Home schooling - anyone else had a bit of a shock??

[PeteB]

Thinking of the original post, I did say to my son that I'm glad that he and his sister are done with formal learning and don't live with me. Partially because I'm not sure that it would go well, I'd struggle with it and partially that I'm "old school", and my education wouldn't suit the modern temperament! Proper maths, trig tables, equations etc, no calculator etc. Hand writing rather than electronic typewriters and keyboards. Books rather than screens etc, and the biggy - discipline! 

 

Very best wishes to those who are having this task and to teachers in ordinary times!

[Big J]

9 hours ago, breffni said:

I think learning more than one language helps with others. My daughter has been learning Welsh 4 years and is now fluent. She also can speak basic Spanish as well as some Irish. Learning Welsh has definitely made it easier for her to pick up other languages. To Welsh/Irish/Gaelic speakers it's important culturally to keep the language alive. What's your criteria for keeping a language alive?

 

Languages are tools and allow the speaker access and participation in societies that speak them. My point with regards to Welsh is that everyone who speaks Welsh also speaks English. And English is also spoken by another 1.5 billion people, so objectively, it's a much more useful language. If the time and expense of teaching someone Welsh was put into one of the World languages, the children growing up there now would have far broader horizons.

 

Also, anecdotally from contributors to this thread, it appears that the English teaching is suffering to an extent due to the Welsh teaching. I may of course be wrong.

 

The UK is woefully awful at languages as a whole. Compared to our European neighbours, we're generally pretty mono-lingual. The Swedes teach English from an early age with a third language being taught slightly later. As such, they all have pretty much perfect English by the time they leave school. 

[topchippyles]

19 minutes ago, Big J said:

Languages are tools and allow the speaker access and participation in societies that speak them. My point with regards to Welsh is that everyone who speaks Welsh also speaks English. And English is also spoken by another 1.5 billion people, so objectively, it's a much more useful language. If the time and expense of teaching someone Welsh was put into one of the World languages, the children growing up there now would have far broader horizons.

 

Also, anecdotally from contributors to this thread, it appears that the English teaching is suffering to an extent due to the Welsh teaching. I may of course be wrong.

 

The UK is woefully awful at languages as a whole. Compared to our European neighbours, we're generally pretty mono-lingual. The Swedes teach English from an early age with a third language being taught slightly later. As such, they all have pretty much perfect English by the time they leave school. 

You are very wrong Big J. There are many people in wales who do not speak english believe it or not. Mostly now the older generation who have never had access to the world wide web.

[Big J]

Just now, topchippyles said:

You are very wrong Big J. There are many people in wales who do not speak english believe it or not. Mostly now the older generation who have never had access to the world wide web.

I had a quick look on Google, and the consensus seems to be that there are a very small number of elderly with minimal English, and also young children in Welsh speaking communities, though they quickly learn English once at school.

 

It honestly just seems like a wasted effort to me. Teach in two languages, as clearly that's a great idea, but ensure that both are useful. Imagine if they were bilingual as a matter of course in Spanish? They could seamlessly explore from Mexico to Argentina and everything inbetween. Angelsey to Pembroke doesn't quite hold the same appeal.

 

I know it seems like I'm unnecessarily driving home a contentious point, but educacation has to be prioritised. You can't learn everything, and nor should you try. I just believe that ensuring everything we learn is as useful as it can possibly be is important.

[topchippyles]

14 minutes ago, Big J said:

I had a quick look on Google, and the consensus seems to be that there are a very small number of elderly with minimal English, and also young children in Welsh speaking communities, though they quickly learn English once at school.

 

It honestly just seems like a wasted effort to me. Teach in two languages, as clearly that's a great idea, but ensure that both are useful. Imagine if they were bilingual as a matter of course in Spanish? They could seamlessly explore from Mexico to Argentina and everything inbetween. Angelsey to Pembroke doesn't quite hold the same appeal.

 

I know it seems like I'm unnecessarily driving home a contentious point, but educacation has to be prioritised. You can't learn everything, and nor should you try. I just believe that ensuring everything we learn is as useful as it can possibly be is important.

