Une reponse a
http://www.buzzfeed.com/assmamaad/a-quoi-ressemble-un-enseignant-le-tumblr-qui-veut-lutter
Cette article parle d'un Tumblr qui montre les profs, qui qulequefois ne sont pas comme les stereotypes. Et les steretypes? Ils sont les gens blancs, avec des lunettes, qui sont mal habilles. Mais ca, c'est pas vrai!
Ma mere travaille dans une ecole primaire, et je suis etudiant, donc je suis interesse sur l'education. Beaucoup des jeunes sont pas gentils sur leur enseignants, mais ce Tumblr peut montrer qu'ils sont les gens aussi. Ils ont les passions et les familles, et quelquefois l'humeur!
Dans un monde qui est plein de discrimination, c'est une bonne chose de montrer que les gens ne sont pas toujours les stereotypes - mais quelquefois ils sont. Mais tous les gens sont important, et differentes.
C'est trop court et il n'ya pas des accents et c'est inexact, donc je suis desolee encore une fois.
Friday, 6 November 2015
Thursday, 5 November 2015
Youth and Marriage
A response to :
http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/nov/05/myth-the-young-have-turned-their-backs-on-marriage
It tells us that this is due to many reasons, such as the economy, feminism, and delayed motherhood. Marriage has become associated with the patriarchy and the oppression of LGBT+ rights, things that most young British people today do not agree with.
I agree with this. Recently in French, we were discussing the future, and as part of that what our opinions were on marriage. Whilst I understand that some people think it is more stable to have children in a marriage, and it is important morally or religiously, for me there are negative factors which outweigh this. Marriages are expensive; we are in a poor economic situation. The law has changed, and divorce is becoming easier (as we can see by the high rates), so it is not necessarily more secure to have children in wedlock.
There are young people who marry, and I don't disagree with this. I am a strong believer in making decisions that suit you the best, and so if they are confident and happy in a sturdy relationship, why should marriage be a problem?
However, for me the best reason for marriage (aside from for love) is for religious reasons. The article states that countries such as India, which tend to be much more religious than Western countries, have much higher marriage rates. This makes sense - you don't want to go against your religion.
So, as the article concludes, young people aren't turning their back on marrying. In other countries, the strong customs continue. In Britain, there are people who want to marry too. Yes, there are people who (like me) don't see the point in it. But marriage has simply changed along with our culture. To stay alive, things must evolve, as marriage has.
(Not sure what the point of this was. Sorry I'm not the best at updating. I will try to at least three times a week though.)
http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/nov/05/myth-the-young-have-turned-their-backs-on-marriage
It tells us that this is due to many reasons, such as the economy, feminism, and delayed motherhood. Marriage has become associated with the patriarchy and the oppression of LGBT+ rights, things that most young British people today do not agree with.
I agree with this. Recently in French, we were discussing the future, and as part of that what our opinions were on marriage. Whilst I understand that some people think it is more stable to have children in a marriage, and it is important morally or religiously, for me there are negative factors which outweigh this. Marriages are expensive; we are in a poor economic situation. The law has changed, and divorce is becoming easier (as we can see by the high rates), so it is not necessarily more secure to have children in wedlock.
There are young people who marry, and I don't disagree with this. I am a strong believer in making decisions that suit you the best, and so if they are confident and happy in a sturdy relationship, why should marriage be a problem?
However, for me the best reason for marriage (aside from for love) is for religious reasons. The article states that countries such as India, which tend to be much more religious than Western countries, have much higher marriage rates. This makes sense - you don't want to go against your religion.
So, as the article concludes, young people aren't turning their back on marrying. In other countries, the strong customs continue. In Britain, there are people who want to marry too. Yes, there are people who (like me) don't see the point in it. But marriage has simply changed along with our culture. To stay alive, things must evolve, as marriage has.
(Not sure what the point of this was. Sorry I'm not the best at updating. I will try to at least three times a week though.)
Tuesday, 3 November 2015
Language Decline?
A response to :
http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/nov/02/myth-young-people-have-abandoned-language-learning
The article starts by saying that statistically we, the young people of Britain, don't care about languages. Modern language degree entrants have fallen byb16% in 7 years ; two years ago German had just 615 entrants. Universities are shutting down their language departments or reducing the number of courses available. In fact, in English speaking countries across the world, the same thing is happening.
It goes on to say that people believe a language may not lead to a job. Furthermore, since it is no longer a compulsory GCSE subject, the amount of people eligible has dropped. However, I disagree. Yes, these may be factors. However, there are plenty of other courses that give transferable skills, and yet they are not in the same desperate position.
