Renovations and Repayments.

smallholdingsister

And yet Maths and Music are related intelligences...so maybe it wasn't presented in the right way?

cazmanian_minx

smallholdingsister wrote: »

And yet Maths and Music are related intelligences...so maybe it wasn't presented in the right way?

Exactly! Alex, if you can recognise the patterns in, for example, a bit of Bach, you have the right kind of brain to do maths

cazmanian_minx

PS - a friend of mine at school was a brilliant musician (ended up at the Royal Academy after school), but in the bottom set for maths. Now she's a spreadsheet genius earning a very good living doing analysis for a major, major IT company. (And her Bach was good, but you should have heard her play Kreisler at 15... wow!)

maman

AlexLK wrote: »

I do have some KS2 music experience in my old prep school. They'd be OK with me observing other subjects being taught, so yes, can go elsewhere. Do see where you're coming from in regard to my son, he does need to get used to his school community.

More than aware of planning and assessment through the music I'm involved in, though I can appreciate this would be on a bigger scale.

Son had a good day at school, his teacher told me he's been really well behaved and willing to join in. Pleased for him, even if I do miss him during the daytimes.

Great news that LittleK had a good day and well done to his teacher for reporting back on positives as well as negatives. I'd also say that if he can have a good Monday he's doing well as many children find getting back into school routine after the freedom of weekends really difficult.


Really pleased you see the point of getting some KS2 experience in another school. Independent is fine but I'd also try and observe in a state school too not so you can decide that the independent is better but so you can observe different challenges and maybe different teaching styles. I'm probably as biased as you in my thinking but current government initiative is to weed out 'coasting' schools as many schools who take in bright, motivated pupils can get away with poor teaching. As ever, the initiative will only apply to state schools as government is convinced the only schools with problems are Local Authority run:mad:.

AlexLK

smallholdingsister wrote: »

And yet Maths and Music are related intelligences...so maybe it wasn't presented in the right way?

You're possibly right. I wasn't terrible at Maths back in my schooldays. These days I pass anything requiring Maths to Mrs K, she's very good at it. Suppose I've become very rusty.

cazmanian_minx wrote: »

Exactly! Alex, if you can recognise the patterns in, for example, a bit of Bach, you have the right kind of brain to do maths

Ah, but here's the difference, I like Bach and his music was always something I wanted to learn about. However, I couldn't see the point in Trigonometry, for instance.

cazmanian_minx wrote: »

PS - a friend of mine at school was a brilliant musician (ended up at the Royal Academy after school), but in the bottom set for maths. Now she's a spreadsheet genius earning a very good living doing analysis for a major, major IT company. (And her Bach was good, but you should have heard her play Kreisler at 15... wow!)

Sounds like music's loss, there. I hope she still plays and that you have began to play flute again, too.

A few people have said I "should" be good at things like spreadsheets and computer programming because I'm very good at analysis (in music). On the few occasions I've opened Excel, I sit looking at an empty grid thinking I can't do it for ten minutes before switching it off.

AlexLK

maman wrote: »

Great news that LittleK had a good day and well done to his teacher for reporting back on positives as well as negatives. I'd also say that if he can have a good Monday he's doing well as many children find getting back into school routine after the freedom of weekends really difficult.

Another good day there today. It's his birthday tomorrow and he can't wait to go to school because the whole school will sing Happy Birthday! Really is a strange boy at times. :rotfl:

Wife has been away with work since Monday morning and won't be back until late tomorrow night, seems really strange her not being here for his birthday.

maman wrote: »

Really pleased you see the point of getting some KS2 experience in another school. Independent is fine but I'd also try and observe in a state school too not so you can decide that the independent is better but so you can observe different challenges and maybe different teaching styles. I'm probably as biased as you in my thinking but current government initiative is to weed out 'coasting' schools as many schools who take in bright, motivated pupils can get away with poor teaching. As ever, the initiative will only apply to state schools as government is convinced the only schools with problems are Local Authority run:mad:.

Going to my old school is just a starting point. If I want to take things further I will try to get experience in a couple of village schools too.

