On Sat, 01 Apr 2006 01:09:09 GMT, "Arfa Daily" wrote:


If only it were like that here in the UK. Education has been getting worse
and worse, since the selective ability schooling system was scrapped in
about 1970, in favour of the comprehensive system, intended to be a leveller
of ability. All state schools are basically now of mixed ability, and there
is little incentive for clever kids to shine. There is no official streaming
within year groups, so kids of all abilities end up in the same classes.
This makes it difficult for teachers to go at anything greater than the rate
at which the least able can proceed. I know this intimately, because I have
put three kids through two of the better schools in recent years.

I would actually doubt that most kids here would even know what algebra and
trig are, let alone want to take them as subjects.

The other thing that has happened over here, is that parents have become
lazy, or just lacking in parenting skills, so expect the schools to teach
their kids absolutely everything that they need for life, and of course,
there is not enough time in the school day for them to do this. It has,
however, spawned *nonsense* time wasting subjects like "personal and social
development". I say time wasting because parents should be teaching their
kids this stuff, and the time spent by the school on doing it, would be put
to better use teaching maths or English. The reason that the girl I
mentioned cannot read a clock, is because her parents never taught her, and
her school didn't have time. So yes, we have let education go, by not doing
any of it ourselves, and allowing a clearly flawed education system, to be
perpetuated by the "PC-everyone's-equal" brigade.

Zackly. Spot on. Absolutely.

(my wife is a primary teacher here in Australia, and bemoans these same things
on almost a daily basis).