Educating Essex !!!
Discussion
MiniMan64 said:
pincher said:
williamp said:
This is how they see it on the channel 4 od site. Remember those are 15/16 year old girls they have got to pose like that- all about the teachers??
Hmmmm - looks like I may need to revise my earlier statement 
As a teacher I'm finding the mix of reactions on this thread very interesting indeed, quite the full range of reactions.
Watching it may only irritate me further. As it stands, I'm mildly irked by my sons education. He's just turned 10, helping him with his maths homework at weekend. They were asking him to do mental arithmetic, and show the working out. Which one is it? Mental - all in the mind, or written? It seemed quite typical of his homework, thankfully he's a pretty sharp fella and figures out the right answers quick enough. But if the homework is representative of what other infants/junior school kids are getting, then the educational system is royally screwed.
Eric Mc said:
Is that adequate?
I would have been extremely upset if I thought my child was going to feature in a programme to be braodcast over national TV without me being able to have any say in the final product. Pixellation is a sop to privacy and is not really that effective.
There is absolutely no way in a hundred million years the school would have even been allowed to bring a camera into the school with a signed agreement from every single child, parent, carer and member of staff involved. As a teacher, trust me, you can't do sI would have been extremely upset if I thought my child was going to feature in a programme to be braodcast over national TV without me being able to have any say in the final product. Pixellation is a sop to privacy and is not really that effective.
t without permission from parents. I'm frankly amazed that something like this ever got off the ground, must be a fairly small pupil number.Last weeks episode started near to Christmas and I would imagine its because it had taken since the start of term to tie off all the loose ends and get the final permissons sorted.
MiniMan64 said:
Last weeks episode started near to Christmas and I would imagine its because it had taken since the start of term to tie off all the loose ends and get the final permissons sorted.
They also had to wait for all of the cameras to be shipped from Australia where they were used for filming "I'm a Celebrity". The kids apparently thought that was very coolEric Mc said:
Why did the school decide to do this?
The head wanted to show the nation what it is really like in a modern secondary school and show the sort of things that teachers have to deal with on a daily basisEric Mc said:
Did they get paid by C4?
No, there was no money involved whatsoeverEric Mc said:
Did they get the agreement of the parents before they allowed the cameras in or allowed the footage to be shown?
C4 wrote to every single parent at the school asking if they objected. A few parents did object, and also some children could not be filmed for child protection reasons. Those children were not filmed accordingly (or at least footage of them will not be shown) Eric Mc said:
What happened if any parents objected?
See above. The child of any parent that objected will not be seen on screen.The cameras were in the school for a couple of weeks before they started filming so that when they started rolling people had mostly forgotten about them. Lots of the interviews they show were filmed either before that or after the end of the main filming.
There was no "show" put on for the cameras. What you saw was a very true representation of what the staff and pupils is like.
The head has had many requests to appear on daytime tv and do newpaper interviews since the show aired and he has turned them all down. He didn't do it for himself and wants to concentrate on his job of running the school.
Does "not been shown on screen" mean being "blobbed out" or not appearing in any way?
I would still be very, very unhappy with the institution that was educating my child going down this route. Indeed, I would do all in my power to stop it because despite what people might think, exposure in a national media DOES affect what is going on at a school or similar institution.
Indeed, I am sure the head agreed to this BECAUSE he/she thought it would have an effect.
I somewtimes wonder have people lost all sense of privacy and restraint. They think exposure in the media is something desirable.
I would still be very, very unhappy with the institution that was educating my child going down this route. Indeed, I would do all in my power to stop it because despite what people might think, exposure in a national media DOES affect what is going on at a school or similar institution.
Indeed, I am sure the head agreed to this BECAUSE he/she thought it would have an effect.
I somewtimes wonder have people lost all sense of privacy and restraint. They think exposure in the media is something desirable.
nelly1 said:
"You cannot treat teenagers as adults and expect them to follow the same rules as us..."
This from the Deputy Head.
Ye Gods!
I think he's got a very good point. In a lot of schools the fashion these days is to treat kids like adults. IMO it doesn't work; at that age they still need to be taught about rights & responsibilities and sanctions have to be used. Anybody who has had kids know that they will push and push at the boundaries to see what people are prepared to put up with or accept, and what people will not put up with.This from the Deputy Head.
Ye Gods!
Countdown said:
nelly1 said:
"You cannot treat teenagers as adults and expect them to follow the same rules as us..."
This from the Deputy Head.
Ye Gods!
I think he's got a very good point. In a lot of schools the fashion these days is to treat kids like adults. IMO it doesn't work; at that age they still need to be taught about rights & responsibilities and sanctions have to be used. Anybody who has had kids know that they will push and push at the boundaries to see what people are prepared to put up with or accept, and what people will not put up with.This from the Deputy Head.
Ye Gods!
The way he shat himself when shown a bit of stern authority (suspension) followed by the Dep. Head rolling his eyes and backing down immediately was painful to watch. He swaggered out of the office with his hood up knowing he can get away with it if he gives it the remorseful puppy-dog eyes - "I'm only an ikkle kid..."
Sadly this seems to be the way of the world nowadays, and don't they know it?