Its the celtic blood that runs deep which keeps welsh people the way we are i suppose. Tradition- passion-and the steep history going back centuries. On the BBC radio local app the lo  nan Gaidheal  station still has a big following. I had never come across it until a few months ago. Its operated on the outer shetland islands and speaks a dialect unlike i have ever heard. (gaelic) 

Edited May 8, 2020 by topchippyles

[Billhook]

On 06/05/2020 at 11:34, Steve Bullman said:

Can’t see what all the fuss is about personally, just need a bit of discipline 

 

 

IMG_2216.MOV 5.62 MB · 35 downloads

I suspect that my GT Grandfather, who sadly died in 1940 long before I was born, would have said something along the lines of the Monty Python 4  Yorkshiremen skit,  "You think you had it tough, well let me tell you when I were a lad....."

My father certainly had a brute teaching him when he was about eight.  The headmaster was called Barber and when Mrs Barber had been giving him a hard time he used to come into the classroom with a face like thunder.  Father always recalled the time when he came in like that and his eyes went around the room until they alighted on a boy called West.  "Ah West, you haven't had a beating for a week, out here boy!"

Father met West several times over their lives at Weddings and funerals and they always talked about the brute Barber.

When Mrs Barber died the whole school was made to file past her open coffin.

Apparently all the parents thought he was great.

Edited May 8, 2020 by Billhook
spelling

[topchippyles]

9 minutes ago, Billhook said:

I suspect that my GT Grandfather, who sadly died in 1940 long before I was born, would have said something along the lines of the Monty Python 4  Yorkshiremen skit,  "You think you had it tough, well let me tell you when I were a lad....."

My father certainly had a brute teaching him when he was about eight.  The headmaster was called Barber and when Mrs Barber had been giving him a hard time he used to come into the classroom with a face like thunder.  Father always recalled the time when he came in like that and his eyes went around the room until they alighted on a boy called West.  "Ah West, you haven't had a beating for a week, out here boy!"

Father met West several times over their lives at Weddings and funerals and they always talked about the brute Barber.

When Mrs Barber died the whole school was made the file past her open coffin.

Apparently all the parents thought he was great.

One tough cookie. Remind me of me ?

[Billhook]

Another surprising thing going back to Gt Grandfather who was born in 1852 was a letter written to him by the old shepherd before he went off the South Africa in 1875.  You might think that a shepherd at that time, who basically spent much of his life living in  shepherd's hut would be illiterate but the letter was in the most beautiful handwriting and heartfelt and very moving.

I think that those Victorian village schools with the strict Victorian school maam were excellent at educating all the children of the village.  Of course backed up by the discipline of the Church at that time.

My handwriting along with most of my post war generation is appalling, most pre-war handwriting is beautiful.

[breffni]

1 hour ago, Big J said:

I had a quick look on Google, and the consensus seems to be that there are a very small number of elderly with minimal English, and also young children in Welsh speaking communities, though they quickly learn English once at school.

 

It honestly just seems like a wasted effort to me. Teach in two languages, as clearly that's a great idea, but ensure that both are useful. Imagine if they were bilingual as a matter of course in Spanish? They could seamlessly explore from Mexico to Argentina and everything inbetween. Angelsey to Pembroke doesn't quite hold the same appeal.

 

I know it seems like I'm unnecessarily driving home a contentious point, but educacation has to be prioritised. You can't learn everything, and nor should you try. I just believe that ensuring everything we learn is as useful as it can possibly be is important.

What's next? Stop teaching kids with learning disabilities as they don't contribute much? Did you not suggest planting the uplands in Sitka Spruce? Maybe you should go back to school if that's what you think is good idea. 

[topchippyles]

3 minutes ago, breffni said:

What's next? Stop teaching kids with learning disabilities as they don't contribute much? Did you not suggest planting the uplands in Sitka Spruce? Maybe you should go back to school if that's what you think is good idea. 

I was on him like a rash  ?

Edited May 8, 2020 by topchippyles