Are our schools failing our children?

[Deleted member 18588]

With all due respect, if you are no expert then leave it to the experts. How would you like it if someone who knew very little about the field you are in came in and told you how you should be doing your job?

Absolutely, why is it that there are some jobs that some people always think they can do better whether they are qualified or not.

 

[AuburnWarrior]

With all due respect, if you are no expert then leave it to the experts. How would you like it if someone who knew very little about the field you are in came in and told you how you should be doing your job?

I would give them a coherent and constructive response as to why I did what I did.

I didn't get that from the teacher. The impression I got was that she didn't agree with it either but it was the rule of the school to teach in this way.

My concern is that the standard of spelling in this country is falling remarkably. I worked in the Investment Banking industry with some very intelligent people. Their e-mails would have you believe that they'd let their five year old child loose on their BlackBerry! I worry that this new way of teaching children isn't going to arrest that decline.

I hope I'm wrong.

 

[AuburnWarrior]

Absolutely, why is it that there are some jobs that some people always think they can do better whether they are qualified or not.

At no point have I said that I could do the job better than them. I'm merely questioning technique.

The same way we question Roy Hodgson. Or politicians. Or anyone that we have an opinion on.

 

[LIG]

Foxholer, I have noticed that you often make comments on the language used by posters on this forum and, up to now, I have just accepted that you were one of those people who was a "stickler" for such things.
IMHO your unrelated comments detract from the thread as they are a distraction.

In this case they are also partly incorrect! Please see my comments on your 'homework' below.

Try 'method' or maybe 'philosophy' if you want to be 'up-market'! 'The item correctly uses 'method'!

Methodology is actually (well, when not corrupted) the study of Methods!

Please use a complete dictionary in future, Foxy! Methodology is not "upmarket" and has only been "corrupted" in my usage if you believe in reading only a single entry in the dictionary.
Teachers espouse several methods (many of which are, IMO, unsuitable for the majority of kids!) hence 'methodology' and not 'method'.

As for whether schools ARE failing..... It's also actually a question of 'WERE' failing... As those exiting the system are exhibiting the symptoms/philosophies of what the system was quite a number of years ago (at least 5).

Again, unless you are involved in education today, this adds little or nothing to the discussion of the question raised by the OP and is a distraction.

As for basic Arithmetic....Ever bought and got a discount for a purchase in Singapore? When I came over here nearly 25 years ago, I was astonished that Shop Assistants in this 'World Leading Technology' place, and ranked #2 in those tests, dived straight for the calculator to calculate 10% of a value; or to calculate simple change like the example above!

No doubt 25 years ago some shop assistants were shop assistants because they had "failed" at school and they used available technology to carry out their function. :mmm: Don't be to hard on them!

To quote the words of a shop assistant: "Have a nice Day!"