Best way to prep for grammar school entry in Year 3

peachyprice

onwards&upwards said:

peachyprice said:

maman said:

Probably best we agree to differ. I'm convinced they do it for effect. I'm not talking about people who genuinely explain they find maths difficult, just those who make a flippant remark, almost boasting about it. You don't hear people making similar remarks about not being able to read. 

Absolutely.  My niece is one of them, she thinks it's attractive to appear dumb and vulnerable.
Nothing whatsoever to do with her upbringing.  My cousin and her husband run their own business which they've always wanted the children to eventually take over, they've had a good,  nurtured upbringing and been given every opportunity. 

Nothing to do with schooling either, she and my daughter went through exactly the same schools from yr 3 to 11, my daughter then staying on for yr 12 & 13.

So why do you think she feels that way?  Nothing at all to do with the world she's grown up in and all the messages that being attractive IS more important for women?  Do you think she was born behaving that way, or that its genetic?

I really don't know. It's a peculiar situation her parents, and extended family are just normal, respectable, educated people, she is an outlier in the family as a whole. 

As a child she was rather spoilt, my cousin had several miscarriages before she was born. She has always been manipulative, something her parents (like many) are blind to and somewhere along the line I think she worked out how the cute blonde, blue-eyed girl could always get what she wanted by feigning dumbness, innocence, fear etc., and has carried that through to adulthood. 

Maybe a mixture of personality trait and parents willing to overlook unpleasant behaviours of a much wanted child? It's very unpleasant to watch though. 

Fireflyaway

fred246 said:

Some people seem to think that 'private' always means 'better'. It's very hard to get through to those people that that's not always the case. If a teacher is stood in front of a group of children why does it matter whether the parents or the government pay that teacher? You need to investigate further and especially more than 'league tables' to decide whether it's worth paying substantial sums of money.

I agree that private is not always better, you definitely have to do your research. My child went to several schools for trial days to help us decide. What's written on the website can be different to reality. Private schools have to run like a business so of course they will market themselves a particular way. I think it also depends on the child. My child wants to learn and enjoys the small friendly atmosphere at school. He enjoys the sports and extra curricula activities. I like the discipline and the values that are not just taught but practised. It's a very caring and nurturing school and I think happiness is so important in education. I'm not saying this can't be found in state schools, my son went to a state primary and junior but it doesn't seem to be apparent in the  senior schools in my area. We didn't set out to go private, it just happened to be that the school we liked the most is private.