Nice People 13: Nice Save

silvercar

LydiaJ wrote: »

I imagine he may very likely end up doing something like maths, physics and computing at A-level - either with a 4th separate subject (at AL or AS) or with double maths, or 1.5 maths, or something. (1.5 maths is A-level maths with AS further maths, just in case some NP don't know how these things are organised.)

That is what I studied - maths, physics and computing with half a further maths tagged on. (It was called Pure-maths-as-a-single-subject in my day.)

My kids wondered how you could learn computing before the internet existed!

hjd

lostinrates wrote: »

I'm kind of horrified a school can 'get away with' not offering three sciences tbh.

Students are still studying all of Physics, Chemistry and Biology but not in quite as much depth as if they did 3 separate subjects.

lostinrates

hjd wrote: »

Students are still studying all of Physics, Chemistry and Biology but not in quite as much depth as if they did 3 separate subjects.

I know, I did dual award too, but it was an option to do all three. I would much rather, fwiw have been able to do biology and chemistry and drop physics .


To not have the option to do all three seems to me shocking for kids who are heavily science leaning and know that thTs where their strengths lie. It still takes up fewer than half their potential options. If you passion is one or two of the sciences and you cannot take it as a ful subject I think that's a bit rough.

Dual suited me ok ( if I couldn't drop physics) I kept my options open and wS able to keep my subject options open Nd quite broad.

Is the advice about no new subjects pass! now then ? There are so many of them, and some are so interesting I'd certainly have been interested.

lostinrates

Today the surgery prac. Manager called to apologise. He was exceptionally nice and said he would keep an eye on my file from now on. I explained that that's NOT what I wanted! I wasn't expecting special treatment, I just wanted to get the treatment any one should get from a medical centre.

Anyway, we chatted a bit about the complexity of my situation and so on and he said he also feels remiss and apologises saying its not just gp's fault because frankly he feels a case with funding issues as complex as mine should have been more on his radar not just on the plate of people were dealing with it. He feels this is partly why the delays have been happening and so on. He thinks its not going to be as simple as I have been lead to believe. He said the only case he's seen that's similar took about two years to go through with funding with the health authority. He says the surgery and the consultants are all on my side, but funding for this sort of thing is so much harder, but he's urging me not to move surgeries and telling me they are on my side.

Anyway, I'm told the doctor is calling to apologise tomorrow and go through some health questions. I don't want people to apologise I just want to move on and see what's happening. I don't feel I can wait two years, but I am glad it feels like some one is being upfront.

LydiaJ

silvercar wrote: »

I would strongly suggest not taking art, it takes up so, so, so much time. Even DS2, who got the school prize and an A* in art, regrets it.

Back in my day, people for whom the option boxes didn't provide a good range were allowed to omit one box and self study for one subject in that time. Those good at maths would self study further maths or statistics, sciency students who took geography often picked geology.

They are not allowed to do that. They can do "study support" in one box and go along to designated sessions with the SEN staff to support their other options, but not in the box that he needs to fill. If he were allowed to self study a subject of his choice, I could easily teach him "further additional science" (a GCSE in all the bits of the 3 separate science GCSEs that aren't in double award) myself, if the school could just arrange for him to do the practical coursework under their supervision. I'm 99% certain they won't allow that, though. I'll check at the meeting on Thursday, but I know what the answer will be... I'm reasonably certain that below sixth form nobody is allowed to have any lessons free when they are not in a class somewhere being taught by a specified teacher.

The bottom line is that he HAS to do something in that box, and everything else is a worse option than art.

lostinrates wrote: »

To not have the option to do all three seems to me shocking for kids who are heavily science leaning and know that thTs where their strengths lie. It still takes up fewer than half their potential options. If you passion is one or two of the sciences and you cannot take it as a ful subject I think that's a bit rough.

I agree. It's one of the few things I really don't like about an otherwise excellent school.

hjd

lostinrates wrote: »

I know, I did dual award too, but it was an option to do all three. I would much rather, fwiw have been able to do biology and chemistry and drop physics .

I only did Physics. Never did Biology and only did Chemistry for a little while. I have 6 O levels, 3 of which are English (English Lit, English Lang, Use of English). Very helpful.
I wanted to do Pure Maths, Economics and English Lit for my A levels but school wouldn't let me. I had to drop English and do Applied Maths instead, which isn't the easiest subject when you aren't also studying Physics.

zagubov

silvercar wrote: »

I would strongly suggest not taking art, it takes up so, so, so much time. Even DS2, who got the school prize and an A* in art, regrets it.

Back in my day, people for whom the option boxes didn't provide a good range were allowed to omit one box and self study for one subject in that time. Those good at maths would self study further maths or statistics, sciency students who took geography often picked geology.

It's true that art kind of spreads through your free time. Students never seem to hold back from putting the hours in. In fact if a student missed a class, I could soon find them if I went to their art class. Many students don't seem to see it as an effort or a burden. I suppose it helps you express yourself, wihtout being right or wrong,, in a way that maths and sciences and even languages don't.

The prevalence of double science GCSE I just see as symptomatic of a cultural anti-STEM subject bias that I don't know how to solve. Many schools struggle to hire the staff to teach it.

LydiaJ

zagubov wrote: »

The prevalence of double science GCSE I just see as symptomatic of a cultural anti-STEM subject bias that I don't know how to solve. Many schools struggle to hire the staff to teach it.

Double award science was ostensibly brought in to stop children giving up any of the 3 sciences entirely before they got to 16, without sciences having to take up 3 subjects on the lists of those whose strengths lie elsewhere.

I rather suspect that it was also significantly motivated by a desire to improve the figures for classes being taught by non-specialist teachers. AAUI, a GCSE phys lesson taught by a biologist gets into the stats, or used to, anyway, whereas a GCSE science lesson taught by a science teacher doesn't, even if it's that same bio teacher teaching that same phys content IYSWIM.

I taught one Y7 and one Y8 class of chem in 1993-4, and one class (I forget if it was Y7 or Y8) in 1994-5. Later, I taught Y9 chem for a single term in the autumn of 2004. Apart from that I have been able to spend my entire teaching career in phys, (apart from the year I had a job as a maths teacher). It's one of the reasons I stick in the independent sector. I know I can't teach other people's subjects very well, so I teach where I can stick to my own.

michaels

In my day I chose geography (o'level) rather than history because the former had more short answers, multiple choice and graphs whereas the latter was all long essays...of course it has probably changed by now.

Generali

We had to do maths, English, Integrated Science, Eng Lit, a language (I did French) a craft subject (I got out of that, hated woodwork etc), a humanity (I did 2: history and geography). I did maths early and so did O/A maths in my final year aged 16.

I didn't enjoy school up to 16. I hated those badly behaved kids that didn't want to be there. They made my life a misery and I did my best to repay the favour. I threw one child down a short flight of stairs. He didn't seem so tough after that.

I went to a separate sixth form college which I loved. I probably didn't get the exam grades I should have but I had a great time.