So very angry right now!!

meritaten

well - you may be right - but in my view - unless you are grounded in the basics and know how to read and write and add up - there is not much point teaching higher subjects. If your pupils dont understand them. and THAT is the point of educution is it not? from the point of view of someone who is number dyslexic and went through the system and it wasnt recognised until adult education............there was no point teaching algebra as I didnt understand basic arithmetic!
Teach the basics to kids - the fancy stuff can come later! and as all you teachers are moaning about about how much work you have to do - you then come on here and defend all the fancy stuff

mrcow

meritaten wrote: »

well - you may be right - but in my view - unless you are grounded in the basics and know how to read and write and add up - there is not much point teaching higher subjects. If your pupils dont understand them. and THAT is the point of educution is it not? from the point of view of someone who is number dyslexic and went through the system and it wasnt recognised until adult education............there was no point teaching algebra as I didnt understand basic arithmetic!
Teach the basics to kids - the fancy stuff can come later! and as all you teachers are moaning about about how much work you have to do - you then come on here and defend all the fancy stuff

My pupils do understand what I teach. And they do very well at it too thanks very much.

And yes, some will go on to do medicine or veterinary science. Those who don't will still have had a rounded experience of biology and the associated sciences.

Just because you didn't understand a particular subject, it doesn't mean that most others have the same problem. Most of my pupils love science precisely because it teaches us how things work and to understand and appreciate the world around us.

It isn't "fancy stuff"........it's part of the essential basics of any decent education.

thatgirlsam

I work in a hospital, sometimes its blatently obvious that a better education of, or understanding of, basic things like diabetes would prevent an awful lot of adults and especially teenagers from becoming extremely ill

Knowledge is power - shying away fron 'uncomfortable' situations is not right imo, making an informed decision about how to deal and cope with an illness is what we want, surely

Person_one

meritaten wrote: »

well - you may be right - but in my view - unless you are grounded in the basics and know how to read and write and add up - there is not much point teaching higher subjects. If your pupils dont understand them. and THAT is the point of educution is it not? from the point of view of someone who is number dyslexic and went through the system and it wasnt recognised until adult education............there was no point teaching algebra as I didnt understand basic arithmetic!
Teach the basics to kids - the fancy stuff can come later! and as all you teachers are moaning about about how much work you have to do - you then come on here and defend all the fancy stuff

Have you had a drink meritaten?

Why are you starting a new discussion about literacy? Why are you assuming that because teachers are discussing diabetes and asthma the children can't read and write?

thatgirlsam

mrcow wrote: »

My pupils do understand what I teach. And they do very well at it too thanks very much.

And yes, some will go on to do medicine or veterinary science. Those who don't will still have had a rounded experience of biology and the associated sciences.

Just because you didn't understand a particular subject, it doesn't mean that most others have the same problem. Most of my pupils love science precisely because it teaches us how things work and to understand and appreciate the world around us.

It isn't "fancy stuff"........it's part of the essential basics of any decent education.

I LOVED biology at school

I will never forget my biology teacher, she was amazing!

She did a lesson once on how the heart works, even now 22 years later I still remember that lesson and how enthusiastic she was teaching us that day

milliebear00001

meritaten wrote: »

well - you may be right - but in my view - unless you are grounded in the basics and know how to read and write and add up - there is not much point teaching higher subjects. If your pupils dont understand them. and THAT is the point of educution is it not? from the point of view of someone who is number dyslexic and went through the system and it wasnt recognised until adult education............there was no point teaching algebra as I didnt understand basic arithmetic!
Teach the basics to kids - the fancy stuff can come later! and as all you teachers are moaning about about how much work you have to do - you then come on here and defend all the fancy stuff

When did history, geography, science, art, RE, PE etc etc become 'fancy stuff'? I am pretty sure they were on the curriculum when I was at school - quite a long time ago!

My daughter is 8. She can read, write and add up beautifully. Not really worth me sending her in from now on then is it?

As a parent, quite aside from my own professional interest, I would be truly horrified if I felt that most people thought 'being educated' simply meant churning out kids who can only read, write and add up.

