So glad your post popped up, i was surfing and forgot it was on!
Yep we are watching here (mum and Dad are watching too, but more out of interest)... DSS is 11 and has the potential to go one way or the other.
LAst weeks episode was brilliant... I would have loved to have a teacher like Phil
I think the kids are really being give a massive hand with this teaching style, pity more teachers dont recognise that some kids cant learn in the traditional fashion.
I just find it really interesting that kids who pretend they don't care what anyone thinks of them were upset when they were chucked out. I actually felt really sorry for them, especially Dean at the start, but I agreed that they have to learn that their actions have consequences. I hope they show what their home life is like so we can understand more about why they've had so many problems at school.
It was great when they dealt with the grafitti girl as a group and were telling her that what she'd done was totally wrong.
I'm glad you made this thread too, a great talking point. I find the methods in the show appalling. Those poor kids. They've got an English teacher who thinks entertaining them will suck them in (doesn't show a great respect for their intelligence by doing this) and then turning away Dale who was doing everything to push others away, obvious rejection issues and that's exactly what they do to him. I can't stand it but I cant stop watching it
I would tend to disagree with you Ladybird, Yes the teaching methods of the English teacher are questionable, but when you have children that have not even gone to an english class for a whole year, you need to do something to come down on to their level and help them learn in a way that will keep their attention.
Did you watch the show last week?
Phil - the English teacher - showed each child where their intellegence lay, most of them are not book smart (mainly because they dont bother to go or pay attention in traditional schooling) but each identified their own strengths so that they could learn in a way that suited them... most of the kids needed to move frequently, so sitting in a class room of hours at a time would make them fidget and become restless, they would then stuff around and then disrupt the class.
In the introduction classes he taught them about punctuation, in a far from traditional method, they got up made noises and moved around and were able to enjoy a class, I actually still giggle when using the apostrophe and want to make the noises ... the aim of the 2 week teaching is so that they learn they are actually intelligent enough to sit through a traditional class (most when describing themselves used the words dumb and thick)
Dale unfortunately was turned away, he actually was one of the most intelligent there and had never been sent out of a class, probably as he was able to complete enough work in each class, however what message is it sending to the other kids, that you can flaunt the rules and be given a second chance? for most this is the last chance that they are ever going to get.
Fiona - in last weeks episode, we met the kids and saw what they were like in their school environment (pretty appalling really) the went on the introduction camp, where they met the teachers and the other kids and were given the ground rules, then sent back home before starting the actual camp.
Also several of the teachers in the schools that these kids came from, underwent training so that they can incorporate some of the teaching methods into their classes.
I can hear the arguments now, 20 years ago these kids would be disciplined more effectively and there would not have been the issue etc etc etc.
(just want to say before i go one, that i am not passing judgement directly at anyone, nor am i saying that these things are what causes all the problems in children)
But the fact of the matter is that kids now a days do lack disapline, not necessarily due to poor parenting, but becasue of the increased incident of parents returning to work, due to finacial stressors, and relying of careers and teachers to teach some of these priciples...
Also due to incredibly processed foods, additives etc etc ADHD and food allergies/intolerances, reactions etc are on the rise
The other thing is that parents are increasingly trying to be their childs friend and do not want to be the bad parent that enforces all the rules, and in doing this kids are loosing their guides and mentors into the adult world...
of course there are many other reasons that influence and have an impact on these children's behaviours
So we have kids that misbehave more so than ever before, i think that this is a great way of addressing the issue, traditional schooling is not working for these kids, so one of two things can occur, We give a different method a try, or we give up on them and kick them out so that the kids that appear to want to be at school can learn.
There is nothing to loose really and everything to gain, and Ladybird, i am sorry to disagree but i think that it is insulting their intelligence by not giving them a chance a learning in a new way and giving them the opportunity to learning in a safe an non threatening way, where they do not need to fear giving the wrong answer, where the smarter kids wont look down their noses at the 'dummies in the back' for giving it a go.
Sorry SammiJane I had to reply, please take it as good discussion only.
The test they did was a multiple intelligence test and its routine for the first few weeks of school but perhaps unfortunately gets lost in high school assuming its been done earlier on.
This is a great way to build confidence but all the intelligences need to be explored, a child who thinks they are no good at maths is hardly likely to use a pie graph to represent something .... until they learn what one is. The punctuation exercise was good but it was in isolation. There was no explanation of what their functions were. Its one thing to identify something but you really need to be able to use it, and its the correct use of them that matters, why not tell them this.
I just feel that with these kids they need someone to say (literally) that they are not going anywhere and they are here to help. The way many of them spoke to the kids instantly put them on the defensive as it would anyone, child or adult. Not once did they instruct them on their behaviours or even remind them, they just assumed they knew and I think this is where mistakes are made. A lot of children don't realise its rude to sit slumped back in the chair.
There were so many incidences where these little things could have been mentioned. Not once did I hear gratitude from teachers thanking them for listening, taking part, being tidy etc ...what you give out comes back
the isolating of Dale in front of his peers was dreadful, how humiliating for him not only in front of people he was trying to impress but on tv. The manner in which he spoke to him and all of them was harsh, if another adult spoke to me like that i'd want to leave, kids are no different.
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