[Wylug-discuss] MS cheating the system

[Anne Wilson]

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On Saturday 12 Mar 2005 19:45, you wrote:
> On Sat, 12 Mar 2005, Anne Wilson wrote:
> > My grandson got GCSE in IT from HHS last summer, and frankly I'm less
> > than impressed.  He got to build a website, design a brochure and do
> > various tasks in supplied software, but at the end of it all he knows
> > nothing technical at all.  He doesn't even know enough to be able to
> > properly maintain a clean computer for himself, and happily uses creating
> > a new user profile as a lesser step before having to reinstall.  If this
> > is education, I'm a monkey.
>
> For my sins I'm a part time ICT teacher...  This sounds very much like a
> short course AQA GCSE spec A.    It isn't a Computing GCSE, but an ICT one
> which is basically a GCSE in using office programs.  The exam has some
> slightly technical things in it, but not much to be honest.  Most of the
> time for the coursework is actually spent doing paper work and not
> actually doing the task, about a quarter of the marks are on the design,
> about two fifths is for doing it, and the rest is for testing and
> evaluation (off the top of my head)
>
That does sound like the course he did.

> The full course AQA gcse is the same as the short course, but with a one
> year project where you have to design a "system" (still all using office
> type programs mind)
>
> I really would love to teach some technical stuff to all the kids, but
> sadly it just isn't what the gov demand we teach with regards to
> computers, and there's not much time to cram all the curriculum in as it
> is ;(
>
Don't get me wrong, Steve.  I'm not knocking the teachers.  I've been one
myself.  No, I'm talking about principles.  When I was teaching we firmly
believed that the job of teachers was to teach 'how to learn', to give them
tools for the future.  I expect that most teachers today have the same
ideals.  This present system of teaching a few tasks, and positively
discouraging them to try anything different is abhorrent to me.  I've been on
the employer end, too, and I'd much rather employ a youngster who showed
willingness to learn than one who simply could do a basic set of jobs.  I'm
sure you've experienced, now and then :-) a pupil who couldn't leave it
alone, had to do just that bit more - and probably not what the task-setters
wanted.  Kids like that are what make teaching a joy rather than a drudge.
The present system seems to do its best to knock it out of them.

Sorry - didn't mean to get political, but it riles me.  When the ECDL was
first proposed I thought it was a brilliant idea.  Then I saw the curriculum
for it - it's nothing but a M$ tool.  Nothing to do with understanding
computers, everything to do with keeping M$ in profit.

Anne
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