School Trip before exams - what to do?

Discussion of the 11 Plus

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Guest55
Posts: 16254
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:21 pm

Re: School Trip before exams - what to do?

Post by Guest55 »

So SD why did you post?
tomum
Posts: 58
Joined: Wed Aug 23, 2017 7:31 am

Re: School Trip before exams - what to do?

Post by tomum »

I don’t want to say this country it is the problem of every country. Everyone wants to be politically correct and scared to say what they believe and did to pass 11+. Schools this days scared to tell their child to read and work hard.
Thanks, scoob doo for the bravery to coming out and say as so money scared to say or hide it. They want to say my child pass because he is born to pass.
I 100% believe what some posted here said for instance Gust55, his child may play golf before the exam and passed. I thought about how he did. Look from the post gust55. He/she seems super intellect and clever and easy for him/her to coach his child. For his child all conversation is like being with a tutor, will be corrected for his grammar error and will be see the maths methodically. so easy for him to pass the test same for kenycows and other. I am happy and jealous of them

But for those of us not on there league we need to give all out best. We may need to send him 12 hours a week for tutoring to be level field and there is nothing wrong about it. Some people will push us to think we are pushy and bad parent. We need to teach our child to be resilient, committed and scarify a bit enjoyment for better life. If we start now, may be our third generation will be like those family who can succeeded with little effort.
Sorry for my English.
Amber
Posts: 8058
Joined: Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:59 am

Re: School Trip before exams - what to do?

Post by Amber »

It is not just about tiredness though. Being in close proximity to lots of other children means there is potential for all kinds of germs, and if a child caught some kind of nasty virus then he would not stand a chance in the exam. And there would be different food too - food poisoning is always a risk, or else maybe a previously unsuspected food allergy. Or starvation, if the child didn't like the food. Also, if the trip involved any kind of outdoor activity, there is a risk of injury, or of getting lost, with the attached trauma that would cause. And finally, separation anxiety from the parent at such a key time would perhaps be the final straw which would cause a child to have some kind of total breakdown.

Personally I would not risk it. I think children should be kept at home, preferably in bed, for the month preceding any kind of exam, from 11+ to university finals. That way, you can be sure that the conditions will be entirely optimal for them when they enter that exam hall and they will have a huge advantage over all the other fools who tried to live a normal life.
anotherdad
Posts: 1763
Joined: Mon Jan 24, 2011 5:33 pm

Re: School Trip before exams - what to do?

Post by anotherdad »

Amber wrote:It is not just about tiredness though. Being in close proximity to lots of other children means there is potential for all kinds of germs, and if a child caught some kind of nasty virus then he would not stand a chance in the exam. And there would be different food too - food poisoning is always a risk, or else maybe a previously unsuspected food allergy. Or starvation, if the child didn't like the food. Also, if the trip involved any kind of outdoor activity, there is a risk of injury, or of getting lost, with the attached trauma that would cause. And finally, separation anxiety from the parent at such a key time would perhaps be the final straw which would cause a child to have some kind of total breakdown.
Hang on, let me grab a paper and pen. Those are some cracking extenuating circumstances.
anotherdad
Posts: 1763
Joined: Mon Jan 24, 2011 5:33 pm

Re: School Trip before exams - what to do?

Post by anotherdad »

tomum wrote:I don’t want to say this country it is the problem of every country. Everyone wants to be politically correct and scared to say what they believe and did to pass 11+. Schools this days scared to tell their child to read and work hard.
Thanks, scoob doo for the bravery to coming out and say as so money scared to say or hide it. They want to say my child pass because he is born to pass.
I 100% believe what some posted here said for instance Gust55, his child may play golf before the exam and passed. I thought about how he did. Look from the post gust55. He/she seems super intellect and clever and easy for him/her to coach his child. For his child all conversation is like being with a tutor, will be corrected for his grammar error and will be see the maths methodically. so easy for him to pass the test same for kenycows and other. I am happy and jealous of them

