Deb's Digest
Debbie Atkinson’s family life column, as featured in the Southport Visiter.

Wednesday 28 May 2008

RUDE PEOPLE

If I'm just getting older and less tolerant then so be it but I saw for myself yesterday how far standards have slipped in educational establishments. I started the maths course with six other mature (I use the word loosely) students. One female student was going to be trouble from the off. When asked why she wanted to do the course she simply shrugged her shoulders. Why did her parents never give her a clip round the ears? After failing miserably in the diagnostic test she was told politely that this was not the course for her and an alternative course was suggested. She argued and then stormed out saying that she'd wasted her time, followed by the member of staff calling after her. A teacher friend said that the only thing that surprised him about the incident was that she didn't kick two chairs and a table on her way out since that's the norm apparently. I remember being frightened to death of being caught without my beret on the way home from school - what has happened since then?

Perhaps the answer lies in my generation - when only the pupils who weren't capable of doing A-levels went to teacher training college.

2 comments:

  1. Deborah - a bit of a slight there on people who went to teacher training college!!!!!!!!
    today it seems you don't even need maths at any level to be a teacher?
    I always thought you were good at maths at school ? you were better than me anyway!
    from one who knows!!!!

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  2. Sorry Barbara - it was a bit of a blanket criticism. I certainly wouldn't have put you in that category. The trouble was although I was in the A stream, you had a much better teacher in Miss Sherringham! I remember asking you to explain things to me - those were the days.

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