Parents+Teachers: Your Views, Please?

[eyethenkyew]

The Education Secretary, Michael Gove, has recently announced that there are to be massive cuts to school rebuilding programmes etc.
Yes, we have been well warned of the years of austerity facing our nation and that swingeing cutbacks are inevitable.
But should the next generation be made to suffer in this way?
Is Mr Gove justified? Or do the future of our country deserve better?
Your views and opinions, please.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-10893024

[ummmm]

Suffer in what way?

[cazzz1975]

when I was a kid I used to wear my coat in some lessons because of the cold and there was always dodgy mould and lots of wear and tear to the school building.

I dont think kids are going to "suffer" so to speak, people need to man up a bit more and stop living in cotton wool. at least until we have enough money to restart the rebuilding process. At least we are not borrowing more money that we cannot afford and doing it anyway.

[Le Chat]

I agree with cazzz. I went to a private school but that didn't stop us having to sit in a class with a dustbin in the middle of the room collecting rainwater for the whole of the winter! I didn't stop the majority of us going on to do 'O' and 'A' Levels and becoming well rounded citizens!!
That was Scarisbrick Hall School in Ormskirk if any readers are familiar with it!!

[LoftyLottie]

Agree with the others. My son had most of his lessons in old nissan huts and the results from that school are among the best in the country!! That was only ten years ago, by the way.

[Francis Asis]

I agree with everyone. Our French room was so cold the teacher made us stand up and stamp our feet and chant irregular verbs - je suis, tu es, il est. See I can still do it ;)

[boxtops]

At least half of my secondary school education took place in outside huts due to expansion of the school - they were perfectly adequate. There were still air-raid shelters outside by the tennis course, with corrugated iron padlock doors. Health & Safety would have had a fit, but nobody ever fell in or cut themselves -we were taught to be sensible in those days. I wouldn't mind being taught in a hut, it's the quality of the teaching which is more important that the accommodation.

[LoftyLottie]

Going back to when I was a school, because we were a large intake year there wasn't enough space for us all. Some of our lessons took place in large rooms of various local houses and we had to walk there. Some of us had a ten minute walk at lunchtime to have our lunch in a British Rail Canteen because there was no room at the school. That was an upmarket posh girls school!!

[woofgang]

Anybody think that too much cash has gone on "technology" and not enough on bricks and mortar?

[boxtops]

Technology is necessary, woofgang, the youngsters today have access to resources that we couldn't have dreamed off. My own view is that any investment should be in the quality of teaching.

[woofgang]

I am not so much talking t'internet as the posh DVD type boards and stuff that is "sexy education" perhaps more than necessary. Do quality teachers need that stuff?

[Sqad]

Le Chat....I know Scarisbrick Hall School very well......didn´t go there myself, but worked for a time in Ormskirk.

The question........Education now completely confuses me as it seems that 70% of the population get University degrees and some employers state that 1-4 cannot spell or write properly.

To me University education has been devalued and I cannot see the cuts devaluing it any more than it has been. The UK must get rid of this huge deficit and all modalities will just have to suffer....sorry,

[LoftyLottie]

I agree Boxtops. I think technology is essential too, but so are the basics and quality teaching should be a priority. I sort of agree with the the 'if you can't do it, teach it' that has crept into education. I'm not a great fan of teachers, I'm afraid (say's she who worked in admin in schools for a long time and had my eyes opened).

[cc1]

There needs to be a balance between technology and the "old fashioned" teaching, but don't for a second think that teachers have a lot of choice. When interactive white boards were brought in some years ago now, everyone's lessons had to make use of them which was fine, except we all know how relaible technology can be, especially as a part of a large intra-authority network. Many teachers would really prefer to be able to chose their medium.
The other point made, re classroom conditions, is also difficult because, unlike many years ago when in winter pupils came in long-sleeved jumpers and proper coats, pupils nowadays dress the same all year round and expect the environment to compensate for this. Parents complained because their dears, dressed for the tropics, were "too cold" to work if I opened a window.
As any regular reader of this column will tell you, whatever teachers do, they're wrong!

[saxy_jag]

Whilst nice new buildings and all-electronic classrooms are all very nice, they're no substitute for a decent teacher - and there are too few of those these days. A posh building does not a good school make.

The school next us had its rebuild completed a year or so ago. Until then, it had managed in its original buildings for almost 50 years. The kids were always OK and the school had a decent reputation for its quality of teaching, achievement and ethos. It's still good school. I doubt not rebuilding would have made a great difference to that. Admittedly the provision of latest technologies is a boon to the kids and the school can probably widen its curriculum as a result. But I really don't see any justification for multi-million pound buildings that will last perhaps 20 years if they're lucky.

It's also robbed them of half their playing field at a time when we're trying to encourage kids to take an interest in the use and preservation of green space in their neighbourhoods. What kind of mixed message is that?

[modeller]

I taught in a large school 1500 pupils and we achieved excellent results . So there was nothing wrong with the school but that didn't stop the council spending over a million pounds on
"improvements." Our results are no better or worse than before the money was spent.
So what was the point ?

[sherrardk]

The school that I taught in (until 3 years ago) became a technology college - what a waste of money! Laptops for all staff, computerised registers, interactive whiteboards, parent access to homework timetables, etc, etc. Such a waste of money - would all have been put to better use on books and enough staff.