No pictures this time, apart from the one I promised to show. I'm just letting off a bit of steam, or I'll explode. Pop. ;-)
My secondary school could have been described as bog standard, really. In my first year there, a couple of the kids who had recently left, burned half of it down one night, and for a long time we were in 'temporary huts'. (Funnily enough my first school burnt down as well, and you can imagine the jokes about who was responsible!) The head was fantastic in my first year, but his replacement can best be described as earnest but only knew how to lead the school by shouting. A lot.
I was pretty dim. (Still am, really in terms of how I see myself.) My friends were A grade, I was C. I never felt good enough, and that has left me with huge self esteem issues my whole life. No matter, I have a good life and I'm very thankful for it, but like most people, my school years affected my attitude to life and I can't say it was necessarily good. It's something I've blocked all these years, but is coming out very strongly now. Why? Well, I had children, and it's true you relive your past when you see your children's struggles.
So, on to the next generation. I have two daughters, both at secondary school. But at different
secondary schools. Both are good schools, but they are different. On paper, one is one of the top schools in the country. One isn’t. In terms of what they provide and my daughters’ differing abilities, they are both, in many ways perfect. And I was one hundred per cent in favour of each
child going to that particular school. But some way in, here are my observations.
Let’s call daughter at the high-achieving school daughter A
And daughter at the other school daughter B.
A’s school had an amazing settling in policy. No homework for the first four weeks, aside from covering books. No homework in the first two years in any holiday whatsoever. Accent in the first term on bonding and settling the children as a tight group.
Consequently the children bonded fantastically, and work solidly as teams. There are few problems with bullying, and if there is any, it is handled immediately and effectively. Results, though there is far more to a school then results, as I’d be the first to argue, are amazing.
B’s school has failed a little on this, though I have to emphasize that the teachers themselves have been incredibly supportive. Homework begun in the first couple of weeks, there has been
a considerable amount, and consequently there was little chance for the bonding activities the other school excelled at. I think this is a huge mistake on the part of the school. These children have so much to adapt to, and our education system seems to forget this at times. They are merited for getting homework in on time, remembering books, etc etc. They receive a cross if they forget. They seem to receive a cross if the teacher is in a bad mood, or forgets who has done what. I'm not yet convinced about the merit system. A lot of the children I know in year 7 are very willing, very eager to please, and make genuine mistakes because of the amount they are expected to remember. The crosses have certainly worried some of the children in terms of what it might mean. The children sit alphabetically, because it ‘helps the teachers to learn their names’. This means that for those children who are sitting next to a child that they may clash with, lessons become a nightmare. My daughter is one of these children, and it makes concentration nigh on impossible in certain lessons. Will they stop the alphabetical seating? Nope! I had one lesson at school where the teacher insisted on alphabetical seating - my headteacher taught it, because he wanted to be involved. He was a genuinely appalling teacher, and the alphabetical seating put me next to a child who misbehaved the whole two years we were studying for our exams. I failed. Badly. Surprise surprise. Any wonder I'm concerned for my daughter?
Fights: I'm fully aware some schools have this on a daily basis. Our situation? School A has had not one fight since my daughter joined. School B has had two big ones that I know about this term - not a lot in terms of the wider picture, but again, the children at school A know there is a zero tolerance policy if a fight were to break out. At school B, it's accepted that this happens. So sad. My old school? Haha. Major fight every week, I think.
I still support my daughter's school, and I'm pleased she's there in terms of the situation with some schools at the moment. Our teachers do a fantastic job in increasingly difficult circumstances. Having a coffee yesterday, I coincidentally sat next to three teachers from school B who were discussing the huge problems with demands of the curriculum and the stupidity of having to teach year 9s what they already knew because that's what the curriculum demands and they have to be seen to be ticking the boxes. So their class is a little bored, I guess. I didn't introduce myself, as it was interesting to hear... felt like putting up the war time poster regarding walls have ears!
Personally, I feel we are trapped in a system that isn't perfect. I don't for a minute think my daughter has the self esteem issues I developed, because I'm not allowing it to start and having experienced it, I'm well empowered to know how to stop it. But unlike school A, I feel with school B I'm not being supported in this and there must be children who do fall away because of it.
Well, I think that's helped. If you've got this far, thank you for reading, and I really would value and welcome your comments.
