Do MPs even live on this planet? - Page 2

SidewinderINC · 13-05-2008, 07:53

At primary school the only "homework" I got was for big projects that were maybe once a year for each subject area at most - and they were fun.
I don't even remember being worried in the slightest about the Y6 SATS, and that's not saying something about me or your kids, it's the way they've hyped up what the exams mean.

In Y9 the SATS did actually make a difference to schooling because in my school they determined what group you were put into, higher, middle or lower ability and then the teaching was geared for that.

I didn't even stress out for my GCSEs, the only time I started stressing was A2's and my 2nd and final years of uni.

I think they're putting far too much pressure on kids when they don't need to, you can give two people the same exam but pile the pressure onto one of them and say it's the end of the world if they fail and they'll probably do worse.

One of the reasons that they're giving homework now so young is because quite a lot of parents don't care about their kids education and think once they're in school they're being taught and don't need to teach them anything at home. Wheras good parents will attempt to teach their kids things in a casual way without being prompted by homework.

BBx · 13-05-2008, 09:38

That is not fair on the kiddies not fair at all

hope Soph is ok.

My GCSEs were good, I got an A in French and thought, yeah I'll ace this at A Level - how wrong was I?! The gap in language is astronomicial and I quite literally scraped through with a mitigating circumstances grade of E (later realising that because I was 1/5 people taking French as an option, we pretty had one to one tuition).

I got low grades at A Level, had I got the higher grades I would have gone to Bournemouth Uni which does the same course as the Uni I went to, but it wasn't modular, so I probably would have flunked that.

I ended up with 12 points and went to Anglia University in Cambridge, I learnt through a modular system, most of the basic skills which I use today - Photoship, DTP, HTML, PR.

I am one of the very few in my Uni class who have though... others are Estate Agents, Tottenham Coaches and Celebrity Bookers - so they haven't done too bad either really!

BB x

Dr. Z · 15-05-2008, 02:42

Have SATs changed significantly since someone of my age took them?

Without wanting to sound like I am tooting my own horn here, SATS were ludicrously easy - I remember taking them in Primary school and again in Year 9. I went to one of the best performing (grammar) schools in the country as far as league tables are concerned and there was absolutely 0 pressure like you are describing, no letters or anything like that. All in all, the experience was quite pleasant. What on earth is going through the minds of your LEA to do that kind of stuff to kids these days? Bonkers if you ask me!

I had to endure the AS/A2 debacle though. That was a bit of an arse.

divine · 15-05-2008, 02:59

I have to agree with DRZ, there was zero pressure on them at all for me (I took my KS3/Y9 exams in 2000 or so).

I did hardly any work for them at all and was 3 marks short of an Exceptional Performance (Level 9) grade in Science and well into Level 8 for Maths. They were laughably easy back when I took them. I don't see why pressure and difficulty should have increased. I wasn't even at a particularly great school, just the better 'normal' secondary school in the area. I don't remember anything being sent home more than a letter saying i'd have exams and so my teaching hours would change for the week.

Del Lardo · 15-05-2008, 03:57

I was in the first year to do SATS in year 9 when they were introduced. Our English teacher freaked out and put a load of pressure on us but our Science and Maths teachers were great. Our Science teacher took a few of us aside and told us that she was putting us in for the hard test as she had confidence in us but not to worry and our Maths teacher told us it was a load of bollox and not to even bother revising. I heeded his advice

Garp · 15-05-2008, 06:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by DRZ

Have SATs changed significantly since someone of my age took them?

Exam wise I'm not sure, but pressure wise, yeah. A schools funding can be critically affected by their league position, so pressure is put on teachers to ensure the students get good grades, which naturally ends up on the kids as well.

Lana · 15-05-2008, 12:51

My school was a University prep school, so we took PSAT's every year from year 7 until we did the actual thing. Thankfully they didn't put too much pressure on us...most of my classmates had intense parents who put the pressure on at home so the kids practically killed themselves with studying before they graduated.
We did take some exams when I was in grade school, but they were always really relaxed. I remember liking them because we got cookies and special treats from the teachers.

Jonny69 · 15-05-2008, 20:26

Well maybe I'm alone in theis thread that I agree with SATS and I totally appreciate what I learned at school and it has helped me in my working life in many ways.

I had SATS style exams at 7, 11 and pre GCSE exams at 14 to see if we were good enough and which sets to go into for GCSEs. It did us no harm at all other than to prepare us for working hard. We were told from about age 9 that we were working towards good GCSE and A level grades.

I had homework from about age 6, it's probably why I can read and write properly. I'm not having a dig at your kids Pebs because they're bright and well rounded, but you only have to look at the likes of OcUK and you can see that a lot of people aren't getting taught much at school.

Don't knock SATS. A bit of stress early on in life makes stressful situations later on in life a lot easier to deal with and really prepares them for more important exams. If you're used to doing exams they are easy, if you're not you'll be stressed out and unable to think.

I think that makes sense, I'll come back and re-write this tomorrow.

Haly · 15-05-2008, 20:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Position69

If you're used to doing exams they are easy, if you're not you'll be stressed out and unable to think.

Sorry but that's nonsense in my opinion. I've done exams ranging from SATS up to my Msc and not once have I felt any less stressed. I've always been very stressed with exams. Luckily I tend to do reasonably ok in exams but that doesn't stop me being extremely worried over them regardless of my age or the type of exams they are.
From what I've seen, it's exactly the same for my friend who's doing their final medical exams this year and must have had countless exams for the past 10 years nearly.

Good teaching makes intelligent children, not teaching them to pass exams, and there seems to be far too much focus on getting to the next step as opposed to learning and appreciating learning.

