'supporting each other through really tough times'

the_cake

Hi Lyn - quite agree - heard a new word on the radio today: Thatchurated. Think that's us.... Enough already!

mardatha

I feel so bloody Thatcherated
I think I must be saturated. :rotfl::rotfl:

VJsmum

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

AAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! I know it's unkind but if I turn on another news channel and hear the debate about the departed female PM I am going to throw something heavy at the screen!!!!!!!!

I know, right? You turn on the TV and she's still dead - what else is there to say? I am trying to avoid it all too. I did, however, enjoy the speeches by Glenda Jackson, David Winnick and (for balance, and it was a great speech) Malcolm Rifkind various people have posted on FB - from the Parliamentary "tribute" thing last week

Thatcherated - :rotfl: Love it. I think there'll be trouble on Wednesday...

kidcat wrote: »

Uni visit wasnt much better and I have to say I am very disillusioned, DD has chosen a SEN specialism, yet the course does not address teaching SEN kids - err its a teaching course, surely it should be covered?
Then the quality of the candidates was dire, yes maybe these kids can achieve 3 As at A level, that doesnt make them teacher quality - in a group of ten, only my DD was willing to speak up and debate with the tutor or read a section aloud.
Now I get that its intimidating but surely if you cant do it how are you going to get up and lead a class? They put these kids out to school placements within four weeks of their joining the course.:eek::eek:

If this is the future of teachers then I fear greatly for our education system, and this is considered to be one of the best teaching colleges in the country.

At one point did we stop looking at the person as a whole and simply look at grades? I see friends who are senior nurses despairing at new starters who are all top grade students but have no idea of care or people skills.

My niece started a nursing degree, having spent much of the last 4 years as a health care assistant (whilst studying for a different degree) and she can't believe some of the 18 year olds coming along. When one asked "if a patient is sick, is there someone to clean it up?" to which niece replied "Yes - YOU!". THey were asking if they had to work weekends and nights - honestly didn't they know what they were applying for?

I wouldn't get on to the courses I now teach with my A level grades, and yet I now have a master's degree with distinction. The calibre of students we get is disturbing and yet they come in with pretty good grades. The good ones ARE good, but the bad ones.... :eek: In the league tables (and don't start me on those) we are middling - but recently I marked some work of masters students from a top 20 "Russell group" university and they weren't a patch on my good students.

I will be treading your path myself next year with DD (not the same course though), it will be an interesting experience...

So - I have spent the morning in the garden, digging, weeding and planting. Raspberry canes, lettuce, rocket, radish and beetroot, started off my runner beans to germinate and planted some spuds. Also trying to work out what to plant in my biggish patch - certainly the runners will go there but may try for something else too. I also need to think about the tomatoes. I have enjoyed it and will be doing a little more shortly. An old christmas tree is falling down - so OH says he will pull it down and we can put a fruit tree there :j

The new rotary washing line is erect and the washing is almost dry - even though it has been spitting rain on and off. Too windy for the new cover though - and I want to reinforce it's seams and corners before I put it over the line to see if I can prolong its life.

THe house is a tip - but what the hell, it is warm enough to be outside, so I am outside.:D

Rowan9

kidcat - some are overwhelmed at the interview stage and don't speak up but then go on to do well in their school placements.
No word from Softstuff for a while - anyone heard through PM?
Hope it's sun with you now mardatha - our rain has passed and it's a beautiful blustery sunny day. Good to blow the cobwebs!
Chicken braising in oven with carrots and have potatoes in to bake as well. Have some ginger cake for pud. It will be either a late lunch or an early tea. Today has just been a bit like that!
Have good days all. Looking forward to hearing how the lottie goes today GreyQ.
W

[Deleted User]

Thatcherated - blissful and so accurate!!!!!!!

savingqueen

Hi everyone,

Beautiful sunny day here, have towels blowing on the line. Been to cinema today to see a cheesy kids film, if we had known the weather was going to be this good think we wouldn't have booked tickets! Anyway it was good fun.

Cut boys' hair today - not a favourite job for me or them but saves a lot of money. When they are secondary school, I think we will revert back to the barbers as don't want them teased about their basic hairstyles using clippers. We live in a tough neighbourhood though my boys are far from streetwise. DH is on bath duty atm so they will be groomed and shiny for back to school tomorrow. No more lie-ins and expecting grumpiness in the morning! I managed to repair DS8's school shoes - not easy stitching leather by hand is it? DH thinks I'm mad but needs must.

Made another big decision. We have decided not to move or rather make plans to try and move for now. We only planned on living here (house and area) for 5 years but its been over 10 years now. With our current finances we cannot afford to move anywhere better. Even if I get a paid job, it wont be enough to move as we bought the place with a HA scheme and need to "pay them back" 25% of selling price. Its very disappointing as I have hung onto the idea that we won't be here much longer for a long time but we have to face facts.

The plus side is we can stop tormenting ourselves about it and I am going to start lots of little projects to improve our home as much as we can afford. Got to make the most of what we have and I don't feel we have been doing that enough. Also get to stay near to the close friends we have made here and can't put a price on that.

