Bad beat/Moaning/Venting thread - Mammy told me not to come.

[cardshark202]

Ok, I am genuinely interested in your answers to these:

How do you determine what kids at 4-18 would enjoy? (and keep within the constraint that it needs to be useful?)

Is the message that learning shouldn't be fun, and we shouldn't be having fun in school something that is given to students?

Wider selection? Like what? Give me an example of things we are missing?

What problem is continual assessment solving?

I'm not suggesting the whole of school is one big fun game, but I don't think the majority of kids are really engaged. Some will be bored because it's too easy, some will be bored because they can't understand the material (and there isn't that much time to help them as the teacher has a whole wealth of material to get through). Some will enjoy the subject, others will not.

How can we make that better? Well, my suggestion would be if you gave the students all the material at the beginning of the year, and each class was just time for them to work through that material (thinking things like video delivery and mini-quizzes after, with small projects and assignments throughout), then the teacher could focus more on just supporting the students who need it most. Get more one-one time. And the students who are doing really well, they could be encouraged to help other kids who are struggling.

I just think making classes more dynamic and engaging has a better chance of more kids coming out of it with a better educational outcome.

Continual assessment solves the problem of everything coming down to a couple of weeks at the end. How the hell is that better than having lots of small assessments and projects throughout the year?

Again, I'm speaking as someone who didn't struggle in school or anything. I just think it's failing too many right now.

[Guest]

How can we make that better? Well, my suggestion would be if you gave the students all the material at the beginning of the year, and each class was just time for them to work through that material (thinking things like video delivery and mini-quizzes after, with small projects and assignments throughout), then the teacher could focus more on just supporting the students who need it most. Get more one-one time. And the students who are doing really well, they could be encouraged to help other kids who are struggling.

I just think making classes more dynamic and engaging has a better chance of more kids coming out of it with a better educational outcome.

Continual assessment solves the problem of everything coming down to a couple of weeks at the end. How the hell is that better than having lots of small assessments and projects throughout the year?

Again, I'm speaking as someone who didn't struggle in school or anything. I just think it's failing too many right now.

Various well sounding ideas but I question how pragmatic much of these really are.

Where precisely do you expect this one on one time to come from?
You expect that by allowing average/stronger children to work at their own pace on projects, this will free up additional time for teachers to spend on weaker children. Is there much proof that providing this type of environment will encourage children that otherwise would be fine in conventional schooling to be self motivated enough to work on these projects?
Has it shown to improve the performance of any of these categories of children?

Any teacher will tell you that they spend additional extra time with weaker children but given the current ratios of 30:1 for most schools and 20:1 in best case scenario but highly disadvantaged in Deis 1, their time is incredibly limited. Some are supported by an SNA but again as any will tell you, there are huge obstacles for attaining an SNA who does more than simply work with the child with "needs".

You haven't shown anything that would suggest the reading ability, mathematical ability or any other skills are enhanced by using more interactive, continual assessment or small projects.
That's the goal, maximising children's potential over and above what they would achieve in conventional schooling.
I see nothing in anything you have said thus far that would suggest that would happen by fundamentally changing the delivery and assessment methods of schooling.

[Lazare]

Fuck me, I wish I had Strewel or Hitch as parents growing up

My post leaving cert appraisal was well done now go out and get a job to pay for college.

Optimal imo.

[Iago]

You would have to admit there's a pretty strong correlation between Good LC\Go to Uni = increased lifetime earnings.

You're an outlier. I'd call you a black swan except you're more of a wild turkey.

I think in general there's a correlation yes. However I also think that the leaving cert in and of itself doesn't add up to much. The correlation occurs because it's the only system that's available to make further education available.

I think at 16-17 years of age (I had just turned 17 when I sat the leaving) it's a huge amount of pressure on very young shoulders that are already trying to cope with a hell of a lot emotionally and mentally. Certainly, for my part, it was a bridge too far at that point in my life and I put precisely zero time into preparing for it. It wasn't a lack of ability so much as a lack of concentrated effort at that point.

I think that if there was another system available that offered an opportunity for further education, one that was based on ability and desire rather than a forced two year immersion in subjects that may not be what you are interested in but provide the most points for university then we would have a real understanding of the specific correlation of good LC/go to uni = better opportunities.