I don't think I could work full time in a deprived area; my voluntary school is in one and I often end up quite upset about how little many of the parents care about schooling. Probably sounds quite pathetic but it's really difficult to see bright minds being held back by the parents prejudice against learning. Really worry about what will happen to some of them when they leave school. On the teaching side, I've seen some fantastic teachers at that school, though.

maman

Shame that MrsK isn't around for the actual day of birthday but I'll forgive her as it's work and not holidaying. Why not take him out somewhere special to have his tea, perhaps under the big golden arches!:rotfl:

AlexLK wrote: »

Going to my old school is just a starting point. If I want to take things further I will try to get experience in a couple of village schools too.

I really think you should try and observe in what you describe as a deprived school too. When/if you do your PGCE you may not have a choice as to where you're placed for school experience (although some colleges do allow/encourage students to find own placements). In any event you might see the best teaching in deprived schools. It's all experience.

hiddenshadow

Happy birthday to LittleK (today's my birthday as well). Hope the birthday song is as exciting as he anticipates.

cazmanian_minx

AlexLK wrote: »

Sounds like music's loss, there. I hope she still plays and that you have began to play flute again, too.

She does, she plays with an orchestra that's more or less completely composed of ex-music college students who for one reason or another didn't go into it professionally She's got two small children now and the oldest will be big enough for an 1/8th-sized violin fairly soon, I should think! My flute needs a serious service to put it back into properly playable condition and unless I can chat up my lovely flutemaker friend into doing it for me (which even if he said yes, would seriously annoy Mr Minx, as he was a boyfriend for about 8 months, and I probably wouldn't get it back for about two years) then it's going to have to wait a bit longer as I don't have the money spare at the moment - Ian McLauchlan charges £110 for a general service and from £280 for a full overhaul and I suspect it's going to be nearer the latter than the former!

AlexLK

Done quite a lot of work to the spare bedroom today and finished the bathroom tiles, so there's finally some house progress.

maman wrote: »

Shame that MrsK isn't around for the actual day of birthday but I'll forgive her as it's work and not holidaying. Why not take him out somewhere special to have his tea, perhaps under the big golden arches!:rotfl:

I really think you should try and observe in what you describe as a deprived school too. When/if you do your PGCE you may not have a choice as to where you're placed for school experience (although some colleges do allow/encourage students to find own placements). In any event you might see the best teaching in deprived schools. It's all experience.

:rotfl: No golden arches but we did go out for dinner.

Wife called this morning and is now back home. Today has been seriously strange, my In-Laws turned up this morning, completely out of the blue to give my son a present they'd forgotten to give my wife on Saturday. Son went to school and In-Laws and I talked, a lot. Quite honestly changed my opinion of them and I really hope the past is behind us.

As I stated before, there are some wonderful teachers at the school I volunteer in. I do know what you mean about visiting different schools and also not knowing where you'd be placed for PGCE (something else that worries me). I find it incredibly sad when parents don't seem to care about their child's education (this happens a lot in volunteer school). Suppose I've presumed this to be a "feature" of a school with a lot of council housing (had meant the area to be deprived, not the school).

hiddenshadow wrote: »

Happy birthday to LittleK (today's my birthday as well). Hope the birthday song is as exciting as he anticipates.

He had a great day and loved the song at school, thanks.

Also, happy birthday to you.

cazmanian_minx wrote: »

She does, she plays with an orchestra that's more or less completely composed of ex-music college students who for one reason or another didn't go into it professionally She's got two small children now and the oldest will be big enough for an 1/8th-sized violin fairly soon, I should think! My flute needs a serious service to put it back into properly playable condition and unless I can chat up my lovely flutemaker friend into doing it for me (which even if he said yes, would seriously annoy Mr Minx, as he was a boyfriend for about 8 months, and I probably wouldn't get it back for about two years) then it's going to have to wait a bit longer as I don't have the money spare at the moment - Ian McLauchlan charges £110 for a general service and from £280 for a full overhaul and I suspect it's going to be nearer the latter than the former!

Glad at least one of you is playing music still. She's lucky to have such an orchestra to play in.

My son loves playing violin and piano. Hope your friend decides to teach her children.

:rotfl: Re. flutemaker ex. Must say I'd find it quite odd if Mrs K was in touch with any exs. Suppose she might be and I just don't know about it, though.