By the way, your four year old might well have been taught literacy skills and numeracy skills via Chinese New Year. That's the way it works in Early Years education. Perhaps s/he was encouraged to 'write' a menu or add up a table bill. Maybe s/he was encouraged to count the number of people 'visiting' the 'restaurant'. Perhaps s/he practised his/her pencil grip by drawing a picture of the whole thing, or colouring a dragon. At the very least, he/she'll have got to experience something new from another culture - is that not of value in your four year old's life? Wonderful things go on in EY classrooms, knowledge of which many people lack.

joeblack066

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

I agree with this.

DD is undergoing tests for something that kills quite a few people, often when teenagers.

She had to know that it can be fatal - as finding it out in class or worse, via Google - wouldn't be very nice. So she knows what it is, and the geneticist was wonderful when I asked the question I knew was eating away at the back of her mind for her since she has been having scans and whatnots on her heart and tests and more scans and traces and checks and different referrals;


I said the question I think she is wondering, but won't admit it, is 'Am I going to drop dead?'.


The geneticist turned to her, said that it can happen to some people with it, explained how the blood vessels can rupture, but that they take ages and ages and ages to do it, and they spend years getting bigger and bigger in the meantime, which can be seen on scans. The people who drop dead are the ones who haven't been seen, haven't been scanned regularly, and nobody knows they have the condition until it's too late. But she's been scanned and there is nothing wrong with her heart, she will be scanned regularly and even if something did show up in the future, they will be able to do something about it because they would know about it early.

So I thought that was a really good way of telling her the truth without sugarcoating it or pretending it isn't there.


Perhaps the OP's daughter would benefit from a bit of truth, rather than being shielded? After all, the fact that asthma is sometimes fatal can be found from typing 'can you die from asthma?' or entering 'brittle asthma' into the search box. Truth from the start prevents the shock. Especially as keeping it secret might be taken as proof it is going to happen to her.

I have NOT shielded her from anything - I do NOT overprotect her - I have NOT suggested at any stage that she should be kept from anything - I just would like to be able to talk to her myself about things that she could be sensitive about. Thus far, as her asthma is well controllled, added to which we have had 3 further family deaths since her dad died, I have not pointed out to her that asthma can be fatal, but now that I am aware that they will cover asthmas in school I will do so in a way that won't worry her.

If people wish to comment then I appreciate it, but please read my post first!!!!

Person_one

mrcow wrote: »

My pupils do understand what I teach. And they do very well at it too thanks very much.

And yes, some will go on to do medicine or veterinary science. Those who don't will still have had a rounded experience of biology and the associated sciences.

Just because you didn't understand a particular subject, it doesn't mean that most others have the same problem. Most of my pupils love science precisely because it teaches us how things work and to understand and appreciate the world around us.

It isn't "fancy stuff"........it's part of the essential basics of any decent education.

I loved biology too, and after a career meander of a few years I'm now studying it again as a student nurse and I still love it!

Nearly all of us will get ill or suffer health setbacks at some point, to varying degrees. A solid basic understanding of how the body functions helps people grasp what's happening to them and why at these times. There's nothing more disempowering than ignorance at times of ill health.

Person_one

joeblack066 wrote: »

I have NOT shielded her from anything - I do NOT overprotect her - I have NOT suggested at any stage that she should be kept from anything - I just would like to be able to talk to her myself about things that she could be sensitive about. Thus far, as her asthma is well controllled, added to which we have had 3 further family deaths since her dad died, I have not pointed out to her that asthma can be fatal, but now that I am aware that they will cover asthmas in school I will do so in a way that won't worry her.

If people wish to comment then I appreciate it, but please read my post first!!!!

If she's 14 I suspect its very unlikely that she doesn't realise asthma can be fatal. I'm afraid you may well have missed your chance there.

joeblack066

thatgirlsam wrote: »

I work in a hospital, sometimes its blatently obvious that a better education of, or understanding of, basic things like diabetes would prevent an awful lot of adults and especially teenagers from becoming extremely ill

Knowledge is power - shying away fron 'uncomfortable' situations is not right imo, making an informed decision about how to deal and cope with an illness is what we want, surely

What I said in my last post. I have shied away from nothing!!!!!!!!! I would have just appreciated the opportunity to prepare my DD for a lesson that upset her - that way she wouldn't have got upset. And the Head of Science could see my point.