So very angry right now!!

Gingham_R

davidhwdn wrote: »

If a teacher had to take into account every kids personal situation and history they would teach nothing.

Sorry, but that's not true. A good teacher does just that. It does NOT mean that we don't teach sensitive subjects - just that we teach them sensitively.

One of the major problems with our school system is some teachers' steadfast refusal to take each child's personal situation into account - teaching as if all children are the same and learn in the same ways. It's a recipe for disaster as the prison stats clearly show.

sassyblue

Gingham_R wrote: »

One of the major problems with our school system is some teachers' steadfast refusal to take each child's personal situation into account - teaching as if all children are the same and learn in the same ways. It's a recipe for disaster as the prison stats clearly show.

Gingham R, l'm sure you're an excellent teacher but l think you're taking yourself too seriously..... there is not a direct link between bad teaching and people ending up in prison!

Gingham_R

sassyblue wrote: »

Gingham R, l'm sure you're an excellent teacher but l think you're taking yourself too seriously..... there is not a direct link between bad teaching and people ending up in prison!

Actually, there is.

The prison population is heavily weighted towards people who are functionally illiterate. Most of them would have been able to learn fine with the right teaching. A high percentage of them are dyslexic.

Sounds extreme? It IS extreme.

Edit - I gave up teaching 9 years ago.

Gingham_R

Half of all prisoners are at or below Level 1 (the level expected of an
11-year-old) in reading
• Two-thirds are below Level 1 in numeracy
• Four-fifths are below Level 1 in writing
• 52 % of male and 71% of female adult prisoners have no qualifications
• 30 % of prisoners were regular truants during their school years
• 49 % of male prisoners were excluded from school
• 58% of those released from prison are reconvicted within 2 years
• 4 out of 5 prisoners have served a previous sentence
...

Home Office report (Clark, 2001) found that those who did not participate in
education or training while in prison were three times more likely to re-offend
than those who did take part in such programmes.

Taken from The Dyslexia Institute
The incidence of hidden disabilities in the prison population
March, 2005

Article can be found here: http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=dyslexic%20prison%20population&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CC4QFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dyslexiaaction.org.uk%2FHandlers%2FDownload.ashx%3FIDMF%3D07d5f968-e4cf-4bd6-b667-c6ee48a342db&ei=Ey8sT8-vBsfA0QX0mv2tCA&usg=AFQjCNEv_V-HWz1Wr__98EoXK4KIH_EpYA&sig2=eVhLjoT1ayizUKv2XYRShw

Edit - I'd like to clarify what they meant by 'level 1' given that level 4 is the level expected of most 11 year olds.

Hanging_by_a_thread

I feel very sorry for your daughter and that she was upset so much in a class lesson. Was this her regular class teacher and is he/she aware of your daughters background? Or could a supply teacher, who had no idea of what had happened to your daughters dad, have been teaching.

I would suggest arranging to chat with the school and making them fully aware of what your daughter is coping with. Also how upset and fragile she is feeling right now. There may be all kinds of things they can put into place to help her.

I must admit that I do feel alot of good could come out of this kind of lesson being taught in schools. If young people have an awareness of diseases, cant more unecessary deaths be avoided?

joeblack066

joeblack066 wrote: »

I have a lot of issues with my daughter's school. Today just became the proverbial straw that broke the donkey's back. For background, my DD's Dad, a lifelong Type 1 Diabetic, died from a massive heart attack four years agon on Christmas Day when my then 10yo DD was alone with him. DD has struggled with coming to terms with this, and her school have been worse than useless. Today, with no warning, no quick text or email to me to pre warn us, her Biology teacher did a full lesson on Diabetes, and that heart attacks and death are possible as a result. The class were incredulous, not realising that diabetes is potentially fatal, and this resulted in a bit of a free for all comment flinging session. Through none of this did anyonecheck that my DD was ok, which she most certainly wasn't. She is still angry, v v upset, and I feel we have just slid back nearly 4 years. Aaaaaarrrrgggghhhh!!

Thanks to all who have responded. I never suggested that this should not be taught, as some posters seem to think, just that a text or email warning me could have helped me to prepare DD. I was not aware that this is part of the curriculum, and if that's a failing on my part then I accept that responsibility. As my daughter is also asthmatic, following the information on this thread, I spoke to the Head of Science today. He felt that I was right to have rung in, and we discussed how the subject of diseases involving respiratory problems are covered. Armed with this information, I can now prepare DD for this lesson so that she can see the lesson as a positive thing, and part of Biology that needs to be there. With hindsight, the HOS agreed that this would have been a better experience for DD over the diabetes lesson. Its the best result I have ever had from the school. Thx again for all your responses.

alm721

Just to say, from the schools point of view. They may well be aware of your daughters situation, but that information is unlikely to be passed on to every teacher she may ever come across. We certainly don't get told information like this for every child we teach. It's much more common for form tutors/heads of year etc to be told, but not every class teacher.

However, I would expect a school to be sensitive to this situation and had you stated that you wanted her withdrawing from lessons regarding diabetes then I'm sure the school should have gone along with that. The problem is they won't have thought to do this without your request.

I've recently taught a lesson on Huntington's and had a boy out of the class as his father has Huntingtons and he obviously doesn't yet know whether he has it or not, so it's a sensitive situation. It was no problem, he still completed the work, as it is on the exam specification, just not in my room whilst we were discussing inherited disease.

I know this won't help for now, but school should be accomodating if you express a wish for her to be absent from lessons such as these in the future. (Although there are unlikely to be many).

I hope she's ok.

milliebear00001

Gingham_R wrote: »

Sorry, but that's not true. A good teacher does just that. It does NOT mean that we don't teach sensitive subjects - just that we teach them sensitively.

One of the major problems with our school system is some teachers' steadfast refusal to take each child's personal situation into account - teaching as if all children are the same and learn in the same ways. It's a recipe for disaster as the prison stats clearly show.

This is an ideal scenario, which most teachers would love to be able to achieve.

It is almost impossible with 30 children, and (I would think) completely beyond reach if you have 100 to teach.

The teacher concerned may have had no idea about the personal circumstances of the OP's child. Secondary teachers (in particular) rarely know much about their pupils' lives outside school.

If we want personalised education, and consideration of each child's home circumstances, prior experiences etc, then we need far smaller classes to teach. While we have the present system - this is not going to happen, and wanting it to, will make not a bit of difference.

mrcow

milliebear00001 wrote: »

This is an ideal scenario, which most teachers would love to be able to achieve.

It is almost impossible with 30 children, and (I would think) completely beyond reach if you have 100 to teach.

The OP's daughter's science teacher probably has 300 to teach.

I know if any of my pupils have lost a parent. But am certainly not given any details as to the deceased's medical history, or what the cause of death was. I don't know of anyone that is - particularly if it happened whilst at another school.

MandM90

joeblack066 wrote: »

Thats another thing I don't understand tbh.

I think it's important just for general awareness, also they tend to be taught alongside general functions (i.e. diabetes with the liver, HIV with the immune system). Obviously it can be upsetting for you DD, but in a way isn't it better that schools are ensuring people are more aware?

Also diseases such as type 2 diabetes, CHD, emphysema and the like are taught with 'risk factors' to teach kids why it's important to take care of themselves, and how.

There was a similar issue when I was at school...a friend of mine's dad died of throat cancer and a few months later the class ended up in a debate over "whether it was worth spending all this money treating cancer in old people (not that her dad was old)" and it took her bursting into tears and running out for anyone to realise that was probably insensitive. I know it's no consolation but teenagers are self centred and probably just don't think about these things.

I really hope your DD manages to come to terms with it.