Liverpool FC Forum

[Kharhaz]

As most will know many kids got the their GCSE results in these last couple of weeks and ive got to admit, from the reports from newspapers and the news on tv, our future looks good. Many people worry about the future for our kids and how hard its going to be for them but worry no more. We are clearly inundated with future geniuses. As an example, heres one report: Daily Mail.

Captions beneath the photos read:

Nervous: Katie Siegle opens her GCSE results with mother Philippa

Relief: Katie breathes again after receiving 7 A*s and 3 A's

Clean sweep: Unnat Krishna (second left) from Birmingham with his parents and brother after notching up a massive 16 A*s

Result! Anna Vlasova from Chelmsford County High School celebrates 12 A*s

So there it is. The futures looking good.


Ok enough sarcasm. Does anyone else think that these exams are now beyond a joke? I understand that there are clever kids out there who will do well but the success rate today is unbelievable. When I was at school some of my mates were real smart @sses who got mostly A's but in the subjects they werent very good at they got B's or C's. It was rare for someone to walk away with A's right down the results list. Is it that the teachers these days are really good at what they do and put the older methods to shame with their skill, or is it that this government will employ any method (including fooling student around the country that they are really clever) to make them look good?

This isnt a rant about the kids themself, they do the work thats put in front of them. I know from my kids that they work hard at school, their reports are always brilliant but I also know there are subjects they dont excel in. Subjects they have done every year but just cannot get to grips with. My oldest is rubbish at maths (like me) but hes good at art and media, me second oldest is a wizard at maths, but rubbish in art. But its ok, because as things stand they will get A's anyway. And this is were my gripe lies. All its doing is showing they dont have to brilliant at something, in fact, do it half-@ssed, as long as you do it, its all good.

Maybe im wrong, maybe im taking the credit away from the students who have worked hard, but for crying out loud. There has to be someone at the top who is thinking "somethings not right".

[account deleted by request]

No mate, you are right. I have three children and I helped all three with their homework and course work. I went to a grammar school but was no genius, and I was shocked at how easy the exams are now. Anything slightly difficult has been removed (calculus, dates, reasons etc) so that no one who has done ANY work at all can possibly fail, while the ones that have worked harder and get good grades have not been genuinely tested.

I think the new GCSE'S would not even qualify as a pass under the old "O" Levels, while "A" Levels now cover much of the work we did at "O" Level.

As a parent I was happy that my children got good results, but as an employer I would take exam results with a large pinch of salt now, as they are no longer worth very much imho.

[Kharhaz]

No mate, you are right. I have three children and I helped all three with their homework and course work. I went to a grammar school but was no genius, and I was shocked at how easy the exams are now. Anything slightly difficult has been removed (calculus, dates, reasons etc) so that no one who has done ANY work at all can possibly fail, while the ones that have worked harder and get good grades have not been genuinely tested.

I think the new GCSE'S would not even qualify as a pass under the old "O" Levels, while "A" Levels now cover much of the work we did at "O" Level.

As a parent I was happy that my children got good results, but as an employer I would take exam results with a large pinch of salt now, as they are no longer worth very much imho.

Like you im pleased with how my kids are doing, but it all just seems pointless. All they have to do is turn up at school and thats half the work done. Its hard NOT to get a good grade with the exams nowadays. Thats the real shame though. Kids cannot compare grades as the chances are they all have A grades anyway and when it comes to finding work, they have been duped into thinking they are clever and could walk into any job, up until those first few interviews.

[andy_g]

katie siegle definitely. the others are too fat.

[Kharhaz]

katie siegle definitely. the others are too fat.

  Yeah, but you couldnt help but look at her in the future (see mum) ewww !

[LFC2007]

The standard and method of assessment seems to have been watered down over many years, but I suppose you'd have study it to give a proper assessment.

There's also the problem of equivalence which applies right across the board I think. A lot of schools and colleges select courses which they believe will be easier for their cohort to pass which helps them advance up the league tables apparently. The other problem relates to the standard of degree courses, but some employers have adapted to this.

[laza]

katie siegle definitely. the others are too fat.

Nope not smart enough

Not only should be hitting the treadmill but shes needs some reference books to be reading at the same time

Otherwise she wont fall in my perfect master race image 

[Judge]

I went to a grammar school but was no genius

and now s@ints a banker. no wonder we are in recession 

[Gerrard30391]

My view....

It isn't the exams are easy at all....in fact, you will here most kids say that some are very hard indeed.

But this isn't where all the grade is achieved these days.....you can nowadays go into an exam right our name and you would be on a grade C already. It's due to coursework....

I didn't do an exam for one of my A-Level's, it was purely coursework. Some subjects have 50% CW and 50% exam. Therefore, you know half your grade before you sit the exam.

The other explanation for this is modular exams, and then one synoptic "covers everything" exam. So you do numerous exams throughout the 2 years of studying GCSE's. Therefore, again, before you sit the main exam, you know most of your grade.

