Remember When . . ??

[Woodlouse2002]

I plan to go in Sept 06 too. Which means GAP YEAR!!!!!!

I'm guessing then that you're in the year below me. I.e. doing AS levels this summer and A levels next year.

[Saitek]

That's right - but I chose to do my A-levels a year later - while my sister decided to do them a year earlier. So we hope to go to uni together even though we're two years apart!

Ben

[Hagar]

Anyone though can teach a child up to 14 thats had a normal education. I am 100% sure Doug you can teach someone how to read and write.

I missed this until now. Yes, I can & did teach my daughter to read & write before she started nursery school at the age of 4. She could also do basic maths. We never forced her as she wanted to learn. Believe it or not, my wife & I were rebuked by the headmistress of the school & told to stop doing it. Needless to say we didn't. Strange how things have come full circle & the government is now trying to encourage parents to teach their children to read & write.

I'm quite sure you can go through basic textbooks and teach the simple contexts right up to 14. I know that most normal people could do it too. But I'm not so sure whether you would want to or would be prepared to sacrifice your time for several hours a day Mon-Fri doing it and be disciplined enough to stick to a new lifestyle which rotates around lessons. That's the difference.

I was fortunate to have a good education as was my wife. I like to think we're both above average intelligence & ability. We soon stopped trying to help my daughter with her homework as teaching methods had changed a great deal since we were at school. To tell the truth I couldn't understand most of it.

I believe its more a question of taste than ability for the majority

If the choice is there, everyone must do what they think is right.

please check out the school before you send your kids there. They dont have to like it, but they shouldnt be affraid to go to school, or have to worry about getting a daily ass kicking or worse, getting shot or stabbed.

As responsible parents we naturally vetted the available schools carefully before choosing one for our beloved daughter to attend. Fortunately we were given that opportunity & I realise that many aren't so lucky. The school we chose didn't have a particularly good reputation but I trusted the headmaster & his staff. If you showed interest the teachers were only too willing to help. The music teacher was recently awarded a well-deserved MBE for his contribution to education over his long career at the school. http://www.boundstone.w-sussex.sch.uk/news.htm
Thanks to him & his dedicated colleagues my daughter went on to university where she got a BA Honours degree. She is also a qualified teacher herself although she didn't enter the profession. I'm very proud of her & her achievements. I suspect that if she has children she will send them to similar schools to her own.

The risk of being shot or knifed at school was unknown in my own & my daughter's time. This seems to be a recent & disturbing trend in this country.

[Woodlouse2002]

That's right - but I chose to do my A-levels a year later - while my sister decided to do them a year earlier. So we hope to go to uni together even though we're two years apart!

Ben

Silly idea. University is not just about learning. You'll have friends, girlfriends and parties and just general piss ups. Now do you really want your sister there? I know I wouldn't. The last person you want present when you've got your head in a bucket is a sibling. If you and your sister had any sense then you would choose university's that are a long way apart from each other. Say, Aberdeen and Kent. That way there is no way you can effect each others lives. Then you can both grow up to be experienced, head strong individuals who can take care of themselves.