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Has college changed that much?
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My son has recently left school and started college. He has only been there a couple of weeks and we have already had emails regarding his attendance and a date for a parents evening. When I was at college in the early 80's this never happened. As it's not compulsary, why are they treating students like school children? I'm not even sure my parents knew which college I was at never mind which course I was taking. Is it me or has it all changed?
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For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.in my experience, 6th form colleges are stricter than for example tech colleges. You are right it is not (yet) compulsory, therefore the taxpayer is paying for him to be there, therefore it's in the interest of every single taxpayer (like yourself(?)) to ensure he goes. You don't get nothing for nothing. the college agrees to teach him therefore he should agree to turn up! If not, he should leave and get a job. I for one think it's a good idea that they are stricter than in our day
Do you not think it is admirable that the college is following up on the whereabouts of your son? They want him to learn, to gain skills that he can take forward into a career.
I think it is terribly sad that neither you nor your son seem to value of the privilege he has, i.e. free education/training.
I think it is terribly sad that neither you nor your son seem to value of the privilege he has, i.e. free education/training.
I'd rather know about my child's attendance (and then have the choice of whether to ignore it or address it) than to be kept in the dark. I can see why the lateness email might seem a little over-zealous but you also expressed surprise that they had notified you of a parents' evening. Again you have the choice as to whether to attend or not. We always attended our children's parents evenings in 6th form but I can see there's a case for saying they should stand on their own two feet at that age. Once they go are in higher education, of course, at age 18+ there will be no parents' evenings
Incidentally, parents' evenings have never been compulsory as far as I know. With higher sets I used to get a turnout of over 80%, maybe 40 for middle sets and less than 20% for bottom sets. There does seem to me be a positive correlation between parental attendance/involvement and student attitudes/progress. There are of course exceptions and some students do not need what they see as parental interference.
I think it is an excellent idea, mainly because a large number of college students/sixth form students have shaky attendance records and easily fall through the net if not monitored. I would rather know about what's happpening than find out some time down the line that one of my children has dropped out or is failing.