U.k school system

[Mathmaniac]

I don't have a problem with homeschooling in general. In many school districts, their education leaves something to be desired. However, the parent(s) involved in the homeschooling should be able to teach all subjects through senior year of high school. I am not expecting every parent to be able to teach calculus or statistics, but trigonometry, geometry and algebra should be taught.

According to a recent testing of students worldwide (I will find the link later), the United States students are actually quite a bit above the world average for 4th and 8th grade math and science. When and how that happened, I have no idea.

tcliffy, when are you planning on going for your masters in England?

[tcliffy]

I have 1 1/2 more years to complete here at which time I will recieve my B.A. in History. I then plan on going elsewhere to get a master's in Education. The only uni I've found that offers such a program in the UK, however, is Canterbury Christ Church University.

[Mathmaniac]

Are you looking for a MA in Education in general, MA in History Education, or an MA in History? From what I've heard from high schools, they generally prefer an MA in History over Education, but that may only be up here around NJ/NY area.

An MA in History Education is a bit harder to find, but check out the Institute of Education. As for MA in history, there are many more places where you can go.

[tcliffy]

No, I need an education degree. As I'm already getting a B.A. in History, I needed a program that would allow me to pursue a new field of study, that being education and the University in Canterbury is the only one in South England that I was able to find. I may end up staying right where I am though.

[Jude Andrew]

Have you considered Ireland?? We have one of the best education systems in Europe (apparently )

[tcliffy]

I hadn't considered it. However, perhaps I will look into it. Thanks for the suggestion.

[TEB]

I kind of like the idea of Ireland as well. Or Scotland.

[gibbeyniacraven]

erm...does anybody know what school(s) the boys attend? (Especially Tom)




*I'M NOT A CREEEEEPER!!!

[TEB]

erm...does anybody know what school(s) the boys attend? (Especially Tom)




*I'M NOT A CREEEEEPER!!!

For the safety and security of the boys, the schools they attend are not released to the public.

[gibbeyniacraven]

sad sad...*weeps* oh well...I understand, though, if there were to be some loon...well, we all remember the Beatles! (not funny.)

[TullyBascombe]

According to a recent testing of students worldwide (I will find the link later), the United States students are actually quite a bit above the world average for 4th and 8th grade math and science. When and how that happened, I have no idea.

I don't think that's news. In past surveys American students in elementary and middle school levels have held their own against European and Asian students. It's in the upper level of high school that Americans have tended to fair less well against students in Asia and Europe. Many Asian and European nations seperate their high school aged students according to test scores, moving the lower scoring ones towards trade schools and keeping the higher scorers in the academic track. This is rarely done in the US, where most school systems are even required to "mainstream" learning disabled students. It's likely that the reason you here of how poorly American students score against students in Asia and Europe is that the population of students tested in the US is a broader representation of the general population.

[Mathmaniac]

So the idea with mainstreaming the students who are learning disabled is to try and bring them up to the same standard as other students. I like the idea, however what normally happens is that other students become lax as they will not be as challenged, and therefore fall into a realm of mediocrity. We also seem to place alot (too much?) stress on a college education. Many jobs want a college education, though they don't care which college or what your major was. The American educational system is quite flawed, but I'll see what I can do to improve it, even if only for a few students.

[plumpuff6]

But, I suck at math!! I'm homeschooled and math wasn't my mother's strongest subject so now I'm suffering too! And for a while she was basically ignoring us so I had to do my math all by myself and hope that I got the problems right! At least I can say I'm better at it than my sister Amanda...

This is one of the reasons I am more or less against homeschooling. Parents are not really qualified to be teaching important subjects such as math. And no matter how much the school district says they are watching over the homeschooling, there are those who get away with not doing it correctly. There is a friend of mine in my Civil War unit who is letting his wife homeschool their children. The one boy, I think he is 10, only learned to read just this year. And he is not disabled in anyway. I could read my alphabet at 5 and simple stuff at 6. Regular books by 10 and I was taught in public school.

I think it depends on the parent. I was homeschooled from age 9-13, and when I went to 7th grade I was ahead of all of my classmates in every subject. My mom decided that after elementary school she wouldn't homeschool us because she didn't think she'd be able to teach the harder math and science that comes in high school very well; she could have done grade 7-8 but wanted us to get acclimated to school again before high school.

But I do know what you mean about homeschooling...Some of my friends who were homeschooled were definitely behind in their schoolwork when they did come to school. That being said I am not a huge fan of the educational system here in the US...too many kids get promoted to the next grade level when they are not ready to move on.

[tcliffy]

Yes, and then they keep everyone else back. That was what frustrated me. I was always fairly quick on the uptake, but could never move forward because other students were... well... they just took longer. I never got around to learning what I wanted to learn due to having to wait for others. Honours classes didn't help either.

I'm all for home schooling because if done right it's good. My friend graduated high school 1 week before getting her associates degree from college. She was younger than me too and we graduated the same year.

[yo-tiffa-gurt]

i am not home schooled, but I do have friends that are,and boy they are smart (and they are all geniuses in piano.) It really depends on the family. If the child is capable of picking things up easily and the parent can teach, then they wouldn't be a bad candidate for home schooling. If the child is a bit slower, it might be best to stick them in a class where there is a professional teaching and the student to teacher ratio is low, 20:1. I remember in elementary school, lots of kids would be held back, but they were the slower ones. then there were the ones who really didn't apply and got Ds in every class, yet they still moved on to the next grade. Me personally, i've always been the youngest in my grade (stupid late november birthday)and never had trouble in school. But back on to the topic, it truly depends on the individual whether to home school your kid or not. And a lot like tcliffy, my parents really want to send me abroad to study for at least two years in england, i also want to go abroad.