To tutor or not to tutor!

Eleven Plus (11+) in Birmingham, Walsall, Wolverhampton and Wrekin

Moderators: Section Moderators, Forum Moderators

bluejay
Posts: 359
Joined: Mon Nov 03, 2014 3:28 pm

Re: To tutor or not to tutor!

Post by bluejay »

Happy Robot: I send you a pm - please advise.

In regards to the comment i made about being obsessed from an early age about the 11+, i was referring to a few parents who are from my experience quite competitive bordering neurotic about how amazingly well their children are doing (you must all know the type: the ones who put every comment, picture, certificate on Facebook and constantly remind us that their children are gifted and talented!!! :lol: ).
Of course everyone wants the best for their DC but some people seriously take it too far and every sentence that comes out of their mouth is seriously about snobbery and downright showing off.

If a parent was just saying i want my children to do well and be happy and so on.... thats different but the conversations i had with these particular mums were bizarre.....now that all our DC are actually sitting the exam next year i can't get two words out of them ...... its all top secret, what tutor they are using, what books their using, what exams their taking etc.... this is just the beginning, as we get closer to the exams that's when the really bizarre behaviour starts ..... forget the school mums some of the family start acting really weird and competitive!
What happened to helping and supporting one another?

To be honest: I find it highly amusing..... :lol:
rabbie burns
Posts: 251
Joined: Thu Mar 13, 2014 12:48 pm

Re: To tutor or not to tutor!

Post by rabbie burns »

Bluejay - every word resonates. Completely agree. Then if your child gets into a selective school there are parents of younger children who start speaking to you because you have become worthy and they hope for a few tips along the way. At the same time some of those who did not do well stop speaking to you!!! Very amusing. :lol:
Happy dad
Posts: 482
Joined: Thu Oct 18, 2012 10:10 am

Re: To tutor or not to tutor!

Post by Happy dad »

Even now, two years into secondary school I have one mom who I meet now and again who insists on telling me how well her daughter is doing at xyz independent school - does she not realise a good friend's daughter sees her everyday at the local comp :roll:
bluejay
Posts: 359
Joined: Mon Nov 03, 2014 3:28 pm

Re: To tutor or not to tutor!

Post by bluejay »

Rabbie burns and Happy dad your comments are hilariously true and scrupulously accurate ...... let the games begin!
I have been here before and have many so called friends / family that should i say "don't talk to me any more" so clearly they don't look up to me :( or is it's a case of green eyed monsters! :twisted: :mrgreen:

Anyway as i said this will be a tense, uneasy, nerve-wracking, restless,many sleepless nights, long, rollercoaster of a journey so let's have a few chuckles along the way! :D (yes i have been working on synonyms!! :lol: )
rabbie burns
Posts: 251
Joined: Thu Mar 13, 2014 12:48 pm

Re: To tutor or not to tutor!

Post by rabbie burns »

Whilst we are amusing ourselves I had a parent at school I had never met before come up to me out of the blue and say "I hear your son is going to Camp hill". To which I replied "Thats news to me, especially as we did not like it and its not on his CAF form". I was telling the truth but the rumour mill had obviously got out of hand. :lol: :lol: :lol:
quasimodo
Posts: 3854
Joined: Sun Sep 07, 2014 2:47 pm

Re: To tutor or not to tutor!

Post by quasimodo »

I would like to make clear a few things;
1. When I refer to comprehensives I am referring to that great experiment where in the area I went to school Grammar Schools were abolished the previous year.We were the guinea pigs of the new panacea. Going to schools who hadn't previously had to educate the grammar school streams and had little real ideas how to challenge and extend these pupils.
2. We had to go to sixth form colleges where we had some fine teachers who for the first time for us raised our aspirations and ambitions.
3.Of my 3 friends from my school who competed against each other two went to Oxbridge and this was despite our school and because of our sixth form.The other went to a Russell Hall University and professional exams.
4.It seems many who contribute to this forum are very fortunate and don't have to live the realities of our education system.This has echoes of what some on this forum have said we have a self selecting number of forumites from a particular social circle.
In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.

Abraham Lincoln
Catseye
Posts: 1824
Joined: Wed Oct 29, 2014 6:03 pm
Location: Cheshire

Re: To tutor or not to tutor!

Post by Catseye »

Definitely the most entertaining region on this forum :shock:

Some feisty characters !

Sorry for the interlude

Now as you were :lol:
Jazz-UK
Posts: 237
Joined: Wed Jul 11, 2012 8:05 pm

Re: To tutor or not to tutor!

Post by Jazz-UK »

Catseye wrote:Definitely the most entertaining region on this forum :shock:

Some feisty characters !

Sorry for the interlude

Now as you were :lol:
Glad that the fact some of us went to dreadful schools, were bullied, racially abused, has brought a smile to your face.
Catseye
Posts: 1824
Joined: Wed Oct 29, 2014 6:03 pm
Location: Cheshire

Re: To tutor or not to tutor!

Post by Catseye »

I'm actually on your side on this

but as r-b said a civil, informed and evidenced base discussion would be better Iwas brought up in Smethwick as a child and perhaps like your complexion mine is somewhat darker than pale .I was lucky and managed to get out so I have an interest in this region and being a Wolves supporter does not help :D
I played in Black Patch Park most of childhood and lived in on Kitcherner Street witch is now demolished we were made to lived like animals.
Last edited by Catseye on Thu Nov 06, 2014 10:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
rabbie burns
Posts: 251
Joined: Thu Mar 13, 2014 12:48 pm

Re: To tutor or not to tutor!

Post by rabbie burns »

This reminds me of the monty python sketch about the three Yorkshireman. The one where they try to outdo each other with tales of how grim their upbringings were. I do not know what image you have of me but I know it's a long way from free school meals to a masters from what is now laughingly called a russell group university. We all have a tale to tell so having got over that let's discuss education in 2014.
Post Reply