It's partly for that reason that I'm in favour of TY, my nephew recently completed TY in his school and while he had class time it wasn't subject based as such, more about ethics, relationships and real life skills if you will. Added to that he had the opportunity to pursue 3 internships in different companies to help him get a feel for what he might be interested in after school.

Now while I think those internships are very poor indicators of what somebody might want to dedicate themselves to, I also think it's better than being sat in a class for a year and will still develop the sense of responsibility and a sense of what a working life is like.

Most importantly it's an extra year of maturity ahead of the two year game that is the leaving cert. It's not so much what you know, as what you can hold and regurgitate on exam day to game the university entrance system.

[shrapnel]

what a lot of you are advocating is an international baccalaureate style of education (this was an option from my kids to go into). It really is a great learning platform, but sadly not very well recognised by a lot of universities, so limits its appeal.

[Raoul Duke III]

17 year old kids were out getting shot in previous generations. Pressure me hole.

All kids are in the same boat. I actually think it might be the pressure of the LC that helps make the Irish such good workers (there's always a large group of Irish at or near the top management layers of all the big MNCs).

[Raoul Duke III]

One thing I notice now is my eldest in her first year of secondary. She has frequent tests and this is a massive shock to her. She is literally learning, for the first time, how to study and do exams.

When did kids stop doing exams in primary school? We had them every summer from junior infants up and they were competitive, with prizes for the best. Teach 'em how to do exams at that age and it becomes second nature imo.

[Raoul Duke III]

Apropos of 'pressure', I think it was Keith Miller (legendary Aussie cricketer, partygoer, punter and WW2 fighter pilot) who was once asked by a sports reporter about the pressure of playing in the Ashes.

His response: "Pressure? Pressure is a Messerschmit up your arse at 20,000 feet."

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

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[Raoul Duke III]

Youre kinda assuming there that exams are 'learning'. Its some form of learning. Just not a great form.

Theres nothing in the school curriculum that is valuable enough to subsequently remember for the rest of your life, so putting the emphasis on memory is a false dissection of student ability.

France loves testing. The eldest (8) must have had about 50 tests so far this year. I'd say about 95% of her grades are As as she has a phenomenal memory. But if you ask her what anything in the exams actually means she has almost zero idea. I just don't get why, at pre-high school level, they are testing memory and not innate understanding. Its setting up the rules for life all wrong.

My point is not about learning subjects.

It's about learning how to study effectively and prepare for exams. Things which teach really good habits of focus, time management and executing under pressure.

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

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[Goodluck2me]

They certainly dont make them like that anymore.

Came across this earlier, looking back, i should have taken up guitar when i first regretted not..would have been this good now !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OG__SwkV3wg

Very enjoyable thanks

The whole education system is completely broken.

If you look back on your life, career, whatever else - leaving cert has very little bearing on it in my opinion. No one asks about how you did in the leaving cert in a job interview. Well not in too many industries I don't think.

Despite moving to a client who approached me after 10yrd experience, it still came up in interview.

One thing I think every student could do with, especially nowadays and into the future is a dedicated class or curriculum for critical thinking. Although theres debate whether it can be taught.

Completely agree with this, the skill of debating, forming an argument through critical reasoning and logic, whilst having the confidence and ability to deliver it in front of a crowd would be very useful in some many future lines of work.

I'm not suggesting the whole of school is one big fun game, but I don't think the majority of kids are really engaged. Some will be bored because it's too easy, some will be bored because they can't understand the material (and there isn't that much time to help them as the teacher has a whole wealth of material to get through). Some will enjoy the subject, others will not.

How can we make that better? Well, my suggestion would be if you gave the students all the material at the beginning of the year, and each class was just time for them to work through that material (thinking things like video delivery and mini-quizzes after, with small projects and assignments throughout), then the teacher could focus more on just supporting the students who need it most. Get more one-one time. And the students who are doing really well, they could be encouraged to help other kids who are struggling.

I just think making classes more dynamic and engaging has a better chance of more kids coming out of it with a better educational outcome.