Personally, I believe that it is due to the mentality of Britain. As a former Empire, our language is spread widely across the world. It's easy for us to trade with other countries. We're separated, both physically and culturally, from the rest of the EU, so the stand that they take (everyone should know their native language and two others) has not reached us.
Furthermore, the actual courses are putting students off. The majority of people I know took a GCSE language, and yet very few have continued it. This is because of the quality of the teaching, and because the courses just weren't interesting enough. At A-level, we have 2 more lessons than everyone else. Languages are hard, and they require a lot of dedication. If you don't have the passion and the drive, they're hardly worth doing.
However, as the article says, more and more students are learning languages non-formally. They use sites such as duolingo, ab initio courses at their university, or years abroad. Of course, in general this doesn't give the same high calibre as a formal degree. But it does prove that the young people of today do care about languages.
Whether it's because they're utter nerds like my friends and want to watch anime without subs, or because they have internet friends from different countries, or because they are more and more conscious of the fact that the job market is now global, young people do still want to learn languages.
(Sorry I missed some days, I'm not very good at sticking to things. This was something I care a lot about, so I hope it's decent.)
http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/nov/02/myth-young-people-have-abandoned-language-learning
The article starts by saying that statistically we, the young people of Britain, don't care about languages. Modern language degree entrants have fallen byb16% in 7 years ; two years ago German had just 615 entrants. Universities are shutting down their language departments or reducing the number of courses available. In fact, in English speaking countries across the world, the same thing is happening.
It goes on to say that people believe a language may not lead to a job. Furthermore, since it is no longer a compulsory GCSE subject, the amount of people eligible has dropped. However, I disagree. Yes, these may be factors. However, there are plenty of other courses that give transferable skills, and yet they are not in the same desperate position.
Personally, I believe that it is due to the mentality of Britain. As a former Empire, our language is spread widely across the world. It's easy for us to trade with other countries. We're separated, both physically and culturally, from the rest of the EU, so the stand that they take (everyone should know their native language and two others) has not reached us.
Furthermore, the actual courses are putting students off. The majority of people I know took a GCSE language, and yet very few have continued it. This is because of the quality of the teaching, and because the courses just weren't interesting enough. At A-level, we have 2 more lessons than everyone else. Languages are hard, and they require a lot of dedication. If you don't have the passion and the drive, they're hardly worth doing.
However, as the article says, more and more students are learning languages non-formally. They use sites such as duolingo, ab initio courses at their university, or years abroad. Of course, in general this doesn't give the same high calibre as a formal degree. But it does prove that the young people of today do care about languages.
Whether it's because they're utter nerds like my friends and want to watch anime without subs, or because they have internet friends from different countries, or because they are more and more conscious of the fact that the job market is now global, young people do still want to learn languages.
(Sorry I missed some days, I'm not very good at sticking to things. This was something I care a lot about, so I hope it's decent.)
Sunday, 1 November 2015
Secret Teacher
A response to :
http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2015/oct/31/secret-teacher-my-ta-teaching-assistants-nothing-to-lessons
(Sorry I missed yesterday, I was out all day and then I had a Halloween Party until midnight)
My mother works in education - when I started school she began as a dinner lady, then worked her way up to a teaching assistant, and a few years ago became a HLTA. In fact, now she practically works as a teacher, planning her own lessons and covering for others at short notice. I know how hard this has been for her, which is why this article interested me.
The teacher who wrote this does acknowledge that there are good TAs, who are incredibly skilled. However, there is one that she works with who is less than perfect. I do feel sorry for this teacher, as it must be a difficult problem that is impossible for her to solve. However, I do feel that it is unfair on the TA in question.
Aside from my personal connection to the article, I thought she had some good points to make. Firstly, communication is clearly an issue. They move in different circles; they aren't in charge. However, is it really that difficult to arrange a meeting once a week after school, or to chat to them at lunch or break? Yes, this isn't ideal. But it's better than nothing.
Furthermore, I completely agree that schools could be doing more. In fact, this is true for so many aspects of British education at the minute. My mother is fortunate enough (I think) to work I a school that has paid for her to become a HLTA and sent her to training sessions for French and Japanese. However, there are other schools that don't have the same investment in skills. As their jobs get harder and harder, and they are treated more and more like lower-paid teachers, the investment in their skills seems to be getting less and less.