Jonny69 · 15-05-2008, 20:55

Everybody gets stressed doing exams, but imagine how much worse it would be if you'd never done one before. You don't walk in there shaking not knowing what to expect, you know the score because you're accustomed to it. Nothing wrong with a bit of practice in my opinion.

13-05-2008, 07:53	#11
SidewinderINC Joey Tempest Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Gravesend. Posts: 2,751	At primary school the only "homework" I got was for big projects that were maybe once a year for each subject area at most - and they were fun. I don't even remember being worried in the slightest about the Y6 SATS, and that's not saying something about me or your kids, it's the way they've hyped up what the exams mean. In Y9 the SATS did actually make a difference to schooling because in my school they determined what group you were put into, higher, middle or lower ability and then the teaching was geared for that. I didn't even stress out for my GCSEs, the only time I started stressing was A2's and my 2nd and final years of uni. I think they're putting far too much pressure on kids when they don't need to, you can give two people the same exam but pile the pressure onto one of them and say it's the end of the world if they fail and they'll probably do worse. One of the reasons that they're giving homework now so young is because quite a lot of parents don't care about their kids education and think once they're in school they're being taught and don't need to teach them anything at home. Wheras good parents will attempt to teach their kids things in a casual way without being prompted by homework. __________________ No Sig.

15-05-2008, 02:42	#13
Dr. Z I'm going for a scuttle... Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 2,021	Have SATs changed significantly since someone of my age took them? Without wanting to sound like I am tooting my own horn here, SATS were ludicrously easy - I remember taking them in Primary school and again in Year 9. I went to one of the best performing (grammar) schools in the country as far as league tables are concerned and there was absolutely 0 pressure like you are describing, no letters or anything like that. All in all, the experience was quite pleasant. What on earth is going through the minds of your LEA to do that kind of stuff to kids these days? Bonkers if you ask me! I had to endure the AS/A2 debacle though. That was a bit of an arse. __________________

15-05-2008, 02:59	#14
divine Moonshine Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Southampton Posts: 3,201	I have to agree with DRZ, there was zero pressure on them at all for me (I took my KS3/Y9 exams in 2000 or so). I did hardly any work for them at all and was 3 marks short of an Exceptional Performance (Level 9) grade in Science and well into Level 8 for Maths. They were laughably easy back when I took them. I don't see why pressure and difficulty should have increased. I wasn't even at a particularly great school, just the better 'normal' secondary school in the area. I don't remember anything being sent home more than a letter saying i'd have exams and so my teaching hours would change for the week. __________________

15-05-2008, 20:26	#18
Jonny69 Noob Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Socialist Republik of Kent Posts: 5,032	Well maybe I'm alone in theis thread that I agree with SATS and I totally appreciate what I learned at school and it has helped me in my working life in many ways. I had SATS style exams at 7, 11 and pre GCSE exams at 14 to see if we were good enough and which sets to go into for GCSEs. It did us no harm at all other than to prepare us for working hard. We were told from about age 9 that we were working towards good GCSE and A level grades. I had homework from about age 6, it's probably why I can read and write properly. I'm not having a dig at your kids Pebs because they're bright and well rounded, but you only have to look at the likes of OcUK and you can see that a lot of people aren't getting taught much at school. Don't knock SATS. A bit of stress early on in life makes stressful situations later on in life a lot easier to deal with and really prepares them for more important exams. If you're used to doing exams they are easy, if you're not you'll be stressed out and unable to think. I think that makes sense, I'll come back and re-write this tomorrow. __________________

15-05-2008, 20:55	#20
Jonny69 Noob Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Socialist Republik of Kent Posts: 5,032	Everybody gets stressed doing exams, but imagine how much worse it would be if you'd never done one before. You don't walk in there shaking not knowing what to expect, you know the score because you're accustomed to it. Nothing wrong with a bit of practice in my opinion. __________________

13-05-2008, 09:38	#12
BBx Reverse SuBo Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: London Posts: 8,673	That is not fair on the kiddies not fair at all hope Soph is ok. My GCSEs were good, I got an A in French and thought, yeah I'll ace this at A Level - how wrong was I?! The gap in language is astronomicial and I quite literally scraped through with a mitigating circumstances grade of E (later realising that because I was 1/5 people taking French as an option, we pretty had one to one tuition). I got low grades at A Level, had I got the higher grades I would have gone to Bournemouth Uni which does the same course as the Uni I went to, but it wasn't modular, so I probably would have flunked that. I ended up with 12 points and went to Anglia University in Cambridge, I learnt through a modular system, most of the basic skills which I use today - Photoship, DTP, HTML, PR. I am one of the very few in my Uni class who have though... others are Estate Agents, Tottenham Coaches and Celebrity Bookers - so they haven't done too bad either really! BB x

15-05-2008, 03:57	#15
Del Lardo Absinthe Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Cambridge Posts: 2,539	I was in the first year to do SATS in year 9 when they were introduced. Our English teacher freaked out and put a load of pressure on us but our Science and Maths teachers were great. Our Science teacher took a few of us aside and told us that she was putting us in for the hard test as she had confidence in us but not to worry and our Maths teacher told us it was a load of bollox and not to even bother revising. I heeded his advice

15-05-2008, 12:51	#17
Lana Long Island Iced Tea Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 242	My school was a University prep school, so we took PSAT's every year from year 7 until we did the actual thing. Thankfully they didn't put too much pressure on us...most of my classmates had intense parents who put the pressure on at home so the kids practically killed themselves with studying before they graduated. We did take some exams when I was in grade school, but they were always really relaxed. I remember liking them because we got cookies and special treats from the teachers.