But for those of us not on there league we need to give all out best. We may need to send him 12 hours a week for tutoring to be level field and there is nothing wrong about it. Some people will push us to think we are pushy and bad parent. We need to teach our child to be resilient, committed and scarify a bit enjoyment for better life. If we start now, may be our third generation will be like those family who can succeeded with little effort.
Sorry for my English.
Hi tomum. No need to apologise for your English. If English is not your first language you make yourself understood perfectly well and certainly better than I could make myself understood in another language.
I don't think it's about being politically correct, it's about providing some balance. Each of us (including Guest55) has an interesting back-story to our children's various journeys through 11+, 12+, GCSE, A levels and degrees. There are "failures" in there, too. We could all give personal anecdotes on what worked or didn't work for each of our children but in most cases they are irrelevant to the question or situation at hand. I don't think anyone thinks their child is "born to pass", either. Scooby Doo has suggested that those who don't take posts like theirs at face value, and who ask for clarification or justification, are trolls. I suggest that if posts are left to be taken at face value and not challenged where there are doubts about their validity or relevance, we end up with a forum full of personal stories, sometimes misleading advice and worst of all; downright rumour and inaccuracy. If you want that, try facebook. The number of myths and legends that surround the 11+ process is astonishing, and many persist despite there being a wealth of readily-available facts to disprove or correct them. They do so because people will take what is gossiped about at the school gate at face value and factual, and it's my view that forums like this one should try to be accurate and to provide good advice backed by some evidence. Relaying a story about several children going on a trip and not qualifying confuses correlation with causation, doesn't add anything to the advice given and simply serves to wind up people already uncertain about what they should do.
Sorrel
Posts: 616
Joined: Wed Oct 11, 2017 8:56 am

Re: School Trip before exams - what to do?

Post by Sorrel »

Though all the posts on this thread represent their author's personal opinion and experience - which is perfectly reasonable: that's what the OP was asking for and no-one will have done a research study on this particular question. It was only Scooby Doo who was jumped on for anecdata and asked if he/ she had a representative sample, presumably because he/ she was expressing a less popular point of view.
Guest55
Posts: 16254
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:21 pm

Re: School Trip before exams - what to do?

Post by Guest55 »

No - I've seen thousands of children through exams - very few of them put their life on hold for exams. Those they did were often forced by parents to 'give up' stuff ... they resented those demands.
Sparklecat
Posts: 281
Joined: Fri May 02, 2014 6:16 pm

Re: School Trip before exams - what to do?

Post by Sparklecat »

We took a two week holiday and break before the 11+. I'm convinced that mental relaxation helped her get the highest score in her year and put all the pressure in context. Everyone must do what they think best for their child, but I'm convinced all the hard work should be rewarded by a balance of chill time.
tomum
Posts: 58
Joined: Wed Aug 23, 2017 7:31 am

Re: School Trip before exams - what to do?

Post by tomum »

Gues55 with due respect it is not holding life. i don't understand why people take it that way. you know thousand and i know thousands too who give their best at the end and passed 11+. look china and India who believe on pushing a little getting better than our country when it come to education. leave alone the student i know lots of parents who take holiday for the last 6 moth and helped their child to pass 11+. but this family will not come and tell their experience because they are scared of comment from some people about their method and believe. it is not only on exams, on all walks of life you have to give your best specially when it comes at the end. whether you passed or not doesn't matter. if your child fail you need to appreciate for his effort. you need to understand he/she failed not because they didn't or did go to the trip it is because there are more children how are able and prepaid. the guy who asked the question obvious he is in dilemma to take her/or not. this shows he is not sure she will pass it. so i think any extra effort will make a difference. after the exam he/she can Chile and from this he/she will learn hard work needed is not forever at some point it will end and
anotherdad
Posts: 1763
Joined: Mon Jan 24, 2011 5:33 pm

Re: School Trip before exams - what to do?

Post by anotherdad »

tomum wrote:...look china and India who believe on pushing a little getting better than our country when it come to education.
On what basis do you say this? There may be a perceived culture of "pushing" in those countries, but I don't see any respected measure of countries' education systems that places either country's system ahead of the UK's, and both countries' education systems are way behind those of other countries whose education systems are held up to be the most advanced, none of which have a reputation for pushy parenting. Countries like Finland, Denmark, New Zealand, Switzerland, Slovenia and Norway. If you are interested in how a modern, forward-thinking educational system works alongside parents to improve educational attainment for children, any of those countries are a good place to start, not India or China. Pushy parenting is not a substitute for decent education.

Measurement aside, I question the effectiveness of the hothousing culture anyway and I suspect that for all the pushy academic parenting that is perceived to happen in India and China, there are many millions in each country who are receiving much less than even a basic education. That isn't going to help them become better educators than our country. They have a long way to go to even provide fair and equitable access to education for girls or children from poorer backgrounds before their educational prowess can be praised.
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