Olibeneli

Take a look at this which was posted on the returning to UK forum. Comments please from anyone who thinks Oz & NZ schooling is generally better than what they experienced in the UK......


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Originally posted by Olibeneli
On what basis/evidence can you say that your eldest will be way behind her classmates academically ?

I am very interested in how you are judging and comparing Oz and UK schooling............??
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This was posted by Linda Max:

Hi there, as we have just sent our 15 year old back into UK education after 6 years in NZ, I can tell you that she is having a real hard slog to come anywhere close to her peers. She is back with friends that she went to school with prior to coming to NZ. Some clever some not so clever, and the not so clever ones are streets ahead of her. Our daughter gained top marks in everything except the dreaded maths here, so we thought she would be fine. Wrong. Our 17 year old is going back on Saturday, and will go to college in August/September. She walked out of school with no qualifications, (silly girl) because she hated school, thought we could put her into college to resit, as you can in UK, but here she has to be a mature student over 21 years, before she can resit school C, without that certificate, forget any halfway decent courses. After weeks of trying every educational institute in the north island, I got two pieces of advise.
1 Send her back to Scotland, she will get a far better education there. That was from the careers officer at the Hamilton Poly
2 We can get her work experience, no pay, no dole, no nothing, but it will be good for her. That was from a number of different education centres.
Not something we had thought would happen after 6 years here, and it has really thrown a spanner into the works, but education is one of the greatest gifts that you can give your children.
I have spoken to many Kiwis and the vast majority say they wish they had the opportunity to send their kids overseas to be educated.
PS. I have an aunt who lives in the USA who gave her kids a UK education. Seems that the UK can still boast a great education system.

Rosy

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Olibeneli
Take a look at this which was posted on the returning to UK forum. Comments please from anyone who thinks Oz & NZ schooling is generally better than what they experienced in the UK......

I think it is difficult to give an accurate assessment of whether schools in Oz are "better" or "worse" than those in the UK. It's a bit like comparing schools within England - if you send your child to a school which draws its pupils from a fairly affluent, middle-class catchment area, and which has a good headteacher and motivated staff, it is bound to be better than a school in a deprived area where the staff turnover is high and motivation low, and where the vast majority of the pupils come from disadvantaged backgrounds.

However, from PERSONAL experience, I have to say that my two (aged 11 and 9) received (and are now receiving again) a far better standard of education in England than they did in Oz (see my reply in the Returning to UK Forum on this subject - "When did you know" thread).

BUT, that is probably due in no small part to the fact that here in England they both attend a very good school. (Having said that, we did put them into supposedly the best state school in the area when we lived in Brisbane).

I would also say that speaking to professional colleagues, UK degrees are valued far more highly than Oz equivalents - and the higher education system in Oz is in an even sorrier state than our own!!!

walla

Interesting

There is always debate about the UK education system, it's not all huncky dorry, there are good and bad schools everywhere, even in small towns the difference between school results can be huge.

Schools we are looking at in Perth have very good academic results and a good sense of community, can't comment on NZ thou.

However if the young person mentioned has no interest in education as it would appear then how will she fare back in Scotland or anywhere for that matter?

Education is only as good as one makes it, for example my mate went to the lowest of the lowest schools, half the pupils ended up in young offenfers institutions (yeah, you've got the picture) for results, he made the most of it got his A's then a first in English Lit at Lancaster Uni, now a lecturer, doing very nicely too.

No snotty replies please, just expressing an opinion.

Walla

ABCDiamond

I've got an 8 year old daughter here in QLD. All her schooling has been done in either NSW or QLD.

My brother has an 8 year old daughter in Birmingham.

Both pretty normal kids. Mine seems more advanced. I put it down to individual ability and my choice of school. Nothing to do with country of choice.

young_lad

The experience shared by Linda Max (in your original post) is 1 experience of 1 girl, in 1 class, in 1 school etc.

There's no indication about the reasons why Linda Max thought the education in NZ failed her daughter. There was no mention of class sizes, no mention of balance and content of curriculum, discipline, teacher support, resourcing, facilities etc. etc.

