any way, but if I was applying for a degree course now, I think I'd be quite tempted! Anybody seen anything else like it, or better? :)

    I don't know anything about hte course, but I highly recommend UCL - I did both my undergrad and masters degrees there.

    My preference is for specialisation by the time you get to the age of 18. The general stuff can, and should, be open to any well-educated and intellectually curious 18+ year old.
    ...much enquiry having been made concerning a gentleman, who had quitted a company where Johnson was, and no information being obtained; at last Johnson observed, that 'he did not care to speak ill of any man behind his back, but he believed the gentleman was an attorney'.
  • neverdespairgirl
    neverdespairgirl Posts: 16,501 Forumite
    GDB2222 wrote: »
    Why is that so surprising? A typical A level will involve say 4 hours of teaching a week for say 30 weeks a year. Times 2 years. So, that's 240 hours. The journo could cram most of that into two weeks. You didn't mention whether he had any prior knowledge of the subject or got an A? If he just got a pass, well what good is that?

    I'm not sure about that. Each of my A levels had 6.5 hours' teaching time a week. And I reckon I did about 8 hours a week per subject in the Lower Sixth, and 10 hours a week per subject in the Upper Sixth.

    So that's about 360 teaching hours, and 540 studying hours. That's term time only, I also did a fair bit in the holidays, too.
    ...much enquiry having been made concerning a gentleman, who had quitted a company where Johnson was, and no information being obtained; at last Johnson observed, that 'he did not care to speak ill of any man behind his back, but he believed the gentleman was an attorney'.
  • neverdespairgirl
    neverdespairgirl Posts: 16,501 Forumite
    zagubov wrote: »

    I'm saying as if I've got evidence for it, although it just feels it ought to be right. DD's chosen her degree topic anyway and it's not this one. But there's plenty her age don't know which way their future lies, and its good to see some degrees which can keep multiple doors open for them. :A

    I'm not sure that most degrees are about exactly what you learn, but about studying something in detail, comprehensively, and developing skills of relevance, analysis, writing, calculation, etc.
    ...much enquiry having been made concerning a gentleman, who had quitted a company where Johnson was, and no information being obtained; at last Johnson observed, that 'he did not care to speak ill of any man behind his back, but he believed the gentleman was an attorney'.
  • neverdespairgirl
    neverdespairgirl Posts: 16,501 Forumite
    That journalist example is a bit silly, in a way. Because A and AS levels are also not about the subject matter alone, but also about learning to read, absorb, marshall facts, write essays, all the rest of it.

    I'm sure any adult who'd been to university could go back and do an A level in something similar but not the same as his degree, and do it well and quickly.
    ...much enquiry having been made concerning a gentleman, who had quitted a company where Johnson was, and no information being obtained; at last Johnson observed, that 'he did not care to speak ill of any man behind his back, but he believed the gentleman was an attorney'.
  • neverdespairgirl
    neverdespairgirl Posts: 16,501 Forumite
    Added a pic of our nearly-ready bed in another place.
    ...much enquiry having been made concerning a gentleman, who had quitted a company where Johnson was, and no information being obtained; at last Johnson observed, that 'he did not care to speak ill of any man behind his back, but he believed the gentleman was an attorney'.
  • zagubov
    zagubov Posts: 17,939 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    michaels wrote: »
    Nothing wrong with having a 2.1 from Cambridge... :)



    I know someone at a Scottish Uni who has been researching learning in a science subject and has looked at performance in an entry assessment test that has been run for the last 30+ years - students A level grades have gone up consistently during the period, no prizes for guessing the pattern of results in the consistent test. English students are now being encouraged to follow the Scottish pattern of 4 year fegrees so that they can do a first year of 'remedial' study.