Most kids won’t be engaged in anything general at that age, some like football some like music some like computers, what do you to solve that? I don’t think solving for maximum interest levels is necessarily better, there is value in society for people having a minimum capability in a range of subjects, interesting or not, like history or basic maths and English.

To quote Shakespeare, with no hint of irony... “If all the year were playing holidays, To sport would be as tedious as to work.”

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

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[Guest]

One thing I notice now is my eldest in her first year of secondary. She has frequent tests and this is a massive shock to her. She is literally learning, for the first time, how to study and do exams.

When did kids stop doing exams in primary school? We had them every summer from junior infants up and they were competitive, with prizes for the best. Teach 'em how to do exams at that age and it becomes second nature imo.

My 7 y.o. has spelling and maths test every Friday.

[Hectorjelly]

What does Khan Academy do that's so revolutionary? It's a person explaining concepts, just like school. The concepts don't change. It's hard, it requires some blood, sweat, and tears to understand. Gamification doesn't change that.

Maths for children should not involve blood sweat and tears. The big difference in the Khan academy, is that it is customer focused. They prioritise what works.

[Hectorjelly]

Justify this statement.

I passed Irish in the leaving cert despite knowing no Irish. I was good at maths, so found it quite enjoyable, but I had no idea what the point of anything I was doing was. I love English literature, to this day my main hobby is reading - but at school an awful old woman took us line by line through Silas Mariner. Almost every subject is taught in a way to mininise the chance that the students will find an interest in it, or an application outside of a the leaving cert.

[Strewelpeter]

Fuck me, I wish I had Strewel or Hitch as parents growing up

LOL
If I had to use a bribery as incentive the dividend would have been paid as rent and college expenses!

The dilemma Wombatman was asking about is a very common and hugely difficult one to deal with and while I was joking bribery has been known to work for certain teenagers, there are many more though where it would be the absolutely wrong thing.
There is no amount of smarts in the world that can compensate for the universal truth that teenagers know everything, are right about everything and are incapable of imagining a future that is different from the one they want to see

[Goodluck2me]

Youre kinda assuming there that exams are 'learning'. Its some form of learning. Just not a great form.

Theres nothing in the school curriculum that is valuable enough to subsequently remember for the rest of your life, so putting the emphasis on memory is a false dissection of student ability.

France loves testing. The eldest (8) must have had about 50 tests so far this year. I'd say about 95% of her grades are As as she has a phenomenal memory. But if you ask her what anything in the exams actually means she has almost zero idea. I just don't get why, at pre-high school level, they are testing memory and not innate understanding. Its setting up the rules for life all wrong.

That would appear to be a failure of the tests than a problem with testing.

The problem with this argument is that it inevitably leads to suggestions that people should have the option to do apprenticeships instead of formal education - or whatever that practical alternative that they have in Germany.

But if you delve a bit into those arguments its nearly always made by uni educated folk from good backgrounds who would never envisage that for their children, but rather for children of people from poorer backgrounds. They innately don't think poorer background kids have the same intellect.

This is obviously not addressed at you. But it is common. E.g. the Tories love proposing this type of dual-system education where the poor get hived off into jobs where they can be of servile assistance to the better off.

The arguments against formal education like the LC that prepare students for third level were made in the same way back when secondary school was made obligatory. There was a widespread view that it was unnecessary. The reality is that third level is now the same as secondary school in the 60s and we shouldn't try to be smart about overthinking that.

I think it should also be about opportunities on exit, if everyone is to go to college then a master degree is needed for differentiation, then a PHD etc. I am university educated and my philosophy for children is that they should do whatever they want, but be the best at it. I’d rather they were the best plumber in Dublin than the worst barrister. My view is that if you excel at anything you’ll make it work. Maximizing your leaving cert has never been an impediment to future success, and given how tough it is for teenagers to decide what they want to do in life, it gives them the most options.

It’s clear the current system is probably putting too many people through university and we are going to have a practical skill shortage in trades in the next decade or so as people unsuited to college go due to peer pressure/parental coercion/lack of options, that should in turn create scarcity opportunities for people who do go down that road.

[Strewelpeter]

Maths for children should not involve blood sweat and tears.

