cranni

ps DONT YOU JUST GET BLOODY SICK OF THE PAPERS AND GOVERNMENT STATISTICS, ITS LIKE THE SATS IN UK, 7 YR OLDS , IT ALL GOES ON THAT DAY HOW THEY FEEL, AND IF THEY DONT WANT TO DO THE TEST THEY WONT. I HEARD THEY WHERE SCRAPPING IT FOR 7 YR OLD, I HOPE SO.

nicanjoe

Actually Canada teaches the same way, it's called child centered learning and it is failing children year after year. There are students that will excel no matter what teaching methods are used, it will just come easily. For kids that have any difficulty these new methods don't work, they have brought just a little bit of phonics back into the schools here, but very little. They don't teach the rules of spelling, they expect the kids to just memorize the words. Math is made up of patterning, patterning and more patterning it's ridiculous. I pray that the education system is better in Australia or my three kids are sunk!

NKSK

We read the newspaper today and it confirmed our fears. Whilst it will undoubtedly depend on which school your child is at, it shows that you need to be very careful and aware of your child's potential and their actual performance.

It made us more determined than ever to supplement our child's education with some home tuition.

Bella Donna

Our dd did three years at primary in England, and I was constantly amazed at what was expected of them at such an early age. She started getting homework mid-way through year One which to me, is ridiculous. We didn't get homework until secondary school and that was plenty early enough. Kids aren't allowed to be kids any more. They should be learning through play, not from a random set of *facts* that they are presented with in an abstract way. I personally don't think children of 4, 5 and 6 can be *taught* very much at all - what they learn, they assimilate from play.

Makes you wonder if Steiner and Waldorf have got it right. I think they have.

Sue

cranni

Ditto! my 11 and 7 yr old where fine, because they could read in reception so they found it easy, loads of homework, which drove me nuts and was so stressful especially with 3 of them and daughter doing A levels.
My 12 yr old really struggles, and i felt sorry for the kids that just where not ready and at 4 they were still babies, poor things. They do seem to be more laid back here and for my 12 yr old that is good, he does not feel under as much pressure.

RReed

My son was in the 'gifted and talented' program in the UK. He was told that if he finished all the set work (mainstream) in class they would then give him more challenging work. Needless to say he decided that working hard to complete boring work to be rewarded with more work was not such a good idea. Within two years he was dropping down sets, not doing homework, depressed, bored and I was continuously in meeting with teachers about his motivatation and attitude.

Here the high achievers set is seperate from the mainstream with a different and more difficult curriculum. He will start working towards the International Baccalaureate Diploma next year. The IBC is internationally recognised as a high academic standard for access to uni. He is currently doing maths and science way above the UK standard. My best mate has a daughter in his year in the UK (his old school which was a 'good' school), so I can compare their curriculum.

I also have experience of studying at postgraduate level in both countries. The standards are higher here. I am having to do extra study units to catch up.

Just my family's experience.

Rachel

cranni

[QUOTE=RReed]My son was in the 'gifted and talented' program in the UK. He was told that if he finished all the set work (mainstream) in class they would then give him more challenging work. Needless to say he decided that working hard to complete boring work to be rewarded with more work was not such a good idea. Within two years he was dropping down sets, not doing homework, depressed, bored and I was continuously in meeting with teachers about his motivatation and attitude.

Here the high achievers set is seperate from the mainstream with a different and more difficult curriculum. He will start working towards the International Baccalaureate Diploma next year. The IBC is internationally recognised as a high academic standard for access to uni. He is currently doing maths and science way above the UK standard. My best mate has a daughter in his year in the UK (his old school which was a 'good' school), so I can compare their curriculum.
My 11 yr old has a gift, can mutiply any number quicker than a calculator, for eg 123x 456 or any other numbers , they did not seem that bothered in UK and here also. What can i do, do you think i should push this. He also knows everything about footback Uk and OZ, can answer any questions about sport, he was reading sports pages in paper from about age of 4, and would sit and look at teletext all day on a Satuday in UK at the fixtures. Denise

RReed

[QUOTE=cranni] Hi Denise
You will have a tough time on your hands with your son. It can be difficult having a child who is at either end of the academic spectrum. Luckily my
daughter is more 'normal' academically and is generally much happier and 'connected' with others than my son. He lives in his head, and always has. Your son sounds similar maths wise. I wouldn't/didn't push unless he is unhappy or bored at school. Jake didn't reach this point until he went to high school. Teachers don't like to be challenged and are too stretched to deal with kids outside the mainstream. It is also embarrassing being a geek teen unless you are surrounded by like minded kids.

In oz, Jake is proud to be a 'nerd' instead of hiding it. The kids in the high achievers set don't take the piss when he gets A's. He has always been a nerd at home - reading maths, science and politics books (bought with his own cash) for fun :scared: . Now he can be himself at school too.

It is difficult being a parent to a child with a 'gift'. I don't understand what he is talking about half the time and have to tell him to stop talking about maths theories at the dinner table. Just because they are academically clever, does not mean they are more intelligent. Jake has less common sense and social skills than his 11 yr old sister. He understands complex maths theories, but is incapable of simple tasks.