Overall, whilst I agreed with many points the author made, there was one line that ruined this to some extent. The lasting sentiment was good (i.e. that we need to care more about our TAs). But "the majority of the time, TAs add nothing to my lessons" was not. Yes, they might not be perfect. Yes, there might be a lot of times when they are more of a hindrance than a help. However, their mere presence is helpful for the kids in the class.
Having a TA to help those that need it means the more able pupils are not slowed down, and neither is the pace of the lesson. All members of the class can learn in a way that suits them. It also means that for those that struggle, things are easier. They may be smothering, but they give attention to those who need it to flourish.
At the end of the day, for many pupils - and teachers - a TA can be vital.
I quite enjoyed writing this one!
http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2015/oct/31/secret-teacher-my-ta-teaching-assistants-nothing-to-lessons
(Sorry I missed yesterday, I was out all day and then I had a Halloween Party until midnight)
My mother works in education - when I started school she began as a dinner lady, then worked her way up to a teaching assistant, and a few years ago became a HLTA. In fact, now she practically works as a teacher, planning her own lessons and covering for others at short notice. I know how hard this has been for her, which is why this article interested me.
The teacher who wrote this does acknowledge that there are good TAs, who are incredibly skilled. However, there is one that she works with who is less than perfect. I do feel sorry for this teacher, as it must be a difficult problem that is impossible for her to solve. However, I do feel that it is unfair on the TA in question.
Aside from my personal connection to the article, I thought she had some good points to make. Firstly, communication is clearly an issue. They move in different circles; they aren't in charge. However, is it really that difficult to arrange a meeting once a week after school, or to chat to them at lunch or break? Yes, this isn't ideal. But it's better than nothing.
Furthermore, I completely agree that schools could be doing more. In fact, this is true for so many aspects of British education at the minute. My mother is fortunate enough (I think) to work I a school that has paid for her to become a HLTA and sent her to training sessions for French and Japanese. However, there are other schools that don't have the same investment in skills. As their jobs get harder and harder, and they are treated more and more like lower-paid teachers, the investment in their skills seems to be getting less and less.
Overall, whilst I agreed with many points the author made, there was one line that ruined this to some extent. The lasting sentiment was good (i.e. that we need to care more about our TAs). But "the majority of the time, TAs add nothing to my lessons" was not. Yes, they might not be perfect. Yes, there might be a lot of times when they are more of a hindrance than a help. However, their mere presence is helpful for the kids in the class.
Having a TA to help those that need it means the more able pupils are not slowed down, and neither is the pace of the lesson. All members of the class can learn in a way that suits them. It also means that for those that struggle, things are easier. They may be smothering, but they give attention to those who need it to flourish.
At the end of the day, for many pupils - and teachers - a TA can be vital.
I quite enjoyed writing this one!
Friday, 30 October 2015
French Friday - Au Travail a 100 Ans
Une reponse a :
http://theday.co.uk/francais/au-travail-100-ans-pour-les-jeunes-de-11-ans
(Je ne sais pas comment a faire des accents donc je suis desolee pour ca)
L'article parle d'un futurologiste qui dit que les enfants aujourd'hui travailleront jusqu'a 100 ans. Malheureusement, je pense que c'est vrai.
Ma mere travaille dans une ecole, et les profs qui ont ete la quand j'etais petit, ils n'ont pas la maintenant. Cependant, elle n'est pas un prof, et aussi elle est plus jeune. Grace a la gouvernement, elle doit continuer a travaille jusqu'a un plus grand age, comme 65 ou 70. Si c'est comme ca maintenant, comment est-qu'il serait dans l'avenir.
Pour moi, j'espere que je pourrai retirer a une bonne age, mais je sais que ce serait pas comme ca. Votre sante serait moins bonne, mais on devrait continuer. C'est pas bonne, mais c'est la vie!
Je suis desolee que c'etait affreux! J'espere que dans l'avenir ce serait plus interessant et plus accurate.
http://theday.co.uk/francais/au-travail-100-ans-pour-les-jeunes-de-11-ans
(Je ne sais pas comment a faire des accents donc je suis desolee pour ca)
L'article parle d'un futurologiste qui dit que les enfants aujourd'hui travailleront jusqu'a 100 ans. Malheureusement, je pense que c'est vrai.
Ma mere travaille dans une ecole, et les profs qui ont ete la quand j'etais petit, ils n'ont pas la maintenant. Cependant, elle n'est pas un prof, et aussi elle est plus jeune. Grace a la gouvernement, elle doit continuer a travaille jusqu'a un plus grand age, comme 65 ou 70. Si c'est comme ca maintenant, comment est-qu'il serait dans l'avenir.