And it doesn't matter whether its the Khan academy, a great teacher or a struggling to overcome a bad teacher no one will get anywhere with their maths without practice, practice and more practice and that must include what are effectively test problem sets.

[Goodluck2me]

I passed Irish in the leaving cert despite knowing no Irish. I was good at maths, so found it quite enjoyable, but I had no idea what the point of anything I was doing was. I love English literature, to this day my main hobby is reading - but at school an awful old woman took us line by line through Silas Mariner. Almost every subject is taught in a way to mininise the chance that the students will find an interest in it, or an application outside of a the leaving cert.

I think that may have had more to do with the teacher than the subjects/curriculum though.

Likewise I was much better suited to maths and science than languages and I struggled through them, but a good German teacher meant I left school with better fluency in German after 2 years learning than Irish after 6. Also I was more focused on improving at that stage so it was more of an open door.

Where I’d agree with you is on Irish, where it’s taught like English with prose and poetry, despite most have little spoken fluency, a better approach would be to change the weighting to add more to the aural and oral exams I think.

Maths for children should not involve blood sweat and tears. The big difference in the Khan academy, is that it is customer focused. They prioritise what works.

I don’t think it does today tbh.

[Guest]

Such BS on last few pages.
If you are not equipping your kids how to survive in a feudal system resource scarce wasteland you are failing them.

[Strewelpeter]

Theres nothing in the school curriculum that is valuable enough to subsequently remember for the rest of your life

Yes there is, Shakespeare and poetry.

Fuck Shakespeare in the bin in English class and give kids a list of 100 books and let them pick what suits them

[ionapaul]

At least 1/2 of the subjects I took in secondary I look back relatively fondly on, either because of the fact the teacher was good/inspirational or that the subject itself greatly interested me. Can't agree that all subjects are taught in a way that automatically diminishes interest, that's just subjective obviously.

Continuous assessment is a great idea and should be more incorporated, but think in Ireland you run up against the unions when proposing this kind of thing and nothing really happens (they'll never be openly outright against the idea, just will demand so much $$$ or tweaks to improve their own lot that the Dept of Ed will eventually give up).

[Solksjaer!]

Tis all much ado about nothing.

[Strewelpeter]

Such BS on last few pages.
If you are not equipping your kids how to survive in a feudal system resource scarce wasteland you are failing them.

Speaking of which, that is exactly what some of the vast sums I have poured into education have produced

Number 2 son has put together this android game about a mother and her child trying to survive in a post apocalyptic wasteland for a college project

Download from google play for free here

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=dk.dadiu.overgrown

Looks and plays quite well if you are into that kind of thing, feel free to leave it a fair review and constructive comments if you like it and ignore it if you don't.

There is a gameplay video here the reviewer seems to have a good impression of it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Agd5rIFREOw

[Guest]

I passed Irish in the leaving cert despite knowing no Irish. I was good at maths, so found it quite enjoyable, but I had no idea what the point of anything I was doing was. I love English literature, to this day my main hobby is reading - but at school an awful old woman took us line by line through Silas Mariner. Almost every subject is taught in a way to mininise the chance that the students will find an interest in it, or an application outside of a the leaving cert.

That prick Mariner with his 2000 or 4000 silver pieces beyond grim that was trying to feign interest in it.

[Mellor]

Yes there is, Shakespeare and poetry.

Out of curiosity, why do you say that about Shakespeare?
I can still remember the "The Quality of Mercy" monologue from junior cert English, it's been nearly 20 years and it has been useful exactly zero times.
Do get me wrong, I thing English literature is hugely important. But I'm not convinced that Shakespeare is more valuable than any of the modern options.

[Tar.Aldarion]

Silas Marner, what bad memories! I read 4 books a week as a kid - and continued that pace for about a decade, never came across a book I didn't like apart from ones prescribed in school. If I had no interest, how could anybody?

The amount of ABYSMAL teachers as well is a huge problem. You can have the worst or best teacher and it affects you massively. I had a math teacher people traveled from around Ireland to get grinds from yet I had a chemistry teacher that I don't know if they taught me one thing. He's probably still there teaching.

