11 Plus Exams Forum

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-46019429" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"A professor of surgery says students have spent so much time in front of screens and so little time using their hands that they have lost the dexterity for stitching or sewing up patients.

Roger Kneebone, professor of surgical education at Imperial College, London, says young people have so little experience of craft skills that they struggle with anything practical.

"It is important and an increasingly urgent issue," says Prof Kneebone, who warns medical students might have high academic grades but cannot cut or sew.

"It is a concern of mine and my scientific colleagues that whereas in the past you could make the assumption that students would leave school able to do certain practical things - cutting things out, making things - that is no longer the case," says Prof Kneebone."

More in the link above ... [my italics]

Physio and occupational therapists are concerned that many children coming in to school don't have the strength and dexterity needed to use a pencil and cut with scissors.

With a name like that, he was always going to be a surgeon, wasn't he? Better than Butcher I guess.

This is imho a combination of screen culture which means little ones don't spend hours playing with dough, bricks, paints, crayons, etc at home, and the scandalous reduction of the primary curriculum to marginalise anything which could be done for 'fun' and sideline things not related to Maths, Science or English.

I heard it too and thought much the same about the lack of perceived value in learning craft skills. A misspent youth of cookery, corn dolly making, macrame and dress making were ideal out of school activities for a future dentist

Reminds me of a careers video I saw back in the 80s. It’s the only bit I remember but it was

If I do CSE woodwork can I be a brain surgeon?

I e-mailed this on this morning to my daughter who wants to be a surgeon. I have been telling her for the past few years that if she is serious she should practice chopping vegetables, fish and meat and that she should learn to sew properly. So far it has fallen on deaf ears.

My son broke his hand and wrist in year 8. He persuaded his dad that he really needed a PSP to improve manual dexterity and hand/eye co-ordination which “may” be very important should he decide to be a surgeon.

surgery has changed rather a lot. No more tying knots one handed down deep dark holes, more often it is done via assorted scopes through tiny incisions that only need a stitch or plaster .

hermanmunster wrote:surgery has changed rather a lot. No more tying knots one handed down deep dark holes, more often it is done via assorted scopes through tiny incisions that only need a stitch or plaster .

and experience using a PSP and X box?!

yoyo123 wrote:

hermanmunster wrote:surgery has changed rather a lot. No more tying knots one handed down deep dark holes, more often it is done via assorted scopes through tiny incisions that only need a stitch or plaster .

and experience using a PSP and X box?!

probably useful for surgery these days . weren't around in the dark ages but did find that surgeons were pretty slick on pinball machines