Pour moi, j'espere que je pourrai retirer a une bonne age, mais je sais que ce serait pas comme ca. Votre sante serait moins bonne, mais on devrait continuer. C'est pas bonne, mais c'est la vie!
Je suis desolee que c'etait affreux! J'espere que dans l'avenir ce serait plus interessant et plus accurate.
Thursday, 29 October 2015
Cruel and Unusual Punishment
A response to :
http://www.buzzfeed.com/krishrach/a-professor-is-punishing-his-students-by-getting-them-to-wri#.qg9Q1v1zBq
The first thing I thought was "Oh my god why are Chinese characters so complicated!". In fact, I was talking to my Chinese friend the other day, and typing in Chinese seems so difficult!
Then again, so does writing 56 strokes 1000 times. If it was a useful character, this would be such a good method to learn it. However, as a punishment it seems effective (if useless).
What made me laugh was that one student managed 200 of them. That's 11,200 strokes. Wow. And that was enough for him to not be late again.
I'm sorry this was awful, I completely forget I should be blogging, so I thought I'd do something more light-hearted. Tomorrow, however, is French Friday!
http://www.buzzfeed.com/krishrach/a-professor-is-punishing-his-students-by-getting-them-to-wri#.qg9Q1v1zBq
The first thing I thought was "Oh my god why are Chinese characters so complicated!". In fact, I was talking to my Chinese friend the other day, and typing in Chinese seems so difficult!
Then again, so does writing 56 strokes 1000 times. If it was a useful character, this would be such a good method to learn it. However, as a punishment it seems effective (if useless).
What made me laugh was that one student managed 200 of them. That's 11,200 strokes. Wow. And that was enough for him to not be late again.
I'm sorry this was awful, I completely forget I should be blogging, so I thought I'd do something more light-hearted. Tomorrow, however, is French Friday!
Wednesday, 28 October 2015
Happiness of UK Schoolchildren
A response to :
http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2015/oct/28/happiness-uk-schoolchildren-eight-charts
2/3 of children said they were thought they were healthy or very healthy, which is of course fantastic. However, 8% felt that their sleep was unhealthy or very unhealthy. The article suggests that this could be due to screen time, which is understandable. However, as you start to approach the teenage years (such as the 13 and 14 year olds in this survey), you need more sleep. But you get more homework. Another friend has had a detention recently, and when asked to write about what she could do to turn up on time, she suggested not completing her homework so that she could sleep more and get up earlier. Is this the future we want?
Sadly, the data on bullying showed that almost 50% of the respondents had been bullied face to face. On the other hand, the internet generation had success as cyberbullying was much less common. To me, this suggests that we've focused on that enough, and need to go back to ways to deal with it - and increase the number of boys who report incidents.
The next set of data was something which is particularly relevant to me at the moment - the future. I'm in year 12 and so I'm having to start to think of university, and it's terrifying because I don't know what to do. I know that I need to choose something that I enjoy, but also that I need to be able to get a job from it - something 33% of 7-14 year olds surveyed also considered. This means that there are potentially seven year olds, with another eleven years of education to go, who have been forced to consider the future because of the current economic climate. Personally when I see that data, my heart breaks for them. I believe that at that age you should be enjoying yourself - it's certainly something I wish I had done more.
By the age of 13, 64% don't feel that what they learn in school is useful. Again, this will have implications for the future. For some people, they need to be able to see the real-world application to grasp the concept (especially for maths). Whilst the reforms have addressed this, for example in the core maths qualification, there is much more we could do. Careers training, how to write a CV, how to manage money....there's so much I haven't been taught that I need to know. For kids to be interested, information has to be relevant. And it clearly isn't.
Something else in this survey made me incredibly sad - children feel less and less confident in themselves and in their appearances, and at increasingly younger ages. However, I was happy to see that 63% of girls take a selfie every day. Whilst many find selfies arrogant or self-centred, to me this demonstrates that girls are beginning to grow again in self-confidence. So don't selfie-shame, people!
The relationship data, I must admit, had no particular impact on me. I don't find it shocking that 6% had had a relationship at 5 or below, because when you're young, your concept of that is totally different. In fact, it makes a nice change from when I was that age and girls and boys didn't want to touch each other because they'd get "boy germs" or "girl germs". However, I was sad that boys are more likely to go into a relationship to look cool - no matter how serious these relationships are, they should be making decisions that suit them, not others. If they'll do this now, does that mean that later they're more likely to be pressured into sex or drugs or other things they might not want to do?
