were you encouraged to go to college in school and do you think you should have been?

spurious

One parent laughed in front of her child when I suggested her daughter go for a college place.

steddyeddy

Dave0301 wrote: »

It would be naive to lay this responsibility solely at the doorstep of the teacher. Yes they should play a role in ensuring that if the students are able achieve the grades for college, or if they have aspirations, ensure that they do what they can to help.

However, a student's view on academic matters at both second level and third, are hugely influenced by their parents or family background.

Family comes first and I agree with that one hundred per cent. My problem is that lots of kids have an interest in science, reading and whatever else. If they don't get the support they need at home it should be encouraged at school level.

errlloyd

I feel like an elitist dope saying this, but in my school it was either university or repeat. There were no other options discussed. I guess it was because it was private and the councillors didn't want kids going home to parents saying they weren't gonna go to college even though they'd dropped however much on education.

steddyeddy

spurious wrote: »

One parent laughed in front of her child when I suggested her daughter go for a college place.

Again I'm not going to say there aren't bad parents out there. Believe me I know there are. I think parenting is a privilige thought of as a rigth by too many. All you can do is teach the kid a love of learning and she will get there.

steddyeddy

errlloyd wrote: »

I feel like an elitist dope saying this, but in my school it was either university or repeat. There were no other options discussed. I guess it was because it was private and the councillors didn't want kids going home to parents saying they weren't gonna go to college even though they'd dropped however much on education.

I don't see how that makes you elitest or a dope to be honest.

mariaalice

I don't think teachers are perfect and what teachers say and do is certainly one element of what choices student make, but a far far bigger element is the home environment.

Its funny I was just thinking the other day how I use to think when I was in school that every one did the leaving, It took me years to realise that not everyone did the leaving.

Dave0301

steddyeddy wrote: »

Family comes first and I agree with that one hundred per cent. My problem is that lots of kids have an interest in science, reading and whatever else. If they don't get the support they need at home it should be encouraged at school level.

I teach Maths and Physics, and the amount of times parents just brush off their child's lack of basic arithmetic with "Ah sure she is awful at Maths, gets that from me, haha."

It would be a different story if you told them, "Little Janey can't read." Not too many parents would laugh about that.

The way academia, homework and education in general is perceived by parents will have a monumental affect on how the children will perceive it.

As a teacher, they should look to engage students, enrich their lessons and enthuse students so that they want to study certain subjects further.

This is infinitely easier if you have the parents onside as well.

starlit

Yes i was encouraged and encouraged myself to go because i wanted to and go to college for as long as i felt was necessary. I am delighted that i went.

Hersheys

steddyeddy wrote: »

XXXXX :P! Ha ha fair play! Are you a mental scientist like me or a normal one?

Is there such a thing as a normal scientist?! (Nobody who studies science at a masters or PhD level is normal, they are sadists. I am a glutton for punishment as attested to by my masters and PhD.)

Miss Lockhart

It was just a given in my school that you would go on to further education. For 95% that meant a Level 7 or 8 and for other 5% it meant a PLC. We were encouraged and we had decent career guidance (circa 2000). A science subject and a language were compulsory. It was a convent school.

Polka_Dot

It was very much encouraged in my school, with all options presented for students, university, FETAC etc. You could definitely tell that a lot of the students from working class backgrounds thought that college was out of their reach, but most that I'd know well enough have gone on to do some kind of further study. However they'd still have a similar attitude towards university. A lot of times I've run in to someone I used to go to school with and when I say I'm in university the general response is something along the lines of "God you must be so clever" even though I'm no cleverer than they are.

(science student as well btw :P)

PucaMama

encouraged in school, but not by my parents.

edit bit of a scientist here too

laoch na mona

parents always want me to get an education but they weren't pushy just wanted their children to have a better chance then they got. I'm from a strong working class area so education was not the norm. I remember once when i was talking to my cousin (an old culchie) and i told him one of my friends was the son of the towns biggest solicitors (family has been in law for generations. said son is in trinity) my cousin called them the local ascendency and slagged me for getting big ideas about my self. It's weird how people put each other into castes and reenforce class differences

beks101

Yeah it was assumed in my school that you'd go on to university and anyone who didn't got the raised eyebrows.

Ten years later I can see a pattern where it fostered a lot of law school graduates, teachers, doctors and accountants - if I wasn't such a hormone-ridden, awkward, difficult teenager I probably would've followed that route too.

On the face of it those are great jobs but what I hated about school was the lack of recognition or encouragement for more creative, less conventional, less "safe" career paths. Everyone should be a teacher or an accountant, was the advice dallied out at the time by our guidance counsellor and she sighed loudly when I told her I wanted to write and was thinking about Journalism.

There was pretty much no recognition for the fact that you could skip third level altogether and still live a successful, happy life and anyone who did so was immediately considered a failure.

Catholic public school.

Agricola

The late 90s seems so long ago! but if memory serves, careers class was in 5th year only, with 6th year devoted completely to improving your chances of accumulating points. For this reason, and the fact that our careers teachers was also our religion teacher and a bit of a space cadet, no one was really encouraged to go to or do anything. I think there was some vague evaluations of our interests and we had class discussions about different careers but it was all very informal. I think lots of people used to the time to do homework!

With the ending of fees in '96, the college boom had started by then anyway and everyone was planning on at least having a shot at first year at the very least.

LoonyLovegood

90 odd percent of my sixth year are in college, although it was heavily pushed on us all. The rest either repeated or have taken a year out. In the school I did my Junior in, it's more at 60% or so. A lot of kids in that school (my sister's still in it) went into a trade, but now that apprenticeships are thin on the ground they're more likely to be on the dole, unfortunately.