I think primary school took a lot of motivation out of me, just being taught at the completely wrong speed due to them having to teach 33 other children too.
We had tests, they were things like spell horse or add 8+7. Now some people found that easier than breathing and some struggled but there has to be some better way to handle it.
The way they handled it for me was poor.

[Denny Crane]

I'm not so sure. Philosophy is boring (if worthy) and far too complex to do justice to at a young age.

Teach kids things like fabtech instead of mechanical engineering. Use almost exclusively only case studies to teach business, economics, and accounting. Gamify and personalise maths a bit as every learns that at different speeds. Fuck Shakespeare in the bin in English class and give kids a list of 100 books and let them pick what suits them - then don't analyse every sentence of it. Teach foreign languages in emersion settings - like make the entire language of the school obligatory French for two weeks every few months rather than silly 40 minute lessons. Have sprint design sessions where students work together in teams to build new apps. Don't teach them Microsoft Word in painful detail in computer class. Every person in the world has worked out how to use Word all by themselves. Stop wasting kids time because teachers got a qualification at the age of 21 and think that's enough to have them teaching for the next 50 years.

I should point out that France is woeful at all this stuff. The schooling system was set up by Napolean to prepare future officers and hasn't deviated much ever since. Universities are even worse, largely consisting of professors shouting formulas at students and no interaction. People pay €10k a year to go to business schools rather than free uni as theyve worked out how ill suited unis are for a proper career.

I'd never have read Shakespeare independently at that age, and English as subject didn't interest me, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading him. Classics was a favourite too. Throwing those away would leave people without the benefits of a classical education.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7-ma9fX0f4

My school used to stream people at the beginning, the few got sent to do classics, and the rest to do woodwork. No choice allowed. Seems bizarre now.

[Keane]

The best argument that school is failing children is that some educated people don't see the value of Shakespeare.

[luckforsome]

...Officially pushing forward with Trump impeachment...

[Strewelpeter]

Out of curiosity, why do you say that about Shakespeare?
I can still remember the "The Quality of Mercy" monologue from junior cert English, it's been nearly 20 years and it has been useful exactly zero times.
Do get me wrong, I thing English literature is hugely important. But I'm not convinced that Shakespeare is more valuable than any of the modern options.

The best argument that school is failing children is that some educated people don't see the value of Shakespeare.

I'm no great student of the arts but I do spend a lot of time reading, watching films and TV and trips to the theatre, I don't think I've come across any aspect of humanity that Shakespeare hadn't already covered and I haven't seen even half his plays on stage yet.

Off the page the language looks archaic and stilted but performed well it just flows and carries you along.

[Jibzzzz]

Drama at Inish in the Abbey, yay or nay?

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

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[Theresa]

I'm not suggesting the whole of school is one big fun game, but I don't think the majority of kids are really engaged. Some will be bored because it's too easy, some will be bored because they can't understand the material (and there isn't that much time to help them as the teacher has a whole wealth of material to get through). Some will enjoy the subject, others will not.

How can we make that better? Well, my suggestion would be if you gave the students all the material at the beginning of the year, and each class was just time for them to work through that material (thinking things like video delivery and mini-quizzes after, with small projects and assignments throughout), then the teacher could focus more on just supporting the students who need it most. Get more one-one time. And the students who are doing really well, they could be encouraged to help other kids who are struggling.

I just think making classes more dynamic and engaging has a better chance of more kids coming out of it with a better educational outcome.



Again, I'm speaking as someone who didn't struggle in school or anything. I just think it's failing too many right now.

I would agree a lot of kids aren't engaged. Engagement is literally the hardest thing to get from people. Look at all of the sneaky tools the mega corps the world over use to foster engagement. But I don't necessarily think its down to the teaching methods, or curriculum or subject choice. I think its down to the teacher themselves.

Don't students get all the material at the start of the year? Most of my subjects were textbook based as had that up front. If they don't and teaching has moved on then I think if this is something valuable it'd relatively easy to implement.
Encouraging the smart kid, to help the not smart kid, likely won't work out as you expect, although I do think in the right environment that it would be an incredible thing. Perhaps training teachers in team building and culture building (like the mega corps do lol).