The main concern for us is that the local secondary schools are not great and the closest one is pretty awful, under special measures, the latest new head lasted a year. I do my volunteer training in a room there and see for myself how badly behaved some of the pupils are.

There are some great schools- state and grammer but all much further away and all require entrance tests if you are out of catchment as we are. DS6 is very bright, DS8 is doing well but not top of the class and wonder how much of a chance he has and whether we push him or not. I don't think either of them would cope very well with the local secondaries as they are sensitive souls and the schools are massive - their primary is small for the area so would be a huge jump. DS8 says he is keen to go to a good school but I have to nag him to do his homework now so can't imagine what extra tutoring would do.

ok better crack on. several things on my list of "could dos" but not feeling inspired.
sq:)

[Deleted User]

SQ we came to the same decision about moving about 5 years ago, up until then it had always been we'll find somewhere we like better, but having looked all over the country we came to the conclusion that we would not find anywhere to suit us quite as well as we grow older. We had some changes made to the layout of the house and had our woodstove put in and a new kitchen and we've revamped the garden and put in the polytunnel - such satisfaction it has given us too, the house feels ours now, the village has accepted us, we have made many new friends and feel settled. Life sometimes works in mysterious ways, and the things that you feel will be challenging sometimes turn out to be the best in the long run!!!

Secondary education can be so difficult, this is just an idea to seed to think about but, if DS2 is very bright would you consider letting him sit for a scholarship at a fee paying school? DD1 did that at 11 and won a full scholarship to our local convent school - there was no way we could have afforded the fees, but where we lived the system was 2 years at a comprehensive and the 13 plus for the grammar school after that and we knew she would be very unhappy if we put her through that, It's just an idea but might be useful, Cheers Lyn xxx.

stiltwalker

Afternoon all. Had a lovely day yesterday in York - DH had an OU field trip in the afternoon so we thought we'd make a day of it. Did the railway museum in the morning then me and the kids wandered around while DH was at Kings Manor. DD was completely take with all the sights - we saw a brass band, people pretending to be robots, various stands for charities/activists a bunch of anonymous protestors in white masks and almost most bizarrely of all a man playing the piano on a street corner! We also looked at some sunset pictures in a gallery, saw some modern art in an old church and taught a couple of the staff in the lush how to do the signs for 'donkey', 'pig', 'cow' and 'sheep'!

Today was farm park day - then when we got back DH disappeared into the dining room to finish his essay.

The whole grades over other skills is what worries me too. It seems to me that it has almost become too much about qualifications and university - there are a great many things that could be as effectively, if not more so, taught/leant on the job or in a more vocational manner - in which case the full range of our young people's skills could be valued/nurtured rather than just those fairly narrow skills which turn out good grades.

Hugs to all who need or want one - take care x

Seakay

silvasava wrote: »

Morning Toughies. I'm reading all the interesting places to visit 'oop north' & must admit quite a few are on my bucket list - Angel of the North, Lindisfarne, Hadrians Wall. Must admit never having been further north than York (yes, I know!) & I do want to go to Glasgow (where my Nana came from) I did cross a couple of things off last year - learnt to sail a dinghy and went to a music festival (KT Tunstall - brilliant!) Just got to make sure I stay fit & healthy enough to do it all - haha
MRSLW If the uppers of your boots are leather try rubbing wax polish or preferably beeswax into the stitching. It will waterproof the stitching & plug up the little stitch holes. Might need a couple of goes. Its such a b&gger when you've paid out for things that don't live up to expectations.

Hoping for a dry day today and maybe I can get the blinking potatoes in!

Have a good day all.

Fab weather for visiting Hadrians Wall - I saw it when it was pouring so hard the paper map disintegrated! Really got a feel for how miserable the Romans from Italy must have felt as they patrolled and built!

Kidcat: I know that it's changed since the end of full grants, but I would have died of humiliation if my parents had gone with me to universities where I had interviews, and as for the idea that they might attend the interviews and assessments with me.... perhaps the others will open up when they don't have to perform for their parents as well as impress the assessors.

A friend of mine was in charge of admissions at an engineering dept for a while and in the end they had to spend time and energy sorting out activities for the parents just so that they could get the prospective students on their own, conduct proper interviews and get some idea of who would really be suitable for the course. The parents were desperate to know that they would be paying for the best, getting value for money and that their children would excel, but as few people with some education in the area had kept up with the latest developments, and most had no real clue at all, they just got in the way and inhibited the students. Half the time it turned out that the prospective students wanted to do something entirely different but had been prevented from following their own inclinations by the fact that their parents controlled the purse strings

Popperwell

If I want to see a few things I need to be quick time is running out, health is not what it should be and money may stop me...been to Lindisfarne once(would love to go again)never seen Hadrian's Wall(that may be not such a good idea with mobility problems)

I saw the Angel of the North a few weeks ago by chance it is near houses and the local bus goes past it and there is a bus stop so soon I may get out and get up close...perhaps take a photo for my blog.