Todays educational standards

[1978]

Educational standards are very low in many parts of the state sector, but it's not universal. There are also some private schools that give poor value for money.

 

However, much of the problem we have today is that far too many children see no point in learning. It matters little what any teacher tries to do, they've been raised without respect for anyone with learning or authority. Blame it on whatever you like, television, red top newspapers, the internet, or mobile phones, but it's fact.

 

My daughter-in-law teaches in a secondary school on the fringes of London and Essex. It sounds like a war zone, with high wire fences, a metal scanner at the gate, and a police officer and 2 support officers based on site. A minority of children live with settled parents and a very low percentage get GCSE's, let alone further education. Nationalities are another issue. Recently she was expected to teach twins who'd just arrived from Poland with no English. Her subject? Spanish, and some other teacher had to teach them French!! Staff turnover is high and survival is almost as important as teaching!

 

This is an extreme, but teachers can only do their best in the fragmented society we now inhabit.

 

Yes, in my day many left school at 15, did apprenticeships, went to night schools, and were earning before the current generation do GCSE's. Happily, some young people today take jobs in places like call centres and catering establishments to pay their way through college. If you want to employ a good young employee look for one of them.

Edited April 11, 2011 by 1978

[BettyBooHoo!]

Seems like it has improved since you experienced it, children are expected to know their 8 times table in primary school.

 

I agree though, the schools are powerless, especially with the lack of support from many parents, and the general lack of respect for the teaching profession. Perhaps if teachers got paid 3 times more, and you had to wait a fortnight before you could have an appointment to see them, then there'd be more respect. I don't see much Dr-bashing on the forum.

 

The extorionate tuition fees being introduced will create a great void in the UK. Employers have had it good in the UK, paying low wages for graduates. Now, graduates will not be able to afford to accept low wages, and as employers will not want to offer them, there will be a lot less students choosing to study at universtfy. Graduates from overseas will have to fill that voild.

 

This is exactly the problem, too many children are born to parents who don't give a dam. They grow up with these 'parents' who have no desire to make anything of their own lives, let alone their children's. So long as the bennies keep rolling in, that's all they're concerned about.

They don't encourage their kids to learn and with no better role model, their kids don't see the point in school or have any repsect for their teachers.

It's a sorry state of affairs.

I always find it funny that people who long for kids to love and care for have to jump through hoops to adopt a child, where as it's ok for any scummy moron to pop them out ten a penny.

Maybe if more parents were responsible, educational standards would be better.

[venetodavid]

Maybe if more parents were responsible, educational standards would be better.

 

Were parents more responsible in the past? And were education standards better then? Is that what you are saying?

[Vague_Boy]

Why have educational standards appear to have plummeted? Comments please

 

An obsession with targets and statistics?

 

It's easier to relax exam marking standards than it is to educate children properly (and cheaper too, much cheaper).

 

If you beieve the exam results, we are turning out a generation of Joe 90 and Wesley Crusher style child prodigies.

 

Meanwhile, back in the real world....

 

Business leader slams education

Schools ‘failing’ on key skills

Independents rescue falling exam standards

[LaughingCow]

Seems like it has improved since you experienced it, children are expected to know their 8 times table in primary school.

 

It was only an example!

[BettyBooHoo!]

Were parents more responsible in the past? And were education standards better then? Is that what you are saying?

 

Yes and no.

Yes, I think that on the whole parents were more responsible in the past, mainly due to values being different. In times gone by, it would have been an embarrasment to not go out and work to support your family, now it's seen as an acceptable way of life for many.

Education standards were maybe not better but this was due to opportunity, not dedication. Many left school before 15/16 years old to go straight into work because that was how you funded your lifestyle.

Now the education system offers better opportunities to those who want to take it. Further education is encouraged and available to anyone.

[coop]

tahnks for the comments, but why have the standards dropped so much? Is it lack of discipline, the ending of grammer schools, bad teachers or other reasons. There must be something that has created such a drastic reduction of educational standards.

[RosyRat]

Is it the ending of grammer schools, bad teachers or other reasons. There must be something that has created such a drastic reduction of educational standards.

 

Sorry, I just had to do it. Educational standards today...

[Lady Star]

Students are revolting because of the increased tuition fees at Universities. Why, I ask do so many require degrees to undertake work, that in the past has been done , very ably by persons who were educated to ‘O’ and ‘A’ level. The demands of the roles have not increased. What has, in my opinion has decreased, is the level of secondary education in England and the quality of todays’O’ and ‘A’ level qualifications. A lot of today’s degrees seem equivalent to an ‘A’ level in the 70’s and today’s ‘A’ levels seem lower in quality to the ‘O’ levels of the 70’s.

 

What students of today should be demonstrating about is the level of education received in Schools. Does anyone agree or disagree with me?

 

Why have educational standards appear to have plummeted? Comments please

 

You need a degree when almost everyone else has one, as without one you are on the back foot - It's nothing to do with the standard of GCSEs or A Levels, simply that the vast majority of the country are graduates, so GCSE and A Levels just don't mean the same anymore...

[sues_budgie]

Students are revolting because of the increased tuition fees at Universities. Why, I ask do so many require degrees to undertake work, that in the past has been done , very ably by persons who were educated to ‘O’ and ‘A’ level. The demands of the roles have not increased. What has, in my opinion has decreased, is the level of secondary education in England and the quality of todays’O’ and ‘A’ level qualifications. A lot of today’s degrees seem equivalent to an ‘A’ level in the 70’s and today’s ‘A’ levels seem lower in quality to the ‘O’ levels of the 70’s.

 

What students of today should be demonstrating about is the level of education received in Schools. Does anyone agree or disagree with me?

 

Why have educational standards appear to have plummeted? Comments please

 

 

Although education standards have gone down, the problem is that for every job so many people are going for the job. In the past, 4 O Levels got you the foot in the door for many jobs, whereas today you need a degree for any decent kind of job.

 

I do agree that peopl should start off at the bottom, however in todays britain, the bottom is a part time job at £5.93 an hour for sill hour such as 12 hours a week. Around £70 a week will not even get you rent for a home in the worst part of Sheffield.

 

The problem came about in the 1990s when the Conservative Government simply had to reduce the Unemployment figures and Labour simply carried on where the Conservatives left off. Micky Mouse courses were invented simply to accomodate all the young people who no longer could get work - simply because all the industrys had shut down in the 1980s.

 

The kids were shunted off into Higher Education, standards were dropped so it created an illuision that everything was fine - sadly, the policys from the last 20 years are beginning to come home to roost, and sadly todays young are now going to suffer.

 

Before we condem the youngsters, its the older generation that caused this by going on strike willy nilly back in the 1970s and bringing the country to its knees. In those days, a young person could walk out of school and get a job in a factory that paid enough of a wage to pay for a home.

 

These days, kids have to rack up huge amounts of debt - get a degree that in many cases does not open the doors that was promised, simply to try to get a decent job with a wage that may pay a living wage (if they are lucky).

 

In the 70s, only the genuinely very best went to University and that talent was nutured, in the 1990s/2000s, University was an excellent way to massage the Unemployment stats and so standards had to drop so that more people were able to go. You could not have a system as it was back in the 1970s, simply because society was different, jobs were plentifull and only the finest of minds continued with their studies (people were judged on their academic ability - not their ability to pay).

 

All this was destroyed by the Liberal Establishment - to me, many of these people feel threatened by the Grammer System as it once was - thats why things will never go back to how they were