Alunh
Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
@jimbow 5444 wrote:
This is due to be discussed at the Executive Board Meeting of the Council on Tuesday 9th April 2013.When this was discussed by the Scrutiny Committee the General Public were invited to attend.At the Executive Board Meeting this Agenda Item 15 the public are being barred.Is this democratic?
Yes it is democratic but more importantly it is not necessarily wise. The way our system works is that we (A) elect individuals (B) to undertake certain tasks on our behalf. They are ultimately responsible for another set of individuals (C) who carry out the decisions made by (B). Periodically, if we don’t like what (C) do or what (B) have asked them to do (or not ensured that what they asked was effective), we (A) vote them out.
The real problem we have, and it has been touched on by everyone on this Forum, is that we (A) don’t appear to be able to get (C) to do the job in the way that people with half a brain would expect.
Is it because we keep voting in the SAME people (B). Wayne has introduced many interesting ideas about pressure approaches 2013 style, this Forum being one of them. For those of you with the time and inclination, get involved
Councils shouldn’t be the prime agent of creating the ‘feel good factor’ in a town like Wrexham except on rare occasions. There is a huge private sector out there for this type of thing.
The next thing, we’ll be expecting Councils to pay for Wrexham FC, promote Soul nights, book the Drifters at Glyndwr or any of the other zillions of things that constitute entertainment.
Still not sure about the ‘Beach’ if the Council are determined to spend money where they seem determined to
@wrexview 5457 wrote:
The people of Wrexham need to believe in themselves more and create an ethos of aspiration. Negativity is very destructive and spreads an air of gloom. The same happens in schools ” we are not very good” so why bother, the downward spiral starts and is difficult to stop / change. Attitude is all important, much can be achieved with a positive attitude and a bit of effort. It is our town and it is up to all of us to make it a good place to live, work and relax in.
Quite agree……except for the fact that when it comes to key decision making it often isn’t. The approach to schools is dictated from Cardiff and we in Wrexham have to follow the Labour led lead that is provided. When the Council actually considered a differentiated approach to the Superschools they were refused permission to even consider
@thewayneinspain 5308 wrote:
I sort of agree with the free school argument… Yet I believe that education should be about equality where every child gets the same shot at life via education.
I’m guessing alot of the millions spent were/are actually PFIs? Can anyone point me the right direction of the figures?
Just to bear in mind that the idea of ‘equality’ can mean many many different things in Education land. For example, it might mean having the same amount of money spent on the pupils. It might mean sending all pupils to the same Comprehensive school. It might mean having Mixed ability lessons. It might mean trying to calculate the needs and aptitudes of the pupils and equally set about providing a tailored education to bring out the best from each student.
I like the Butler Act system (broadly) because it put in front of students a form of Education that they could (broadly) cope with and was suited to their needs. It could, of course, have been fine tuned.
I too would like to see more of the English approach in Wales
I found myself in a difficult place on this one and neither supported it as an idea or opposed it. The problem I have is that the Council appear to be wired to spend Council Tax rather than being geared to encourage local Entrepreneurs to come forward and invest their money in schemes of one type or another.
Profit led incentives need the Council to act as Ringmaster not performing animal
@Welsh Dresser 5242 wrote:
Most readers are only interested in the human interest part. Peruse the publications on sale in most supermarkets and you will find a mountain of gossip magazines and very little serious journalism. It seems to be what people want today. A bit of escapism from the real world. Personally I wouldn’t give them room in my bin but it takes all sorts.
I (kind of) agree with what you’re both saying. The truth for me is that it is great to hear a human interest story particularly if it is a positive one. I do like the stats though and I do like comparisons (over time and between authorities). If the one human interest story is the rule and not the exception that is fantastic. Conversely, as Wayne suggests, if it is the exception then that is different.
On this story, I really have no idea
@Rondetto 5224 wrote:
It’s sad that big stores such as the TJ Hughes is still empty. Surely M&S would have been better sited there. Many elderly people who used the old store in town cant walk down there. I’ve spoken to a few in M&S who say they wont be shopping there again after paying £2 to park for just about 20 minutes shopping.
At least in Mold you can park for 3 hours for 20p.From what I can gather, M & S now regard Town ‘Centre’ premises without car parks as disadvantageous to their business. It seems that the ‘threat’ was made to exit the town unless they had a relocation that gave them the ability to access car parking. Their food is Wrexham is, apparently, a success. In Rhyl, they pulled out altogether and opened up in Prestatyn, in a plot with Tesco and with a car park
@djrus 5078 wrote:
You don’t it is just snobbery that causes this.
