Nice People 13: Nice Save

lostinrates

PasturesNew wrote: »

Didn't watch it, but knew this - and it's a shame that it's always the badduns that succeed.

It isn't. Or sometimes bad ones do good things.

Really I don't thing many people are 'good' or 'bad'. I think most of us are both with the best most average achieve is around the fifty/ fifty with a little edge either way tipping us one side or other.

LydiaJ

silvercar wrote: »

Anything ending in "studies" sounds dubious.

I would think that you could concentrate on the physics, there may be options where you can pick more of the physics units and minimal bio ones.

It doesn't work like that, I'm afraid. There are 9 units, which make 3 GCSEs.

You can have bio (B1+B2+B3), chem (C1+C2+C3) and phys (P1+P2+P3)
Or you can have science (B1+C1+P1), additional science (B2+C2+P2) and further additional science (B3+C3+P3)

So, yes, I'll have to do some bio. But really, how hard can it be for somebody with my teaching experience and scientific background, having access to plenty of resources, past papers with mark schemes and the like, to pick up enough bio to be able to teach it one on one to a reasonably able and motivated student? It's only a GCSE, not a degree or anything! Back in the late 90s I taught the stats part of A-level maths to several classes of kids, despite never having learnt it myself, and having to keep a chapter ahead of the classes in the book, and I managed that all right.

I think I can do it. I'll phone the helpline at the exam board for a chat some time this week when I have a spare moment.

lostinrates

I'm trying to remember if it was in gcse years we had our really good sex ed. I know it tied in with our bio lessons with timing.

Anyway, we had great sex ed at school. While I know both you and ds are more than capable of covering that part of a syllabus together getting the timing good for school covering any thing extra to what they have had might be good, and wearing green based concealer under foundation so you can blush without it being too obvious when the conversation might go into areas you might feel less comfortable with with your teen son than a student might be prudent.

arming with resources from where he can do his own research to answer questions he might have might be sensible.

zagubov

LydiaJ wrote: »

It doesn't work like that, I'm afraid. There are 9 units, which make 3 GCSEs.

You can have bio (B1+B2+B3), chem (C1+C2+C3) and phys (P1+P2+P3)
Or you can have science (B1+C1+P1), additional science (B2+C2+P2) and further additional science (B3+C3+P3)

So, yes, I'll have to do some bio. But really, how hard can it be for somebody with my teaching experience and scientific background, having access to plenty of resources, past papers with mark schemes and the like, to pick up enough bio to be able to teach it one on one to a reasonably able and motivated student? It's only a GCSE, not a degree or anything! Back in the late 90s I taught the stats part of A-level maths to several classes of kids, despite never having learnt it myself, and having to keep a chapter ahead of the classes in the book, and I managed that all right.

I think I can do it. I'll phone the helpline at the exam board for a chat some time this week when I have a spare moment.

Doc Brown's website would be the place to start, plus get some revision books at ebay/amazon. Are they cheaper just after the exams or exam results? Ask around any parents whose kids are moving on.

Generali

lostinrates wrote: »

we had great sex ed at school.

Ours was terrible thanks to Victoria Gillick. She got an injunction banning any sort of discussion in schools of sex ed.

lostinrates

Well. From sleeping like some sort of hibernating bear I am now AWAKE.


Kiwi however is asleep, and snoring at full throttle.

LydiaJ

lostinrates wrote: »

I'm trying to remember if it was in gcse years we had our really good sex ed. I know it tied in with our bio lessons with timing.

Anyway, we had great sex ed at school. While I know both you and ds are more than capable of covering that part of a syllabus together getting the timing good for school covering any thing extra to what they have had might be good, and wearing green based concealer under foundation so you can blush without it being too obvious when the conversation might go into areas you might feel less comfortable with with your teen son than a student might be prudent.

arming with resources from where he can do his own research to answer questions he might have might be sensible.

It wouldn't be a problem. I've worked very hard at keeping that line of communication open, and I grab opportunities to talk to him about that kind of stuff when they arise (eg from something on TV etc). I'd rather he was getting his information from me than in the playground.

But actually, there's no sex ed in B3. I've checked, but I knew there wouldn't be. It's too important. I haven't looked, but I bet it's all in B1. The people that make these decisions would want that stuff to be in the unit that's taken by just about everyone rather than B3, which is only studied by the minority who choose to do triple science (only 23% in 2012 according to the DfE).

SingleSue

At our high school, you can't choose to do triple science, you have to be invited. James was invited but despite better grades and (far) exceeding their minimum attainment at science to do triple, Josh was not.

Bit of a shame really as Josh loved science (particularly physics) and really wanted to do it but they didn't think he would be able to cope with the independent study side of it, plus they thought it would detract from the rest of the class as he would have needed to be supervised more than the others due to his disabilities.

I was gutted at the time....

LydiaJ

SingleSue wrote: »

At our high school, you can't choose to do triple science, you have to be invited. James was invited but despite better grades and (far) exceeding their minimum attainment at science to do triple, Josh was not.

Bit of a shame really as Josh loved science (particularly physics) and really wanted to do it but they didn't think he would be able to cope with the independent study side of it, plus they thought it would detract from the rest of the class as he would have needed to be supervised more than the others due to his disabilities.

I was gutted at the time....

How does he feel about it now? And how do you?

Not offering triple science at all is one of the few things I don't like about DS's school. The school where DD will be going offers it as an option.

SingleSue

He feels meh.....the feelings he had at the time have gone from his memory (they were gone pretty much straight away) and so he feels less bothered than I do.