    I think the idea of competition between exam boards has a lot to answer for. There's a potential conflict of interest there if they're engaged in a kind of beauty contest to attract customers, and I can quite see how the standards could change under that pressure.
    :(
    There is no honour to be had in not knowing a thing that can be known - Danny Baker
  • LydiaJ
    LydiaJ Posts: 8,083 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker Mortgage-free Glee!
    neverdespairgirl wrote: »
    That journalist example is a bit silly, in a way. Because A and AS levels are also not about the subject matter alone, but also about learning to read, absorb, marshall facts, write essays, all the rest of it.

    I'm sure any adult who'd been to university could go back and do an A level in something similar but not the same as his degree, and do it well and quickly.

    Exactly. "Similar" is the crucial word in your argument. There is a huge overlap between the skills of journalism and AS sociology, and quite a lot of overlap of the type of content too. Now, if he'd been able to get an AS in French in three weeks (having previously only studied it to age 16), that would have really shown dumbing down. Or chemistry, or maths, or even history of art, or anything else he really didn't know anything about before he started. Or AS sociology done by an adult who'd previously worked as a plumber or accountant or chef or some other line of work that doesn't involve essay writing skills. But I bet they wouldn't have been able to.
    Do you know anyone who's bereaved? Point them to https://www.AtaLoss.org which does for bereavement support what MSE does for financial services, providing links to support organisations relevant to the circumstances of the loss & the local area. (Link permitted by forum team)
    Tyre performance in the wet deteriorates rapidly below about 3mm tread - change yours when they get dangerous, not just when they are nearly illegal (1.6mm).
    Oh, and wear your seatbelt. My kids are only alive because they were wearing theirs when somebody else was driving in wet weather with worn tyres.     :)
  • zagubov
    zagubov Posts: 17,939 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    neverdespairgirl wrote: »
    I'm not sure about that. Each of my A levels had 6.5 hours' teaching time a week. And I reckon I did about 8 hours a week per subject in the Lower Sixth, and 10 hours a week per subject in the Upper Sixth.

    So that's about 360 teaching hours, and 540 studying hours. That's term time only, I also did a fair bit in the holidays, too.


    Wow! Those were the days all right! I think you'd be lucky to get 5 hours tuition per week nowadays in a lot of places. :o
    There is no honour to be had in not knowing a thing that can be known - Danny Baker
  • LydiaJ
    LydiaJ Posts: 8,083 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker Mortgage-free Glee!
    Remember that AS is only the first half of the A-level - they take it after the first year. And most of them do 4 (or 5 if really clever), often cutting down to 3 (or 4) subjects in the upper sixth. 5 hours of teaching time per subject per week is typical, with about the same again of studying time. To do that for 39 weeks would be 195 teaching hours, with another 195 study hours.

    NDG - if you did 6.5 teaching hours plus 10 study hours per subject per week in upper sixth, that's nearly 50 hours a week, assuming 3 subects and no extras. That seems a huge amount for a young person who should also have time to play sport, learn a musical instrument and/or be in the school play, as well as eating, sleeping and having some time to relax.
    Do you know anyone who's bereaved? Point them to https://www.AtaLoss.org which does for bereavement support what MSE does for financial services, providing links to support organisations relevant to the circumstances of the loss & the local area. (Link permitted by forum team)
    Tyre performance in the wet deteriorates rapidly below about 3mm tread - change yours when they get dangerous, not just when they are nearly illegal (1.6mm).
    Oh, and wear your seatbelt. My kids are only alive because they were wearing theirs when somebody else was driving in wet weather with worn tyres.     :)
  • silvercar
    silvercar Posts: 49,934 Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Academoney Grad Name Dropper
    Remember that AS is only the first half of the A-level

    and the easier half. Plus for a subject like sociology, no-one has studied it before so the course assumes no prior knowledge.
    I'm a Forum Ambassador on the housing, mortgages & student money saving boards. I volunteer to help get your forum questions answered and keep the forum running smoothly. Forum Ambassadors are not moderators and don't read every post. If you spot an illegal or inappropriate post then please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com (it's not part of my role to deal with this). Any views are mine and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.com.
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