Agree making classes more dynamic and engaging, although no matter what you do, this is largely down to the teacher him or herself. Teachers should be taught leadership skills if they aren't already.

Ultimately, the success of the education system is small part the curriculum and environment and large part the teachers.

Arming the teachers with the goods is a much better use of time than fancy pseudo gamification.

Continual assessment solves the problem of everything coming down to a couple of weeks at the end. How the hell is that better than having lots of small assessments and projects throughout the year?

Also, I am still to hear any argument as to why continuous assessment is the be all and end all.

The premise of the above is incorrect and what I said before was probably unfair, and badly phrased.

Yes the testing is all in a couple weeks at the end, but the prep, discipline, hard work and habits formed to do well in the exams are continuous, at least for 60% of people. The top 20% can likely skate through given the format, and the bottom 20% unfortunately won't do well in any environment.

Continuous assessment sounds great, but the practicality of it and the cost seem disproportionate to the actual benefit vs the status quo (happy to read things that challenge this).

[Denny Crane]

lols. You're worse than the witches at the beginning of Macbeth with the pot-stirring. Do justifying Irish next!

Clandestine conversations on holiday.

[Theresa]

On a completely related shit talk topic.

Is anyone around for a pint over the xmas break? I'm home for a bit and there are many many people here I've met before and would pint with again. Fine pintmen.

And others who I haven't and would love to pint with.

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

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[Keane]

lols. You're worse than the witches at the beginning of Macbeth with the pot-stirring. Do justifying Irish next!

Ná bí aineolach.

[V for Vendetta]

Such BS on last few pages.
If you are not equipping your kids how to survive in a feudal system resource scarce wasteland you are failing them.

Brought little Miss V to the panto on Sunday. She spent her time jabbing her sword at the baddie whenever he appeared. I asked her afterwards what she would do if he came up to to where we were seated and she told me “I’d stab him in the face Daddy and cut off his head”. Proud Dad moment. Lol

[V for Vendetta]

On a completely related shit talk topic.

Is anyone around for a pint over the xmas break? I'm home for a bit and there are many many people here I've met before and would pint with again. Fine pintmen.

And others who I haven't and would love to pint with.

Great idea and I don’t drink but I’ll join for a bit of a catchup.

[Theresa]

Great idea and I don’t drink but I’ll join for a bit of a catchup.

Could we do the horse head e-lite? Since I know Im not baller enough to be in the HHE.

[Raoul Duke III]

Shakespeare was largely a series of gossip plays about the privileged classes, as that's what was popular at the time. It has just being reinterpreted as something with far deeper meaning than it originally had. The typical audience at the globe was not turning up for political insights!

Lust, avarice, murder. Fantasy, sci-fi. Comedy.

Shakespeare had the full range.

[Raoul Duke III]

Brought little Miss V to the panto on Sunday. She spent her time jabbing her sword at the baddie whenever he appeared. I asked her afterwards what she would do if he came up to to where we were seated and she told me “I’d stab him in the face Daddy and cut off his head”. Proud Dad moment. Lol

Takes after the mother imo.

[Solksjaer!]

Lust, avarice, murder. Fantasy, sci-fi. Comedy.

Shakespeare had the full range.

Team of writers .

[Solksjaer!]

Takes after the mother imo.

Limerick wan?

[cardshark202]

Various well sounding ideas but I question how pragmatic much of these really are.

Where precisely do you expect this one on one time to come from?
You expect that by allowing average/stronger children to work at their own pace on projects, this will free up additional time for teachers to spend on weaker children. Is there much proof that providing this type of environment will encourage children that otherwise would be fine in conventional schooling to be self motivated enough to work on these projects?
Has it shown to improve the performance of any of these categories of children?

Any teacher will tell you that they spend additional extra time with weaker children but given the current ratios of 30:1 for most schools and 20:1 in best case scenario but highly disadvantaged in Deis 1, their time is incredibly limited. Some are supported by an SNA but again as any will tell you, there are huge obstacles for attaining an SNA who does more than simply work with the child with "needs".

