Can my year 11 DS drop a subject?

clearingout

aliasojo wrote: »

Well there you are then. I guess the conversation is over.:)

not at all! you hear this from parents all the time...it translates to the classroom. It's very frustrating when you're working your backside off to deliver interesting and motivating lessons to have a child say 'my dad says I don't have to do well in French 'cos he couldn't do it either'.

aliasojo

clearingout wrote: »

not at all! you hear this from parents all the time...it translates to the classroom. It's very frustrating when you're working your backside off to deliver interesting and motivating lessons to have a child say 'my dad says I don't have to do well in French 'cos he couldn't do it either'.

Understandable.

However, we're not really talking about unsupportive parents are we? we're talking about certain kids who have difficulty with languages and the wisdom of making them continue to study regardless of the benefits to them.

balletshoes

clearingout wrote: »

not at all! you hear this from parents all the time...it translates to the classroom. It's very frustrating when you're working your backside off to deliver interesting and motivating lessons to have a child say 'my dad says I don't have to do well in French 'cos he couldn't do it either'.

but I don't think thats what the OP is saying.
I love languages, find them fascinating - but I didn't in high school, and if I'd been struggling to keep up with German (or French, or Spanish) as well as keeping my grades up in my other subjects, and wasn't going to be using German in my future career plans, I'd have stopped struggling with it, and concentrated on my other subjects.

bestpud

If struggling with German is affecting your son's other subjects then speak to the school and let him drop it.

His CV will look much better with decent grades for the core subjects and no German than it will with mediocre core grades and a fail in German.

Surely anyone with half a brain can see that!

I would trust your instinct as you know your son better than anyone here.

There is always people who will argue that childhood suffering produces good, strong and hard working citizens. They tend to be the same ones who see school bullying as part of growing up and toughening up a child for the 'real' world.

We don't all think like that, thank goodness!

bestpud

lindseykim13 wrote: »

Your child doesn't NEED GCSE's to get by in life, he doesn't NEED to do subjects he doesn't like or find interesting.
All these people stating you have to do crap things in life because thats life are just wrong. It's not right as a child to learn subjects that make you cry same as it's not right as an adult to be in a job that makes you cry!
Why do some people think it's perfectly ok to make a child do something they have no interest in!
The school will tell your child what they should and shouldn't be learning as per their daft rules set by a daft government.
Plently of kids get on perfectly fine in life without a single exam.
My 3 kids oldest being 10 are all home schooled and they won't be taking any exams they don't want to take. They have their own minds and interests and shouldn't all be put through the same system like sheep.
I know plenty of kids that have not a single exam and gone on to college and uni and took subjects they wanted to take.
Just giving you another choice-anyone can decide to remove their child from school and teach them at home if they so wish. You son doesn't have to go to school and do rubbish subjects.
They could allow him to go home for that lesson if they wanted to as they are allowed to offer flexi schooling to those who want to part time home school so you could ask about flexi schooling and say you want to teach him on those days and times when the lessons are and do something he enjoys.

As a home educator, I've heard the same things.

I've also looked deeper and read between the lines and, from what I can see, the majority of children who go into college or uni without formal qualifications are going into arts or music based subjects.

While they don't have GCSEs, they do tend to have broad portfolios and/or lots of experience/other awards or qualifications in music/arts.

My opinion is you are doing your childrent a disservice if they don't have at least English and Maths GCSEs. This is particularly so if they want any kind of career that involves a degree.

Yes they can do them alongside A levels but, if they've never done any academic work, they will have enough on their plate learning study skills and coping with the A level subjects.

That's my opinion anyway - home ed should be about broadening their horizons and I firmly believe you will potentially close doors for them if they don't have any formal qualifications at all by the age of 16.

Dunroamin

aliasojo wrote: »

That's hardly the same thing.

Recognising when something isn't working does not equate to simply 'walking away from a stressful situation'.

And for what it's worth, my OH had similar issues at school. They mattered not a jot when he was in the Gulf war picking up body parts from mined areas.

However, for most people there is a life after the army.

balletshoes

Dunroamin wrote: »

However, for most people there is a life after the army.

absolutely - and the OP's son may not be intending using a German qualification in his life after the army either.

Dunroamin

aliasojo wrote: »

I think you missed the 'whether they have any ability' part of the quote.

No-one is disputing the wisdom of being able to converse in another language, that isn't the point.

You don't need any particular ability to achieve a GCSE in a foreign language.

Dunroamin

balletshoes wrote: »

absolutely - and the OP's son may not be intending using a German qualification in his life after the army either.

GCSE German is hardly a qualification but learning to stick with things you don't particularly like can be very useful, particularly when the institutionalism and structure of the services is removed.

mountainofdebt

Dunroamin wrote: »

You don't need any particular ability to achieve a GCSE in a foreign language.

Ok can we agree that ability may be the wrong word, but flair/talent maybe more appropriate?

I really don't see why people are forced to take a subject - whether that be a language or a science - just because a politician 'thinks' its a good idea

as for whether learning a foreign language is concerned is better started off younger or later .....younger wins very time for me