tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7099099432720184584.post5823946748467006637..comments2023-10-28T19:42:01.039+01:00Comments on Going fast, getting nowhere: Illiterate TeachersRichardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15743685798068014455noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7099099432720184584.post-33957358689510204562011-01-13T21:03:10.909+00:002011-01-13T21:03:10.909+00:00Good find. But: "the benefits of cultural di...Good find. But: "the benefits of cultural diversity"? So loaded, and so inescapable.Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15743685798068014455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7099099432720184584.post-14327188015717755132011-01-13T20:58:00.844+00:002011-01-13T20:58:00.844+00:00It started to fall apart when emphasis on teaching...It started to fall apart when emphasis on teaching the "3 Rs" was abandoned in favour of more-trendy subjects.<br /><br />A personal view questions whether 'foreign' languages should be taught before 'English' has been mastered.<br /><br />A tough challenge considering this 'boast' lifted from a Google search:<br /><br />The curriculum is equally available to all pupils and should reflect: <br />the nature of a pluralist society<br />the benefits of cultural diversity<br />the recognition of linguistic diversity and bilingualism<br />the recognition of cultural and religious differences<br />the elimination of any form of disadvantage resulting from cultural or religious differences<br />the elimination of all forms of racial prejudice and discrimination<br /><br />Showing my age, my school's curriculum comprised English, Maths, History, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, PE, Music & (I believe the compulsory) RI.Joe Publichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07829909061904690380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7099099432720184584.post-2574410769804904402011-01-13T20:02:04.475+00:002011-01-13T20:02:04.475+00:00I did a PGCE in 1975-76, and the level of lunacy w...I did a PGCE in 1975-76, and the level of lunacy was high even then. We had to refer to the pupils as 'kids' so that we didn't appear to be talking down to them, and our written assignments were worthy of The History Man. I had a piece to write on setting, which I analysed as an imperfect but effective way of maximising limited teacher time. I was given it back unmarked, with the comment that I wouldn't get anywhere with ideas like that. The piece should have been entitled "Why setting is bad". I rewrote it along party lines and passed easily. The colleges were full of sociologist lefties, and they controlled the local authority advisers, and they in turn controlled the HoDs and teachers. You got nowhere unless you followed the correct line, and it was self-policing.<br /><br />Well-taught (and I appreciate that it was often anything but), grammar gives you a deep understanding of your own language, and enables you to express subtle thoughts and nuances, such as the difference between:<br /><br />It is raining: I will get my coat.<br />It is raining; I will get my coat.<br />It is raining. I will get my coat.<br /><br />And the strange thing is that the ones estimated as the least likely to take to grammar, i.e. the thickos, are the ones who gain the most when they are exposed to it - taught well, as before, of course.Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15743685798068014455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7099099432720184584.post-48899685172507736282011-01-13T20:01:28.446+00:002011-01-13T20:01:28.446+00:00This comment has been removed by the author.Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15743685798068014455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7099099432720184584.post-35553990425419994902011-01-13T19:18:08.280+00:002011-01-13T19:18:08.280+00:00I remember being taught in 1970s Junior School how...I remember being taught in 1970s Junior School how to strip down and reassemble a sentence like a machine gun. It was rather like Winston Churchill's experience of being <a href="http://grammar.about.com/b/2009/04/03/how-winston-churchill-learned-english.htm" rel="nofollow"> taught the mechanics of English </a>. Breaking rules is what distinguishes geniuses in any sphere; not knowing the rules is the burden of dunces. The excellent English teaching in Junior School cushioned me against creativity at all costs of English teachers in Senior School. Latin, French and writing essays helped me as well.Brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06358349301959327747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7099099432720184584.post-6749250827002639832011-01-13T19:12:26.447+00:002011-01-13T19:12:26.447+00:00A revelation: I took a PGCE but did not finish the...A revelation: I took a PGCE but did not finish the course. The teachers on the course were indeed illiterate and obsessed with political correctness. I personally never had a lesson that remotely had anything to do with pedagogy.Wrinkled Weaselhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05291551539649118631noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7099099432720184584.post-40365264307907172942011-01-13T12:42:28.845+00:002011-01-13T12:42:28.845+00:00left to the education that these students themselv...<em>left to the education that these students themselves got at school</em><br /><br />Arrrggghhh!!!!! From a "professor of educational policy", no less. Lindsay, the students "received" an education, they didn't "get" one. ;-)<br /><br /><em>What I know of grammar, therefore, I have learned from the study of foreign languages and a spot of Latin.</em><br /><br />Same here. Best reason for teaching Latin there is - that a smidgen of English might seep in.patentlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00602962323262055007noreply@blogger.com