I also don't think being that clever is a 'gift' because it seperates you from others. Understandably other kids don't want to discuss US politics! Thinking too deeply can make you depressed. He over analyses being a teenager instead of just being one. Discussing social pressure and 'creating an identity' etc. At his age I was just having fun.

So, I don't have any advice for you re. education. Just a warning. Good luck!
Rachel

ozzieeagle

I would have honestly thought that was a pre-requisite in both countries ?

Early on it was clear that our 2nd Daughter was not as good at math, as her older sister, and most of her peers, Hence one Kumon course later, and a bit of help from mum and dad, she got long division and long multiplication under her belt. Thats all we felt we needed in her case.

My kids have always done something extra, from tae-kwon-doe lessons (expensive at 75 aud each per month) but very character building. Through to Drama, music. IE: my 7 year old is showing great strengths in his art work, we put him into every little course we can. He has done kids courses at the art gallery, showing him "why" people draw etc etc. Any strength or weakness should always be supplemented by extra-curricula lessons.

One point that I don't think has been made clearly enough about the Aussie system, I guess I took it for granted, is the way they teach kids to be confident in front of others. With lots of empathsis on Public speaking, and negotiating with peers. I know that when my Daughter in England is in front of a interview, whether it be one person or 3 she will have the confidence and the tools to take control of the situation, and impress easily, as she has been taught to. Little things like 3 people barking questions all at the same time will be met with "one at a time please, or I cannot understand you" and other tools for guiding people her way.

cranni

[QUOTE=RReed] Well Rachel, lucky for us, Dale is very popular at school, as he is very sporty as well, good combination. He is a good soccer player, and attended Man u academy in UK. He has a great personality and does not talk about his maths capabilities, but i just feel it is a shame to hide it as he is amazing, and unbelievable, but he is happy and that is the main thing, maybe at high school they will look into it. Thanks Denise

Bella Donna

I had an answer for this earlier, then I saw that you had answered yourself in your latest post. I think you can measure education by how well people integrate into *life* and by how they use the skills that they have learned at school in real life situations. That's often the trouble with a very academic education - it's hard to apply to real life because it's so dry and remote.

Sounds like your daughter has had an excellent education.

Sue

moneypenny20

It is also a constant topic of discussion in the UK. And believe me, scores of children are leaving UK schools without the basics.

As someone else said, it all comes down a particular child in a particular school. What works for one will statistically fail another. My husband and I both went to the same Secondary School. He hated every day of it and came out with very few 'O' levels, I loved it, and stayed on to 6th form and did 'A' Levels.

One person's experience cannot be turned into a blanket "fact" about "Australian Education" as a whole.

ozzieeagle

Very good post, Exactly whats good for the goose isn't necessarily good for the gander.

Bella (Sue) Mentioned Steiner, When our first born came along, we where very idealistic, and sought out Steiner and Montesorret (sp) type schools. She basically had her 3 years of Education in this fashion. When you send a child to this kind of school you also have to Live the life (IE: limited or no TV, thinking about every aspect of exposure to the world that they have). Now because the people that send children to these schools, are normally very idealistic, things become a tad extreme. Therein lies the fault in those alternative types of schools. Our oldest still, although now to a much lesser degree, has trouble relating to mainstream people. I put that down to being on the edge of mainstream society in her very early schooling.

When we Started putting Daughter no 2 through the same system, I decided that this whole alternative thing wasn't for me in particular, Lets just say it was an extremely interesting time at home. I got my way, and we put the other 3 kids through mainstream schooling.

Problem was, I'm the sort of person, that likes a dose of Benny Hill after watching with the same amount of interest, "the habits of the nomads in the far eastern Sahara" or has one meal down the Health food shop, and the next at Macdonalds.

Steiner and Montesorret great in theory, but can the parents actually live it, and live with the other parents, that school their kids that way.

tracey.d

I have just spent ages writing a long winded post about my thoughts on this matter and the computer has kindly crashed (again ) and wiped it all off and I cant bothered to type it all out again!!!! .

So all I will say is that only NKSK and ozzieeagle have mentioned parents responsibility in education their children. It is all too easy to blame the country in question, government, individual school or teacher for a childs educational failings. I think that parents should be held accountable as well. I am not pointing the finger at anybody on here just soceity in general but it winds me up the way teachers get blamed for everything. Parents should supplement their childs education and also take some of the blame when it is not up to standard.

I am not in Australia yet so can only take the view that I have learnt on this website and that is that Australian schools place a bigger emphasis on sport, social interactions and confidence building exercises tha the 3 Rs. I think these social skills are of equal importance. Its all well and good having a marvellous education with loads of letters after your name if you have no social skills to back them up.

I also believe that making school a bit more fun helps to keep the kids interested. I spent more time nicking off school than I did attending. Hence I was in my late 20s by the time I made it to University. I think kids should be allowed to be kids and have a bit of fun whilst getting educated!!!

Tracey

cranni

you will get on fine here then Tracey, because, its true what you say they do spend a lot of time having fun, being kids , as well as learning.
My boys are so much more confident, the kids here all seem to be really confident ,mine are on the stage, playing music, happy and so friendly. They get homework during the week but not at weekends because weekend is for fun. It can be very stresful on the whole family when they bring home so much homework especially when you have a big family, i found this in the Uk.
I hated school and i nicked off as well, all my 6 have and still do love school, and that is very important.