God, things have changed since I went to school. Talk about a fuss over nothing. A girl sends a silly text to her mate saying she's being watched and everyone craps their pants and talks about getting the police in, parents are summoned, prison is mentioned. Then one lad pushes another and relatives descend on the school promising retribution, there are confrontations, phone calls and meetings and people running around like lunatics. The headmaster and his staff seemed like good teachers and decent people but is this really what happens in school these days? I went to two very good schools and stuff was sorted out in much simpler ways. A kid pushes another kid and he'd get a kick up the arse from the teacher and told not to be so bloody stupid. Two kids have a problem and they agree to sort it out in the yard, and more often than not it was sorted then and there and the trouble stopped. It would be inconceivable to involve the police in school issues when I was growing up (unless they were on the level of a stabbing or something) and I personally find it very disturbing that normal childrens' behaviour is being criminalised in this idiotic fashion.
carmonk said:
God, things have changed since I went to school. Talk about a fuss over nothing. A girl sends a silly text to her mate saying she's being watched and everyone craps their pants and talks about getting the police in, parents are summoned, prison is mentioned. Then one lad pushes another and relatives descend on the school promising retribution, there are confrontations, phone calls and meetings and people running around like lunatics. The headmaster and his staff seemed like good teachers and decent people but is this really what happens in school these days? I went to two very good schools and stuff was sorted out in much simpler ways. A kid pushes another kid and he'd get a kick up the arse from the teacher and told not to be so bloody stupid. Two kids have a problem and they agree to sort it out in the yard, and more often than not it was sorted then and there and the trouble stopped. It would be inconceivable to involve the police in school issues when I was growing up (unless they were on the level of a stabbing or something) and I personally find it very disturbing that normal childrens' behaviour is being criminalised in this idiotic fashion.
Yep, sad and disturbing. carmonk said:
God, things have changed since I went to school. Talk about a fuss over nothing. A girl sends a silly text to her mate saying she's being watched and everyone craps their pants and talks about getting the police in, parents are summoned, prison is mentioned. Then one lad pushes another and relatives descend on the school promising retribution, there are confrontations, phone calls and meetings and people running around like lunatics. The headmaster and his staff seemed like good teachers and decent people but is this really what happens in school these days? I went to two very good schools and stuff was sorted out in much simpler ways. A kid pushes another kid and he'd get a kick up the arse from the teacher and told not to be so bloody stupid. Two kids have a problem and they agree to sort it out in the yard, and more often than not it was sorted then and there and the trouble stopped. It would be inconceivable to involve the police in school issues when I was growing up (unless they were on the level of a stabbing or something) and I personally find it very disturbing that normal childrens' behaviour is being criminalised in this idiotic fashion.
I'm afraid the cyberside of bullying is that serious and not something you can compare to your time "back in the day". It might of seemed like just a few little texts on last nights show but this stuff can get properly nasty and schools are best to deal with it like this and nip it in the bud before it gets really out of hand. Which it does. I've seen examples that are properly scary and not very pleasent, the way schools deal with things might have changed but the way kids behave has changed too.Still finding it very interesting how people react to incidents on this show, quite a variety of opinions.
nelly1 said:
"You cannot treat teenagers as adults and expect them to follow the same rules as us..."
This from the Deputy Head.
Ye Gods!
Like this. They might think they're adults, they might pretend to act like adults but they're not. Adults have been through this difficult time and it's shaped who they are. Most of these teenagers appear to "grown up" but they're really not. I'm not saying treat them with kid gloves the chap last night is right.This from the Deputy Head.
Ye Gods!
MiniMan64 said:
carmonk said:
God, things have changed since I went to school. Talk about a fuss over nothing. A girl sends a silly text to her mate saying she's being watched and everyone craps their pants and talks about getting the police in, parents are summoned, prison is mentioned. Then one lad pushes another and relatives descend on the school promising retribution, there are confrontations, phone calls and meetings and people running around like lunatics. The headmaster and his staff seemed like good teachers and decent people but is this really what happens in school these days? I went to two very good schools and stuff was sorted out in much simpler ways. A kid pushes another kid and he'd get a kick up the arse from the teacher and told not to be so bloody stupid. Two kids have a problem and they agree to sort it out in the yard, and more often than not it was sorted then and there and the trouble stopped. It would be inconceivable to involve the police in school issues when I was growing up (unless they were on the level of a stabbing or something) and I personally find it very disturbing that normal childrens' behaviour is being criminalised in this idiotic fashion.
I'm afraid the cyberside of bullying is that serious and not something you can compare to your time "back in the day". It might of seemed like just a few little texts on last nights show but this stuff can get properly nasty and schools are best to deal with it like this and nip it in the bud before it gets really out of hand. Which it does. I've seen examples that are properly scary and not very pleasent, the way schools deal with things might have changed but the way kids behave has changed too.MiniMan64 said:
Still finding it very interesting how people react to incidents on this show, quite a variety of opinions.
And when do you start instilling adult values then? 17? 18?nelly1 said:
"You cannot treat teenagers as adults and expect them to follow the same rules as us..."
This from the Deputy Head.
Ye Gods!
Like this. They might think they're adults, they might pretend to act like adults but they're not. Adults have been through this difficult time and it's shaped who they are. Most of these teenagers appear to "grown up" but they're really not. I'm not saying treat them with kid gloves the chap last night is right.This from the Deputy Head.
Ye Gods!
The ship's already sailed by then I would suggest.
Why do they start teaching them Sex Education at 12 y.o. if we should be isolating them from the nasty grown-up world?
Friend of mine used to teach young Vinnie - sent me an SMS last night saying that he has 'more natural talent than you do Actus Reus', and I'd like to think that I'm not stupid. He also said that he was 'good as gold' when he taught him, and said that broken homes are more often than not the cause of real problems.
Aside from that, I was very impressed by the attitude of some of the staff. I also quite fancied that teacher who was always wearing a tracksuit...
Aside from that, I was very impressed by the attitude of some of the staff. I also quite fancied that teacher who was always wearing a tracksuit...
Gassing Station | TV, Film, Video Streaming & Radio | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff