English Education System

[Savage]

Although in someways people say it has vastly improved, I'm led to beleive that, it's actually spurting out stupider kids,

O Levels were harder than GCSEs are Now, (O Levels are the Equivelent of todays GCSEs) Yet, this generation seems to be failing alot more even thoguh they are easier than the one sour parents took. It has been noted that the literacy percentage in the country has gone down, and alot more people are jsut badly educated.

(Putting aside my general dislike of school systems)

I'm asking why do you think this is?

[Mosquito]

At least part of it is sour grapes on the part of the older generation - 'In my day exams were much harder, not like today's...' etc etc.

Part of it is possibly to do with technology - for example a maths student today has ready access to calculators that can do all manner of different functions, which largely eliminates the need to memorise some things like equations/formulae etc.

Also a possibility is the shift in the aims of testing - in the past there was often a heavy emphasis on being able to recall facts, figures, formulae, dates etc etc, whereas the trend today is to test skills and conceptual understanding, rather than just knowledge and factual recall.

In my view, test may seem easier today to the older generation, but thats misleading as testing has had to evolve with the times.

[StmmZaum]

Actually a large part of it is that now they test different skils. Take for example a history exam, when my father did them they tested your ability to remember a list of names and dates. Now they test your ability to do that and put them into some sort of argument, to understand causality and to propose, support and follow an argument. How about Science? The stuff we do now in physics, chemistry and biology is considerably more complex than the stuff done 20-50 years ago by students at the same level. The same goes for maths, trig, surds, the whole bit, none of it was in an O-level paper. I did an O-level paper at 15 and god a sound pass, the paper was just too simple.

The fact is that now in most subjects there is more that needs teaching, employers in the real world want more skills and a wider range of abilities. The Sylabus covers more and thus students need to learn more. It is not as easy to focus on things, kids can not sit learning times tables any more or memorising names and dates. It just doesn't work any more.

There is also the new wave of teaching ideas, including kids in the subject, discussion and such, trying to build enthusiasm. It doesn't often work but when it does it works a treat. I do feel that this is a different generation, kids seem to have less respect for others, but that is maybe for another thread.

[Savage]

That point is also pretty good.
I still have a tumour in my brain of thinking that the generations are getting stupider - I'd find it easy to beleive.

[Oxford]

I personally think it is lack of funding. Schools cna only pay so much and thus can only get teahcers of a certain skill level. At our school (which in one of the best public districts in the area) there are still issues with overcrowding and lack of funding. Our teachers are not bad, but they don;t have that spark to them that private intructors would have. Another issue could be the complete apathy many students (including myself) have for school. Sure, I get over a 4.0, but I really couldn't care less. A lot of kids don't care if they are failing every class.

[Savage]

That's also something,
I think the whole training of the teacher sis done in this textbook way where they are encouraged not to make there own style to teaching, the training system makes the school boring, which makes the kids not want to learn, and so on.
(I Am Strongly Against the Teacher Training System)
Being Honest I don't beleiv emuch of what the press say,
So it may be under funding
but I also think that it may be due to School's spending it on rediculous things.

Like we don't have computers or machines in technology block, yet they spend a LOT of money buying new fucking curtains!?! The curtains weren't exactly collapsing!

[Skankenstein]