Over here:

searchforzenith.blogspot.com/2012/01/so-wheres-it-all-going.html

Been needing to get this out of my system a while!

Hello Zenith,
It's shocking but sadly more and more commonplace nowadays.Whole system is a shambles. I used to work with children, many of who were classed as "special needs" amongst other issues and was shocked to discover that quite often the disruptive ones were rewarded for behaving themselves, whilst the ones willing to crack on and learn were mainly left out as teachers etc were far too busy dealing with issues raised by less willing children.
My brother-in-law had a step-son with ADHD,yet he made it 100% clear that there was nothing clinically wrong with the child, he was just a little sod, but protocol stated that for educational purposes he had to have a "label" and so was classed as having ADHD.Regular trips to the seaside,treats like eating out, day at the zoo/theme park etc.Expenditure well beyond the means of many parents.
Not entirely related, but an educactional issue nonetheless, our 17 yr old daughter came home from college yesterday and stated that NONE of her teachers had turned up.
I think the whole system needs looking at,reward effort and achievement,don't bribe to behave.
Best wishes Naomi xx.

It's really frustrating - my two best friends are working as primary ed teachers in London - both of whom worked their butts off not just for their degree, but to be good teachers. They work with 100% EAL kids in schools where the kids are searched for weapons on entry of the school day. They know rough kids.

I work with the Foundation stage in the same school as my daughter - the teacher in that class is wonderful and taught my daughter last year - although there is little policy to follow, as an individual she observed children individually and does her best to tailor to individual needs. It's just such an amazing difference that ONE adult has made, such an impact that is causing a knock on effect on my kid's well being.

It's a shame when schools and colleges let kids down, not to mention the parents.The college where our eldest studies and the school where our youngest attends have both been heavily criticised and downgraded by OFSTED, so much so in the case of the school that the principle was removed.
Most of the teachers at both are really professional and work hard to make an impact, however there has been a minority who have under-performed on a grand scale.It's always good to hear stories of hard work and devotion by staff, however locally we have a multitude of issues to deal with, in one case a local school had a full time PCSO to oversee drugs and violence issues.

TopMember

Despite all of the criticism and praise aimed at schools we should not forget that such a large amount of the way in which our children develop is down to the parents. I have been a single parent since my son was 1. We live in a modest little semi, in an average area, he went to state primary, state secondary and then 6th form college and is studying Maths at Corpus Christi, Cambridge. I have also given up my time to work on a voluntary basis with kids. Yes at times I have been doing 3 jobs at once, but teachers can only work with what they are presented with, and without parental support it is twice as hard.

Oh PP - I totally agree I wholly believe that the majority of a child's education and development comes from their home and social environment - I'm not one of these parents that think the school should do it all! Far from. I was a single parent with my daughter for four years - in that time I worked from being a play-worker to management in a Children's Centre and then Private Nursery management and held down a full-time degree.

In that time I had nursery staff asking (when my daughter was three) if she had private tuition for writing and creativity!!

Anyways - I know the plight of parenting from a personal view, and working with hundreds of other children - I understand the jobs of teachers too and working with what you are given, wuite often with parents that couldn't care less :(