You haven't shown anything that would suggest the reading ability, mathematical ability or any other skills are enhanced by using more interactive, continual assessment or small projects.
That's the goal, maximising children's potential over and above what they would achieve in conventional schooling.
I see nothing in anything you have said thus far that would suggest that would happen by fundamentally changing the delivery and assessment methods of schooling.

Again I never purported to have all the answers or that all my thoughts were backed up by scientific research. I would need to examine literature on the subject to validate some of this. Much of it probably requires testing.

I would agree a lot of kids aren't engaged. Engagement is literally the hardest thing to get from people. Look at all of the sneaky tools the mega corps the world over use to foster engagement. But I don't necessarily think its down to the teaching methods, or curriculum or subject choice. I think its down to the teacher themselves.

Don't students get all the material at the start of the year? Most of my subjects were textbook based as had that up front. If they don't and teaching has moved on then I think if this is something valuable it'd relatively easy to implement.
Encouraging the smart kid, to help the not smart kid, likely won't work out as you expect, although I do think in the right environment that it would be an incredible thing. Perhaps training teachers in team building and culture building (like the mega corps do lol).

Agree making classes more dynamic and engaging, although no matter what you do, this is largely down to the teacher him or herself. Teachers should be taught leadership skills if they aren't already.

Ultimately, the success of the education system is small part the curriculum and environment and large part the teachers.

Arming the teachers with the goods is a much better use of time than fancy pseudo gamification.



Also, I am still to hear any argument as to why continuous assessment is the be all and end all.

The premise of the above is incorrect and what I said before was probably unfair, and badly phrased.

Yes the testing is all in a couple weeks at the end, but the prep, discipline, hard work and habits formed to do well in the exams are continuous, at least for 60% of people. The top 20% can likely skate through given the format, and the bottom 20% unfortunately won't do well in any environment.

Continuous assessment sounds great, but the practicality of it and the cost seem disproportionate to the actual benefit vs the status quo (happy to read things that challenge this).

Getting the 'material' at the start of the year in the form of a textbook is one thing. But I'm talking about video delivery and interactive quizzes, combined with real-world examples. Then classes are all about teachers helping pupils through some of the material.

Some of these ideas would need serious investment, I know. But I think, much of that should come from taxes on corporations. Since the whole system is built to funnel people into the rat race at the end of it all.

Just ideas anyway. If I have time over Christmas, I'll see if I can research some of them.

[dobby]

2 standing tickets for Hozier tomorrow night in 3arena. Both of us smothered with colds and wont make it. Face value €80. IPB discount available

[Kayroo]

2 standing tickets for Hozier tomorrow night in 3arena. Both of us smothered with colds and wont make it. Face value €80. IPB discount available

PM Sent

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

...

[Theresa]

Getting the 'material' at the start of the year in the form of a textbook is one thing. But I'm talking about video delivery and interactive quizzes, combined with real-world examples. Then classes are all about teachers helping pupils through some of the material.

Some of these ideas would need serious investment, I know. But I think, much of that should come from taxes on corporations. Since the whole system is built to funnel people into the rat race at the end of it all.

Just ideas anyway. If I have time over Christmas, I'll see if I can research some of them.

Or... come for a pint and we can ignore research and just sip and exchange opinions?

[Lazare]

Good to see you back in here Reggie.

[Strewelpeter]

What on earth is going on with that 5 card Omaha thread

[dobby]

What on earth is going on with that 5 card Omaha thread

Remember PeaceAndFire. She hasn't gone away obvs lol.

Saying that, no idea if shes also the OP, bit mad tbf

[Emmet]

Will 100% go for pints if P&F is going to be there.

[Lazare]

Ugh, insta ban please Dom. Can't have that fucking psycho around here.

[Solksjaer!]

??? Always thought Emmet was a gent Lazare.

[Lazare]

We've had our fair share of monkey nuts in here, remember that guy who tried to impress everyone with a fake taste in obscure movies and a fake baby..
That was the maddest.

Then DBC, remember him.

[dobby]

Will 100% go for pints if P&F is going to be there.

You dont want her there. Accused dice of assaulting her even though they've never actually met. Imagine what she would come up with after booze is involved

[Solksjaer!]

Will 100% go for pints if P&F is going to be there.

You love kornage obv. Me too. Who is she anyway ? Pic ?