So, to sum up, it's not the exams are hard, its the fact you can earn an half-decent grade before you sit the damn thing. Therefore, you can still flunk the exam to a certain degree, and come out with the top grades.

[GYBS]

As saint said i expect the A levels they do now are around the standard of O Levels years ago . GCSEs have gone down in standard - a teacher i know says the exams are a lot easier now and a lot based on coursework .

[Roger Red Hat]

Katie Siegle
Unnat Krishna
Anna Vlasova

good old british names them   making use of the British education system.

[Judge]

Lucy Siegle is a british journalist for the guardian lee

[Big Niall]

Would it not be better to also give you a relative score e.g. in the top 17%, top 68% etc so that you would know where you came overall. Like or not, there is competition to get the best courses, best jobs etc, these students are competing against each other too.

[Big Niall]

There is controversy here about medical courses, they have brought in an aptitude test but now some pupils getting top marks in their exams are not getting the courses as the aptitude test says they aren't the right type of person for the job. I think it makes sense as if you want to be a doctor was does it matter how good your history, French etc are (we do 7 or 8 subjects in our final school exams)

I think engineering courses should be based on maths/physics etc and not just points as what does it matter about subjects that have nothing to do with it?

[Zidane]

In other news..

AUSTIN — Some Texas parents are asking school principals to excuse their children from listening to a speech that President Obama will make to schools next week on the grounds that it smacks of political indoctrination.

Obama will deliver an address directly to students on the importance of education beginning at 11 a.m. (CST) Tuesday.

“The President will challenge students to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for their learning,” Secretary of Education Arne Duncan wrote in an Aug. 26 letter to school principals.

Critics of the president are using the Internet to build opposition and to encourage parents to request their children not be forced to listen.

“I think it's inappropriate because it smacks of political indoctrination of the worst kind,” said Brett Curtis, a parent of two children attending Pearland Independent School District schools. “It's not just a speech. It's a specific curriculum to go along with the speech directly from the president of the United States without review.”

Schools are getting a menu of classroom activities for students, according to the education secretary, designed by teachers “to help engage students and stimulate discussion on the importance of education in their lives.”

But superintendents and school boards had no role in developing the activities, Curtis said.

“It just seems to me that the federal government should not have that kind of influence on our school districts and the education of our children,” he said.

Curtis said he would instruct his children to boycott the speech as “a general protest. I know that's going on around the country.”

Local school districts will decide whether their students participate.

“It is not uncommon for students to watch a presidential speech that is given during the school day,” said Debbie Ratcliffe, spokeswoman for the Texas Education Agency. “This situation is somewhat different in that this speech apparently will be directed to students. But each district can decide how best to handle it for their community.”

State Board of Education member David Bradley, R-Beaumont, defines the dispute as a “turf issue” and objects to the U.S. Department of Education taking classroom time away from local schools. The speech might be innocuous, Bradley said, “but look at the follow-up activities.”

“Under Texas statute, parents have the right to review all instructional materials. They also have the right to opt out their kids from any program they might object to,” Bradley said, citing sex education as an example.

State Board member Barbara Cargill, R-The Woodlands, said parents are complaining to her about the speech taking up valuable and precious instruction time.

One parent told her Obama's speech does not allow for healthy debate. It simply “obligates the youngest children in our public school system to agree with Obama's initiatives or be ostracized by their teachers and classmates.”

Others defend the president's interaction with children.

“It's hard to imagine anything more ridiculous than attacking the president of the United States for talking to students about the importance of getting a good education and being a good citizen,” said Kathy Miller, president of the Texas Freedom Network, which monitors public education in Texas.

“I wish our elected leaders were responsible enough to denounce this kind of wild-eyed paranoia. But the problem is, too many of them are actually feeding this kind of nonsense – like when the governor flirts with secessionists and State Board of Education members say the President sympathizes with terrorists,” Miller said.

Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, also objects to the president's speech to schoolchildren.

“President Bush believed that no child should be left behind. President Obama apparently believes no voter should be left behind, no matter how young,” Patrick said. “This seems more of an extended campaign for himself, as opposed to focusing on the important issue of education.”

Todd Hickman said he already has informed the principal of his seventh-grade son in the Lumberton Independent School District in East Texas to excuse his child from the speech.

“I am the parent of my child. If I want to have a discussion with my child on any political issue or any in regards to what my child needs to do with their life and how people will interact with society and contribute to society, that's something I want to be able to do with my child,” Hickman said.

In 1989, President George H.W. Bush used a nationally televised speech to schoolchildren to push an anti-drug campaign. He urged young people to stop using drugs.

Hickman noted that he did not have children 20 years ago, but would have objected to Bush's speech to school children on the same grounds that he opposes Obama's address.

Obviously this whole thing stinks of racism and makes me even more ashamed to be American, it's embarrassing honestly I can't believe the stupidity and ignorance of some Americans(republicans).  Schools are actually not going to air this to their students and it's a shame, sigh.