And the data ended with information about worries, something else I feel strongly about. Almost 30% have no worries, which is great, but why isn't this number higher? 11.5% worried about not having a home, 13% about jobs and 26% about not having enough money. At that age (and even at my age), these aren't things you should have to worry about. Kids should be enjoying their lives, and as a country maybe we're doing something wrong if they're not.
Honestly I have no idea what I've just written, and what my purpose was. Although actually, I do know my purpose - to gain an octant badge for guiding and to have something for university applications, because I too am worried about my future.
http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2015/oct/28/happiness-uk-schoolchildren-eight-charts
Firstly, happiness. The fact that they interviewed 7-14 year olds probably helped with these results, because there's far less pressure on you at this age. Admittedly SATs now at the age of 10 or 11 are causing more unhappiness, but that still leaves 3 years with very little to worry about (for most kids). Having just started A-levels, I would say that it was more likely to be 50.3% who were unhappy, and 5.5% who were happy at the older years.
This could be fixed fairly easily too. Reduce the pressure on students by removing the onus on exams - exactly the opposite of the current reforms! Yes, having a ton of homework throughout the year due to coursework isn't exactly stress-free....but having the same amount as well as a three month period where exams are all you can think about isn't healthy. Furthermore, pastoral care could be improved, at all ages. When more and more children, at younger and younger ages, are experiencing struggles with anxiety/depression/eating disorders, this is a problem that needs to be tackled. Because otherwise these figures will be completely different.
2/3 of children said they were thought they were healthy or very healthy, which is of course fantastic. However, 8% felt that their sleep was unhealthy or very unhealthy. The article suggests that this could be due to screen time, which is understandable. However, as you start to approach the teenage years (such as the 13 and 14 year olds in this survey), you need more sleep. But you get more homework. Another friend has had a detention recently, and when asked to write about what she could do to turn up on time, she suggested not completing her homework so that she could sleep more and get up earlier. Is this the future we want?
Sadly, the data on bullying showed that almost 50% of the respondents had been bullied face to face. On the other hand, the internet generation had success as cyberbullying was much less common. To me, this suggests that we've focused on that enough, and need to go back to ways to deal with it - and increase the number of boys who report incidents.
The next set of data was something which is particularly relevant to me at the moment - the future. I'm in year 12 and so I'm having to start to think of university, and it's terrifying because I don't know what to do. I know that I need to choose something that I enjoy, but also that I need to be able to get a job from it - something 33% of 7-14 year olds surveyed also considered. This means that there are potentially seven year olds, with another eleven years of education to go, who have been forced to consider the future because of the current economic climate. Personally when I see that data, my heart breaks for them. I believe that at that age you should be enjoying yourself - it's certainly something I wish I had done more.
By the age of 13, 64% don't feel that what they learn in school is useful. Again, this will have implications for the future. For some people, they need to be able to see the real-world application to grasp the concept (especially for maths). Whilst the reforms have addressed this, for example in the core maths qualification, there is much more we could do. Careers training, how to write a CV, how to manage money....there's so much I haven't been taught that I need to know. For kids to be interested, information has to be relevant. And it clearly isn't.
Something else in this survey made me incredibly sad - children feel less and less confident in themselves and in their appearances, and at increasingly younger ages. However, I was happy to see that 63% of girls take a selfie every day. Whilst many find selfies arrogant or self-centred, to me this demonstrates that girls are beginning to grow again in self-confidence. So don't selfie-shame, people!
The relationship data, I must admit, had no particular impact on me. I don't find it shocking that 6% had had a relationship at 5 or below, because when you're young, your concept of that is totally different. In fact, it makes a nice change from when I was that age and girls and boys didn't want to touch each other because they'd get "boy germs" or "girl germs". However, I was sad that boys are more likely to go into a relationship to look cool - no matter how serious these relationships are, they should be making decisions that suit them, not others. If they'll do this now, does that mean that later they're more likely to be pressured into sex or drugs or other things they might not want to do?
And the data ended with information about worries, something else I feel strongly about. Almost 30% have no worries, which is great, but why isn't this number higher? 11.5% worried about not having a home, 13% about jobs and 26% about not having enough money. At that age (and even at my age), these aren't things you should have to worry about. Kids should be enjoying their lives, and as a country maybe we're doing something wrong if they're not.
Honestly I have no idea what I've just written, and what my purpose was. Although actually, I do know my purpose - to gain an octant badge for guiding and to have something for university applications, because I too am worried about my future.
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