High School these days...

[Andy Champ]

This address?

mailto: [e-mail]

[Bob Eager]

We effectively do that, and 'stream' them (some get more lectures and longer classes). And the division does not turn out to be GCSE/A-level...!

[SteveW]

I remember sitting in a (top set) o-level physics class and pointing out to the teacher that the diagram on the board (left over from a previous class) had one of the three sockets on the ring main wired in reverse.

SteveW

[Huge]

When I was there, the first year Science stream for biologists had a lecture series entitled something like Mathematics for Biologists. At the first lecture, the lecturer said "If you have 'A' level maths, you can leave now". So I did.

[Bob Eager]

We do that for some lectures...but some of the A level people have to stay, because they can't do the stuff anyway.

[Huge]

That's both funny and depressing.

I've been reading about Cantor sets for the last couple of days. My head hurts. No wonder Cantor went mad.

[Bob Eager]

Partly because the target culture means they are taught to pass the exam instead of being taught maths.

And partly because it's modular and their teacher may not have chosen the right modules.

[Huge]

That's just plain depressing.

[Mark]

That's a popular view but I don't totally agree, certainly in the case of my son, who did A level maths recently and does know his stuff. IMHO there's alwasys been an element of "being taught to pass the exam" and that's not necessarily a Bad Thing.

What are the "right" modules?

Again, in my son's school they choose from a set of modules to give a balance. IIRC they were only three groups: pure (core), mechanics, and stats. Each group must be done in order so the options are limited.

[Bob Eager]

It varies. Some schools are very good, and some are very bad, at this. One can't guarantee the output - which is the problem.

Depends on what they plan to do.

[Martin Brown]

There is no reason why it should not be both.

The ones that maximise your own final score. I recall my first year at university being in the higher math set and having one top flight old school lecturer who was completely and utterly incomprehensible to even the brightest of us. Thanks to that lecturer I still don't understand Green's functions, but fortunately we no longer do things that way.

The result was that those who wanted to score something on that terms module went to the lower maths class to learn group theory instead and after a while some of the lower stream went to the other course because they couldn't get a seat in their lecture room and could understand neither. On the whole though our lecturers were pretty good.

In my day it was choose any two from the above for single maths A level.

[Mark]

Then that supports the argument that a single (or fewer) exam boards would be a good idea.

Which is often not known at the time the choice is made.

[Mark]

Agreed.

We didn't have sets at A level or degree level. All the maths at Uni was entirely new to everyone so we were all in the same boat.

Same here. Now it's modular but the choices are still limited.

[Tim Watts]

Complete off topic - went to the local primary yesterday for an assembly.

Afterwards, I asked the kids who that person was who was dressed like a Goth/Emo - black eyeliner, black hair, black clothes, black hat...

"That's the new reception teacher, daddy"

*wibble*

[Martin Brown]

The two streams were meant to be roughly speaking maths for the hard sciences like physics and chemistry which started very abruptly with a crash course in vector calculus, and maths for biologists which didn't! There was one maths exam but two parallel courses.

ISTR real mathematicians spent most of the first term proving ab initio that 0 != 1 One or two swapped to physics as a result.

Seems a shame to have to choose between mechanics and statistics - both are important. These days statistics is probably the more important.

[Bob Eager]

I wouldn't dispute that - but 'teaching to the exam' is not eliminated by that.

If they have a choice. Often that choice is made by the school, based on what the teachers can actually do - or want to do.

[Owain]

One wonders what he'll wear for Hallowe'en.

Owain

[Tim Watts]

Oh - it was a "she"

[Huge]

Surprised you could tell.

[Tim Watts]

The skirt was a bit of a hint (yes I know...) :->