Will the children stand a better chance in the 11+ because..

essex-mum18 · Post by **essex-mum18** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 8:08 pm

Hi

I have been a member on this forum for nearly 2 years and really 'addicted ' to this site.

I have been noticing that a lot of the parents (posters) on this forum are in the teaching professions. I wonder if their children stand a better chance in the 11+ because their mums/ dads are teachers so that they may be able to teach exam techniques....etc. OR it does not make any difference at all.

Just for a point of interest to find out. Thanks in advance for any comment/ input.

Ed's mum · Post by **Ed's mum** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 8:49 pm

I genuinely think that I did not teach my son anything that a non teacher could not teach. What I did/do have, as do the majority (ALL??) of posters on the forum, is a genuine interest in education and the desire to give my son and daughter the best I can provide.

So maybe that is why there are plenty of teachers on the forum - they have a head start in so much as they already have an interest in education.

yoyo123 · Post by **yoyo123** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 9:23 pm

I am a teacher but my chidren never listen to anything I try to teach them!

My degree is in chemistry and Master yoyo wouldn't believe me when i balanced an equation for him, he had to check with his teacher!

apparently I was right

Bougalou · Post by **Bougalou** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 10:10 pm

Both I and my DH are teachers, - we both went to the Grammar schools that our children tried for places at - all three of ours failed the 11+. Doesn't seem to follow at all
Bougalou

andyb · Post by **andyb** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 9:42 am

I am not a teacher, I don't even have a degree (yet). I did familiarization with DS1 and he was successful, I will use the same approach with DS2. I did not feel disadvantaged not being a teacher and I would certainly not consider employing a tutor.

essex-mum18 · Post by **essex-mum18** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 10:01 am

[quote="Ed's mum

What I did/do have, as do the majority (ALL??) of posters on the forum, is a genuine interest in education and the desire to give my son and daughter the best I can provide.
quote]

Thank you for all the replies so far. I am not a teacher myself but my family background is very pro- education. We always believe that sound education 'will open the door' for our children in the future. As my parents always say, ' Someone may take your money away if I leave you money but no one can take your knowledge away if I provide you the best opporunity in education.'

As Ed's mum suggested, the genine interest in education of parents is the driving force after all.

TraffordMum · Post by **TraffordMum** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 9:50 pm

I think it comes down to confidence. I am not a teacher and nor is my husband (not that he has done much 11+ prep with the kids) but we are both educated sufficiently to be able to assist our children with the familiarisation in VR, NVR and Maths needed in our area. There are sufficient helpful publications on the market that one doesn't need to reinvent the wheel and, therefore, I think a non-teacher can do a perfectly good job.

The subject in my area which is the potentially tricky one is Maths, where really the kids have to know the whole of KS2 by the beginning of Y6 (our exams being in September and October). The first time round I came unstuck because the methods I used were not those taught in schools these days (eg long multiplication and division) and I had to adapt my methods with the aid of a KS2 book, but apart from that it has been pretty smooth.