tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10557263.post2529150585118263101..comments2024-01-26T10:20:37.836+00:00Comments on Diary of a Goldfish: Leave them kids alone.The Goldfishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15213378454070776331noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10557263.post-46338845231399547662008-09-10T10:57:00.000+01:002008-09-10T10:57:00.000+01:00When I was at Uni first time round, I was jealous ...When I was at Uni first time round, I was jealous of the mature students in my classes because I couldn't understand how they were so motivated. They were always the first to put forward their ideas in tutorials, they were extremely organised and got excellent results. I got good enough results at both school and University without much motivation confidence, organisation, but I always had that nagging feeling - could have done better.<BR/><BR/>Now that I'm back in education as a maturish student myself, it suddenly becomes obvious. I'm motivated because I have an aim - to go to University in order to get into a particular career, not just going to University. I'm confident because I've been place and met people and done things I hadn't done before. I'm organised because I <I>have</I> to be - I have a job now and other commitments to balance with studying.<BR/><BR/>I don't regret what or how I studied when I was younger, that's all part of the experience that will assist me now. But I do think that this is a great time for me to go back.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13205556467133617693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10557263.post-50528410875368180082008-09-09T19:06:00.000+01:002008-09-09T19:06:00.000+01:00Thank you both. Mary, yes. I also think it should ...Thank you both. <BR/><BR/>Mary, yes. I also think it should be taken for granted that lots of people <I>will</I> change direction. Indeed, I think that some of those who are most conscientious at their chosen career are those who have taken a little time on it - not those who have stayed in university twiddling their chums for ten years, but people who have had a bit of life experience before deciding what they want to do. (sorry, no offense to academics who spend their lives in university, but if funded by wealthy parents one can twiddle one's thums there for quite some time).<BR/><BR/>Clare, yes, some GCSE syllubi are extraordinarily shallow - and increasingly so when they add subjects which were traditionally only taught at degree level, like social science subjects. <BR/><BR/>A great unattributed quote I saw since I wrote the above was (roughly)"Education is not about filling a bucket - it is about lighting a fire!" which I thought very apt.The Goldfishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15213378454070776331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10557263.post-59152846181051007612008-09-09T11:09:00.000+01:002008-09-09T11:09:00.000+01:00I think the less school qualifications we had, the...I think the less school qualifications we had, the more young people might actually *learn* at school. These days the entire education experience seems to revolve around learning to jump through the hoops necessary in order to pass the exams, as opposed to actually getting a feel for the subject itself. To my mind, nothing illustrates this better than language teaching - I have a GCSE in French but when I went to France last year was unable to say anything beyond the set phrases I had memorised in order to pass my GCSE oral. <BR/><BR/>I've learnt far more since I left school than I ever did in it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10557263.post-30484699651121755992008-09-05T10:50:00.000+01:002008-09-05T10:50:00.000+01:00One of the best ideas I heard was the idea of bein...One of the best ideas I heard was the idea of being able to "bank" your sixth-form years.<BR/><BR/>So at 16, if you had no idea what you wanted to do, you could go out into the world and earn a living as an adult doing a regular job of the sort that doesn't require particular qualifications. And you might end up doing that happily ever after.<BR/><BR/>But if, at say 31, with the benefit of life experience and self-knowledge and a grasp of the employment market and the world of work, you <I>then</I> decided that actually you'd really rather like to be a lawyer/hairdresser/car mechanic, then you could take your two years of "sixth form" - automatic benefits, free prescriptions, course charges paid and so on.Maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11639094548415759560noreply@blogger.com