Comparing education is difficult at the best of times (ie even if all the above points, and more, are answered).

Megalania

What! Did NZ just join the federation?

WheelsOfSteel

Remember that dysfunctional kid Ruth someone. Her father taught her at home and put her through uni at some real early age. I think it is known as the hothouse effect?

Anyway, if having smaller classes and the ability to be a kid and have time to play and do all the stuff that kids like to do, but not being able to do first principle calculus at 12, then so be it.

(I exaggerate, simply to emphasise a point)

Anyone ( to a certain extent) can cram there kids with facts and figures, but don't you think the Childs happiness is more important?

I work with lots of people here who have been through the Australasian school system and done perfectly well.

ABCDiamond

Absolutely agree

but..... What's "first principle calculus" ?

renth

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Rosy
Far more highly regarded than Australian equivalents?

I disagree.

An Aussie Honours degree is four years. The fourth year being the honours year which is usually by a dissertation based on research.

If holders of said degrees come to the UK to do a masters they usually go in to the second year as the fourth "honours" year is the equivalent of the first year of a masters in the UK.

A lot depends on the Institution awarding the degree. Is it Oxford, Cambridge or former colleges of HE now calling themselves Universities?

The state school system might not be as good as the UK, but in Australia the former H.E. college of bricklaying doesn't get to call itself "the University of Fremantle"

Over here they call a spade is a spade and a TAFE is a TAFE not a "University of Bricklaying."

Finally, if Aussie degrees aren't so much cop, how come each year thousands of astute Singaporeans and Hong Kongers come over here to get an Australian degree.

WheelsOfSteel

Interpretaion Of Derivative:

The derivative of a function at a point is the slope of the tangent line at that point. It may be thought of the limiting position of the secant line to a curve y = f (x) at a point is the tangent at the point. Thus the limit of the slope of the secant line through a fixed point on the curve and any other points on the curve that get closer and closer to the fixed point when this limit exists. It is the slope of the tangent line at that fixed point (x, f (x)) on the curve y = f (x).

Rather like a tangent. The use of first principle is the proof of the derivate relationship (dy/dx). Rather than just multiplying the whole number by the power and decrementing the power.

I would include an equation but I need a different font or bitmap, etc...

Hope this helps...

rudo1ph

What makes it "better" for you?

For me, I know my children are happy at school here in Australia. They are doing well and learning new things. They are not under pressure to take exams at the age of 6/7 etc, they explore different topics, and have to give short presentations to their classmates each week.

For my children, I choose the Australian system as being the better system.

However.......if I was to look from a purely academic point of view then I believe that the UK system is better.......

ACE

This is true Australian honours degrees are very well respected here in Europe. The anti Oz brigade(PB and Co) have written on this very forum about the multitude of Australian graduates that come to Europe each year for better jobs and more money.

ACE

jib

It's easier in Aus






jib

Linda Max

[QUOTE]Originally posted by young_lad
The experience shared by Linda Max (in your original post) is 1 experience of 1 girl, in 1 class, in 1 school etc.

There's no indication about the reasons why Linda Max thought the education in NZ failed her daughter. There was no mention of

I fail to see what class size or course content etc. has to do with this situation. Like many parents, my husband and I became an echo of our own parents, telling our kids, education is so important, you can't do anything without that piece of paper, you will regret it later, etc. etc. But not every kid listens, and not every kid gains straight A's first time round.
The point that really gets me is that if kids fail their 5th form certificate in NZ, that's it, they can not resit until over the age of 21. In Britain they have the opportunity to resit, whether in school or by going to college. I of course realise that Kate could have failed in her education anywhere in the world, but not everywhere in the world would fail my child by not giving her a second chance. like NZ has. Believe me this is not just 1 girls experience in 1 class in 1 school. And I teach in NZ.

WheelsOfSteel

Understood. However, the original post draws our attention to the academic qualities of either system, not the situation one finds themselves upon failure and requiring a re-sit.

This, in my opinion was a secondary issue wrt the post.