Category Archives: Contemporary issues

We’re all going on a family holiday?

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October time brings about the Halloween half term for children all across the UK. This, for many children, means a chance to go away on holiday and spend time with their families. However, where should we stand, as teachers, regarding children leaving the class during term time for holidays?

Families in England have been fined for taking their children out of class during term time. In the case of Mrs Smith (Shammas and Shephard, 2016), she had taken her daughter out near Easter time in order to accommodate her other children who were at other schools and came home to a £60 fine from her local council. If she does not pay the fine, it may be increased up to £2500. This raises some serious questions regarding attendance. Should we fine families who take children out on holidays, even if the child has a 100% attendance record up to that point?

As a child growing up, my parents would take me out of school early to go on holiday as it could save around £150 per person, which is quite a lot for any family. Whilst on holiday I would be learning about different areas compared to what I’d be learning in school such as the culture of the country I was in. Seeing how a Spanish town would close about midday for a siesta was something that ‘child Amy’ had never considered before. The hustle and bustle of New York City at Christmas time, where American families actually did dress up in matching jumpers to see Santa and that my favourite Christmas movies weren’t lying to me. I was fortunate to do activities such as horse riding and snorkelling which I probably would not have done if I was at home. Family time can also make a huge difference for a child. My dad would travel to different countries for his work, so by having our family holidays, it was time dedicated to spend together and create memories.

Holiday memories can sometimes last a lot longer than something you learn at school.

A child does not necessarily have to go abroad in order to learn things from a family break. Going away anywhere in the UK will give the child a chance to interact with different people and see how, for example, life in London or Glasgow would compare to their usual life in Dundee. By experiencing the underground they will learn about new forms of travel and can apply it back in the classroom when the class are discussing methods of transport. By bringing these real life experiences into the classroom, the child is more likely to be engaged in the discussions and understand a lot more of the topic.

I can see the other side of the argument that teachers will have to work with that child, possibly one-on-one, to help them catch up with the rest of the class. This may mean adapting lesson plans that were previously in place so that the children does not fall further behind all the others. This is especially true in the early years setting where a child may miss out of a phonics sound and could struggle with it in the future.

In conclusion, I believe that if you take a child out of school for a holiday, may it be in the UK or abroad, that the family should not be fined. This is because they will learn a lot from going away and interacting with different people and they will more than likely to be able to catch up on the work they have missed. The advantages in this topic, in my opinion, outweigh the disadvantages as learning the skill of communication at a young age is very important for further development.

References

Shammas, J and Shephard, R. (2016) Impossible’ New Rule Sees Mum Fined For Taking Child Out Of School For Holiday. Available at: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/mum-four-fined-after-taking-7835026 (Accessed: 11/10/2016)

 

Secondary School Entrance Exams: does it help or hinder?

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Growing up in Northern Ireland, I always knew that once I reached Primary 6/Primary 7 I had to knuckle down and work hard to pass my 11+ exam. I knew that my secondary school experience could be very different depending on what school I got the grades to go to. Practice paper after practice paper; spending 4 hours of class time a week working on and marking more papers. It felt like my life was being overcome by these questions.kids working

However, looking back over it, I believe it was the best thing for me. Getting into my local grammar school, in my view, really did help with my education. By being split up into ability, I found it more of a challenge to see if I could beat the others in my class. As I had a lower ability when it came to subjects such as English, I feel like being split up was again helpful as the teacher was able to spend more time working on different aspects that the whole class were not sure about.

Regarding the new examination that they have brought into the Northern Ireland curriculum, children are now focusing on the ‘2 marks more’ that they got compared to their friends. I believe that this isn’t beneficial for the children, as this means there is more room for bullying because they know in greater detail how they preformed on the day. The new AQE test also means that children will have to take another exam, the GL test, if they wish to go to a Catholic Grammar school. I think this is very hard on the children, as they will have to do four exams if they wish to be considered by all of their local grammar schools, compared to the two exams you would do through the 11+.

Just because a child doesn’t get into a grammar, doesn’t mean that they will not be as successful. It shouldn’t be seen as ‘I’m not smart enough, I’m not going to work’ but it should be seen as an opportunity. I have family members who went to the local secondary school, I have been able to make notes on our progress as we are both heading to university around the same time. It is very important to offer equal opportunities to all students. By streaming the children from primary to secondary, I believe they will get the best help for their ability. Our local secondary school will also stream the children so the lower ability classes will be smaller, so they can get more one on one attention; this will be very beneficial for their development.

Overall, I think that entrance exams are good at streaming the children for their best ability. This will therefore help their development throughout their school life and then into their time at university.