Tag: 11+

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Do we still need grammar schools? (Part 2)

What other arguments do people have for getting rid of them? I have heard people say that grammar schools are elitist, and that only wealthy people can go because they are the only ones who can afford private tutors.

Rubbish! I went to one. So did my brother. We came from a family where there was always too much month left at the end of the money. My parents often had to choose between paying the bills or putting food on the table. There certainly wasn’t anything to spare for luxuries such as an 11+ tutor. We still earned ourselves a place, and we weren’t the only ones who passed without a tutor – there were children in our class from all walks of life.

It’s still the same now – I know children of single parent families, and parents on benefits who have passed the test in recent years. I have also taught in a grammar school and it certainly wasn’t all rich kids in my classes.

It’s true that many children do have coaching for the 11+ tests, but then they also have coaching for GCSEs and A’ levels too. Should we therefore abolish all exams for all children just because some families can afford to pay for extra help for them? Or close all the schools in more affluent areas? Of course not. So why single out grammar schools?

To be honest it’s not only rich families who pay for tutors. I know families who scrimp and save to pay for a tutor and who go without holidays, or don’t own a car, or don’t drink or smoke so that they can afford tuition fees. It’s called choosing priorities. And at the end of the day, tutored or not, the children still need to pass the exam, and having a tutor is no guarantee.

The final argument against grammar schools? Bright children can do just as well in a comprehensive. I’m sure that the confident ones can, but those who are shy are probably going to get lost. Those who know the answers but who are too timid to put their hand up, and who just quietly get on with their work are probably going to get forgotten.

Enough about why other people are against them. Why am I for them? Find out in Do we still need Grammar Schools (Part 3).

Missed Do we still need grammar schools (part 1)? Read it here.

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Do we still need grammar schools? (Part 1)

I’m going to say something controversial today. I’m probably going to come under attack from several angles. I may be vilified and I may never be welcomed into many social circles again, but I’m going to say it anyway. It’s this: I’m in favour of grammar schools [straps on hard hat and ducks below the parapet].

Why am I in favour of them? In my mind the question is, “Why would anyone be against them?”

I have heard people say the 11+ is unfair because you can’t tell at such a young age who the brightest children are. I have also heard people complain that the grammar schools cream off the brightest children. Well, I’m sorry but they can’t have it both ways. Either the grammar schools are creaming off the brightest pupils, in which case you can tell at 11, or you can’t tell at 11, but then the grammar schools can’t be accused of depriving the comprehensives of the brighter children.

Then there is the argument that grammar schools are unfair because they put non-grammar schools at a disadvantage in the league tables. Well, that’s a great reason to abolish them, right?

“We have a school here full of children who really want to work, and who study hard, and it consistently outperforms all the other schools in the area. What should we do with it?”

“My goodness! It sounds like a terrible school – let’s close it down!”

Does that sound sensible? What would happen if the top three football teams in the Premier League had to be closed down at the end of every season? Would the teams try as hard? What if Manchester United was abolished just because it does so well, so that the players could be distributed amongst the other teams?

If the school league tables put non-grammar schools at such an unfair disadvantage, then it’s the league tables system that needs looking at – not the top performing schools. But that’s a whole other topic for a blog post.

Related posts: Do we still need Grammar Schools (part 2)   Do we still need Grammar Schools Part 3

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A Day in the Life of a Self-employed Teacher

Recently I signed up to a blogging challenge and one of the suggestions was to write a blog post about a typical day. That sounds all well and good…..except that I don’t have a typical working day!

Often I have work booked in in advance, which is great.  On those days I get ready for work and I go. Other days I wait to see if the phone rings. Most days it does and off I go to work. Other days it doesn’t and then I work from home.

But, whether the phone rings at the last minute, or the day is booked in advance, the work I do when I get there is the same though – right? Er…no! I teach across a whole range of ages, and teach every subject on the primary curriculum as well as specialising in languages.  One day I could be playing dolls houses and making chocolate crispie cakes in Nursery; the next teaching French to graduates at a local university. The day after that could be a 1960s themed day with Year 6, followed by a day split between Years 1 and 2 doing some Latin. The week could end with a day teaching deaf children.

On those days when I work from home the days are still varied. I maintain my own website and this blog, and also have responsibility for my husband’s website and blog for his tour guiding business. There are always emails that need answering and I sometimes proofread my husband’s translation work for him. I’m part of Team 100WC so I make sure I find time to read the children’s writing and leave comments for them.

I also take my CPD seriously, so a work from home day will include doing my homework for my British Sign Language level 3 course and reading and research for a level 3 course in Dyslexia Awareness, Support and Screening.

Four evenings a week and Saturday mornings I do private tuition for children aged 6-12, but again every lesson is different. Some of the children I work with need help with just maths, some just English and some both. Some have dyslexia and need a different sort of help, and some find the work they do at school easy and need stretching. As if that wasn’t enough variety, I am planning to branch out into 11+ tuition, and language teaching for businesses as well.

So – thanks very much to Nikki Pilkington for the suggestion in her 30 Day Blogging Challenge, but I’m afraid this is about as typical as it gets!

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What Will I Do Next?

The last few weeks have been language-filled. Over the summer holidays I taught, alongside a colleague, on a subject knowledge enhancement course at Newman University. The aim was to take people from long-forgotten GCSE French up to AS/A’ level standard in just two weeks. It was fun. It was also exhausting! Most of all though, it was rewarding to watch the final presentations to see how far they had come in a fortnight.

After that there was just one weekend to switch off before starting my next job, which was a 7 week contract at the Blue Coat School teaching French to years 2 and 6 and Spanish to years 4 and 5. That certainly kept me on my toes as lessons of the same language weren’t always blocked together, and lessons were quite short so I had to switch backwards and forwards between French and Spanish very quickly. The school staff and children were all lovely and I shall miss working there.

Then over the half term holidays was the Language Show, followed by writing up notes on all the things I’d learned to I can put them into practise, and some proofreading for my husband, who is a translator.

So – what’s next? Well, first of all a “rest” – I shall “relax” by looking into 11+ tuition, catching up on my BSL homework and hopefully doing some further studies about dyslexia). After that….

I’ve had a few enquiries for French and Spanish GCSE tuition so I shall see if I can convert some of those enquiries to bookings.  I shall also be continuing with private tuition for maths and English SATs. I have a waiting list at the moment, so I shall take a few more of those on.

If possible I’d also like to get some work experience in a Deaf school to put my BSL to use, so I shall try to find somewhere to let me volunteer.

Other than that…I’m open to offers!

If you need a teacher or tutor for maths, English, languages or dyslexia teaching then contact me via my website.