dbd33

One of my children went to university in NS. She went to Kings and took the foundation year program. (I don't know if that counts as "highly regarded").
She said there was no one in her year who had been to high school in NS.

Howefamily

Maybe they had all moved West .....
I know a number of teens from here that are all in university and they are all bright young adults.
I was thinking about this thread at work yesterday and I would say that 95% of the staff are from Nova Scotia and they are really very intelligent people.
I am, on reflection, no longer concerned.

ExKiwilass

I noticed that the entrance scores for NS universities are much lower than BC ones. This is good, it means the less brainy BC kids have somewhere to go.

MillieF

I worry about the schooling here. My kid is leaving Middle School this year and moving to High School. I hope he does have more pressure and some....oh please some homework! He doesn't seem to be making any effort at all but is getting 97% average....and NO he isn't gifted, and is lazy I fear.

People with older kids, at the same school however are being accepted to good universities....so something is getting through.

We had a dreadful report the other day on the amount of kids that leave High School in New Brunswick being totally illiterate.

ExKiwilass

How high? What is the average graduation rate there?

MillieF

Could only find figures for 2010 which showed 90.2 % of kids graduate in NB which is good. However, an article from 2012 says the 50% of NB is functionally illiterate. I suppose it's like the bible...you can always find something to support whatever view you want.

The figure for graduating students for Nova Scotia for 2010 was 88.3%.

Maplease

Thanks again for the responses. I am hoping his teacher will be somewhat more task driven next year and I will continue to do what I can with him at home. My son isn't a genius, and yet I don't feel he is pushed. He's an 'average' learner; good at reading, struggles to comprehend some maths but, like most kids, would rather do naff all given the chance and, at present, he seems to be having a lot of these chances. Even he said he didn't want to go dressed in beach gear to school this week as 'he didn't see the point'. Maybe less PJ days and more constructive work days may help.

Andie8

Allow me to bring to you another perspective:

I was raised in NS and went to university is NS. Now, mind you, I was born in the early 70's, was educated in the late 70's/80's and graduated from high school in 1991. Also, my parents were both teachers.

My education/grammar/punctuation/general knowledge/geography is FAR superior to the graduates I see coming out of the British education system (including university graduates).

Maybe that's because I'm a generation or more ahead of current UK and Canadian pupils or maybe that's a consequence of my upbringing. Who knows. But what I can tell you is this: I interview university graduates for roles in my City of London practice and they say things like: "I done that at university." No joke. At an interview. University graduates!

Why not speak to people in your community whose children are in high school/university and get their perspective. Better yet, why not discuss your concerns with your child's teachers?

I have a good friend here in the UK who teaches at a greater London state secondary. She was born, raised and educated in NS. She is shocked at the number of 15 year olds who cannot read, have the math skills of a 8 year old and have been completely forsaken by the UK education system.

As a NS native having spent the last 20 years in the UK I've learnt a very valuable lesson: the grass is rarely greener on the other side.

I'm sure things will get better. It's good to talk. Hugs.

woodworm

my gut feeling tells me, that the higher number of Asian students might have something to do with the situation in BC. I have no evidence of course, like you have no evidence that NS is full of dummies either

ExKiwilass

The entrance scores are lower in NS. That tells me the unis are less competitive to get into. Less demand perhaps?

Maplease

Thanks Andie. I appreciate the response. I, too, was a secondary school teacher for 11 years before coming to Canada (and have the grey hairs to prove it!) Like yourself, I was also born in the early '70s and consider students today not as well versed in a number of areas in comparison to ourselves. However their world is, in many ways, so different and they have areas of expertise that I can't fathom (remember computer lessons with one computer in the school?)

I have spoken to my son's teacher and I communicate with her via his agenda on an almost daily basis. I will be honest and say I think she is a bit 'relaxed' in her attitude. Like all professions, there are good and bad. I am hoping that a different teacher will help next year. I have also spoken to graduates and teenagers currently in the system. Some observations I have made is that teenagers here seem very confident and I'm impressed with their 'can do' attitude. It seems that they will have a go at anything, but do lack some initiative. Another perception (and this may seem odd in the whole scheme of things) but their writing is poor. No-one seems to use joined up writing. I understand that this may not seem a big deal, but I find their writing childlike and can't understand how they can complete exam answers in the allotted time when they are printing their words.

I realize I am making some huge generalizations here and take comfort in your response. After all, I probably taught some of those students that you interviewed. I don't think the UK system has it right by any stretch of the imagination, but I would like my son to be pushed more.

Is it too early to ask you to give my son a job? He's seven

Howefamily

I have a completely different view. My two both write in cursive and the teens I have dealt with (girls admittedly) have beautiful flowing writing. Having read a number of letters written to try to obtain a bursary from the recreation society I volunteer in I see endless lists of achievements both inside and outside of school including volunteering. These teens seem to have tones of initiative.

AmyDavid

I'm sure that NS stopped teaching cursive writing a few years back - probably the same time they stopped giving kids homework.

Howefamily

Not in the school my two go to

ExKiwilass

what's the point in learning cursive? honestly. It's not the 19th century any more people!