I’m amazed by this. Is it really just snobbery that drives parents to want the very best for their children? I don’t believe this to be the case (though I’ve no doubt that you may well be right in some instances).
If by this comment, you mean that parents try desperately to find a school where there is order in the classroom, I would agree. Holywell Secondary School, for example, and Hawarden are like chalk and cheese and concerned parents that have the choice opt for one over the other. The same is true in the case of Rhyl High and Prestatyn, the latter being one of the biggest schools in North Wales but also one of the best.
Caring parents will track the Estyn Reports and the HMI Reports, they will look at the % GCSE passes per year and they might even look at exclusion rates, truancy patterns, bullying stats, etc. The bottom line is that parents want the best for their children and if driving/bussing them to Bishop Heber in Malpas or paying to go private in King’s/Ruthin is possible, then parents will do this.
In 1970 this wasn’t necessary in Wrexham, nor should it be
@zinger 5083 wrote:
I started school at 5 & left at 15. Average intelligence. No college due to being youngest of large family & my sick mother died just after I left school. I had brilliant teachers who cared about the children they taught, capital punishment was rare but well deserved, if used & then only the slipper across the bum. Apart from technology & science, my education was far superior to that of my children & grandchildren. I learned the basics at infant & junior schools & the more academic stuff at senior school. I can add up faster without a calculator than with one. My peers appeared to be the same when I looked at them on ‘friends reunited’. Something has changed drastically from those days until now. What is it?
You were taught in what they nowadays call a Teacher centred environment. The Teacher stood at the front of the classroom and taught the class. You may have learnt some of your lessons by rote (Maths, Spelling, etc) and despite the routine involved, the stuff stuck. As you got older, more and more subjects would have been introduced to you and, according to your revealed ability, you would have studied those you opted for at the level which you could cope with.
Todays Secondary classroom, at least in Wrexham, is a radically different place to learn. Where possible the emphasis is on equality and students are taught in a Mixed ability setting so that all are exposed to a ‘common’ experience. Usually some lessons are set according to ability and in St Josephs setting is the norm; in Clywedog Mixed ability is more frequent. The objective of the school is to foster child centred learning where the student takes responsibility for his/her own learning. This HAS to be the case because a Teacher cannot teach from the front in a Mixed ability lesson. The Teacher sets out his/her aims on the board may give a brief chat and then the class work at their own pace through material (prepared by the Teacher).
Mixed ability makes it a taboo for the Teacher to do what I call teach (from the front). The assumption is that the student body has radically different coping skills and certainly will have radically different understanding of English. If the Teacher talks from the front, either the slower learners will be hopelessly lost or the quicker learners will be bored out of their brains, depending on how the Teacher pitches the lesson. Perversely, though Teachers know that they are not supposed to talk from the front, they often do. Bad habits!!
To actually answer your question. You have to witness this farce first hand to appreciate why no one is learning anything. The Teacher teaching a set of students with broadly comparable abilities can create a dynamic and teach from the front, employing language to fit the abilities of the class. Education moves at tempo. Mixed ability is like a garden full of slugs all chugging along but getting nowhere. Bright kids distracted by slower kids, slower kids distracted by (bored) bright kids. Teachers unable to teach (from the front) and shuffling around as kids try to learn from a child centred perspective. Students not sure what they are doing, often writing chunks from books……..
Farce
@wxm 4882 wrote:
Piece on the Welsh news tonight saying problems across Wales with education, and a number of schools & authorities going into “special measures”. Education Minister says authorities are to small to have specialist capabilities and we need fewer education authorities that are better concentrated. Clwyd & Gwynedd back? Or one for North Wales? But coming back to standards, if tomorrows generation are going to have a chance in Wrexham, we need to deal with standards in Wrexham now. The piece on the TV interviewing a Council Leader in south Wales, he said that they were going out to seek good practice, and bring in specialists. Seeking out good practice is becoming the mantra of decades gone by …it has become failings copying failings …hard work and people with a strong track record in specialisms and leadership are needed to turn this around …we as a community need to understand what is being done now …
Interesting
It’s amazing what they churn out as an excuse. Somewhere it’ll be David Cameron’s fault OR poor management OR small authorities OR big authorities (oh that’s such a 90’s comment), OR lack of funds, OR middle class parents exercising choice OR OR OR. Crazy. The Butler Act had many flaws but at least it put people broadly into schools that matched their needs and abilities. If it didn’t (which I have no doubt that often it didn’t) improve it, reform it, change it. But don’t just throw it away and parachute in something that will never work
