What's the use? Not too sound defeatist, but your local MP doesn't give a squat about you. All they care about is getting Ten years as a MP so they quality for a nice juicy pension.
The educational system in at least 2 states (NSW & QLD) has went downhill over the past 20 odd years. One can only notice this by looking at todays youth - who have horrid spelling, grammar, and cannot count for the love of life. These are the basics. If they cannot get the basics right, God help them when it comes to more complex educational subjects.
You can have all of the educational degrees you like, and still be a useless teacher. They are not the only mark of ability. I compare this to the many that I see with computer science degrees, who couldn't troubleshoot a problem if their lives depended on it. Hell, they don't even seem to teach networking skills as part of the basic computer science degree!
My advice to teachers is to:
1) remove DVDs/Videos when it comes to English subjects. Make the kids actually read and comprehend the literature
2) remove calculators. Make them use slide rules, make them think and use their brains for maths.
3) Ban mobile phones from school premises. Sorry, but there's no need for a kid to have such a device. For all those that would disagree with me - if they're so critical, how the hell did I, and many others of my generation and older, survive without one? mmm? Care to answer that one?
4) Ban the Internet @ school. Let them research using books. Actual books. Too many kids are copying/pasting whole paragraphs from the Internet and becoming adept at being parrots. They do not comprehend what they are studying, they simply parrot phrases. This is again, a major problem with the modern degree imho, and probably half the reason why most modern teachers are failures imho.
I'm more interested in fixing the problems than twiddling my thumbs. Unfortunately, politicians are thumb twiddlers. Nothing more, and nothing less.
Dave
Quote:
Originally Posted by DJDD
I suspect a few of those who have replied have children and are concerned about your children's education.
so, after reading and responding to this thread lamenting the state of our education system, how many of you will be writing to your federal or state members of parliament demanding some action? whether it be to increase teacher's salary, entry requirements, improve the teaching of spelling/grammar, etc.
or perhaps consider changing careers to teaching so that you can help improve the quality of education in our country...
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