jimbms Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 OK sorry about this but I need to moan about it. This morning I have just returned from UCLAN to see my eldest son graduate with honours, yes I am very proud of him, but at the same time very angry. Why? Well his ambition is to teach chemistry at A-Level or above standard, but could he find a University in UK to do it no, not because he didn't have the grades but because none had a course going in just Chemistry due to under subscription. So he had to do a year at Leeds doing microbiology whilst waiting for a place on Forensic Science and Chemistry combined decree, this was the only way he could attain the level he wanted. My youngest son who is very dyslexic had a same struggle, our old education authority would not statement him as such because they did not have the facilities to work with him, and at leaving time told him to get a job in manufacturing as he couldn't achieve more due to the severity of his dyslexia. Did I accept this? did I bollocks, lucky for him being an engineer I was able to teach him the basics of what he wanted to do in engineering, this along with my wife and I persisting in helping him overcome and work with his dyslexia, managed to get him accepted onto an OND design course, this he passed with high marks and was accepted last year at UCLAN unconditionally on an Engineering design course, but even this has to be a course where 3D structural engineering has been combined with Motorsport Engineering design because there is not enough students, and why, simple, both courses require a lot of very hard work, yet courses like media studies, travel management, Albanian furniture design and sport psychology in comparison have about 70% less lecture hours and give more free time, so these tend to be oversubscribed and we now have a surplus on the job market of these people. For example media studies and travel management there are 14 graduates for every vacancy, engineering graduates 1 graduate for every 27 vacancies, sciences 1 graduate for every 14 vacancies. So why with such a shortage in certain subjects and a glut in others are govt's not trying to encourage what is needed instead of offering degree courses in easier subjects which due to the amount doing them the qualification is virtually worthless, just to make the numbers in higher education look good. Good example why be an apprentice tradesman when you can be a graduate in learning to turn the TV on. In conclusion it is about time we encouraged more to do science and engineering and stop writing kids off because we can’t afford to give individual education to overcome a problem. After all if it wasn't for our persistence my son would be asking "would you like fries with that sir" instead of being now online for a 1:1 engineering degree and shortly being in the Manx press for designing a simple little box that has saved the DoT a few grand, (which he did at no charge to the tax payers and off his own initiative I may add). OK rant over sorry to trouble you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ai_Droid Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 Agree, and it's not just about easy courses either. Mass numbers of graduates to business studies and law also take the numbers away from sciences and engineering. As fuel prices push up the cost of globalisation, this is going to bite us on our bottoms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebees Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 No worries just you watch and see, Learndirect will take over from state education. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbms Posted July 17, 2008 Author Share Posted July 17, 2008 Agree, and it's not just about easy courses either. Mass numbers of graduates to business studies and law also take the numbers away from sciences and engineering. As fuel prices push up the cost of globalisation, this is going to bite us on our bottoms. For once (but don't get used to it) I agree with you ai Droid, my youngest sons course is working on a project to make a whole vehicle that can travel the length of the M6 without need for fossil fuels but it looks like it may flounder due to lack of funding from the public and private sector. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbms Posted July 17, 2008 Author Share Posted July 17, 2008 No worries just you watch and see, Learndirect Plagiarisms-R-Us will take over from state education. Fixed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
immortalpuppet Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 I am led to believe that the school system is much better prepared and has moved on alot in the past couple of years in terms of support and guidance for people with dyslexia and the like. I dont know loads about it but from what i have listened too it can have a huge scope so trying to identify the type and level can be a nightmare and this is one of the reasons that 10 years ago a child with dyslexia was just put in with the plastasine class and told to look forward to a carrer in burger flipping ect, where as nowadays there is a much better support system allowing dyslexic people the same chances as the others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
immortalpuppet Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 Shit, did i miss the point... ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ai_Droid Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 For once (but don't get used to it) I agree with you ai Droid, my youngest sons course is working on a project to make a whole vehicle that can travel the length of the M6 without need for fossil fuels but it looks like it may flounder due to lack of funding from the public and private sector. Here, he can have a design for free that'll do that: http://www.infovisual.info/05/img_en/033%20Bicycle.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbms Posted July 17, 2008 Author Share Posted July 17, 2008 Shit, did i miss the point... ! No you didn't but the move forward is just talk they are still reluctant to statement a child with dyslexia because in doing so they have to finacialy and educationaly support the child right through his educational years including 1 to 1 teaching and buying eqpt to assist, as my old local education authority found to their costs in a court case after I paid for 2 private assessments, they now have to pay all his uni fees and give him a full grant as well as buying some rather expensive text to speach eqpt, a laptop and a desktop PC along with paying UCLAN for exta tutorials for any parts that require a lot of reading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbms Posted July 17, 2008 Author Share Posted July 17, 2008 For once (but don't get used to it) I agree with you ai Droid, my youngest sons course is working on a project to make a whole vehicle that can travel the length of the M6 without need for fossil fuels but it looks like it may flounder due to lack of funding from the public and private sector. Here, he can have a design for free that'll do that: http://www.infovisual.info/05/img_en/033%20Bicycle.jpg Nice basic idea BUT I would like to see you carry 4 people, suitcases, maintain a speed of 60mph on the flat and be legally allowed on a british motorway on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ai_Droid Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 Nice basic idea BUT I would like to see you carry 4 people, suitcases, maintain a speed of 60mph on the flat and be legally allowed on a british motorway on that. Oh, shift them goalposts why don't you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ean Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 both courses require a lot of very hard work, yet courses like media studies, travel management, Albanian furniture design and sport psychology in comparison have about 70% less lecture hours and give more free time And people who sign up to those courses will find that they may have more free time but if they don't make use of that free time to study and work on their own projects they will leave university with a poor degree. More taught time does not mean more work. I spent hours in the editing lab completing my degree, from year 1. My friends doing maths and physics had so much taught time that they rarely did any of their own work, their final year project was the first time they'd been allowed to do their own thinking rather than writing essays etc. on already established research. So yes it may look like those subjects are a doss but believe me they aren't, if done properly. As for nowhere doing pure chemistry degree's are you sure that's true? I'm sure a friend of mine is doing a BSc in chemistry at Bristol and I seem to remember another friend graduating from York last year with the same. Congratulations to your son on gaining his degree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbms Posted July 17, 2008 Author Share Posted July 17, 2008 both courses require a lot of very hard work, yet courses like media studies, travel management, Albanian furniture design and sport psychology in comparison have about 70% less lecture hours and give more free time And people who sign up to those courses will find that they may have more free time but if they don't make use of that free time to study and work on their own projects they will leave university with a poor degree. More taught time does not mean more work. I spent hours in the editing lab completing my degree, from year 1. My friends doing maths and physics had so much taught time that they rarely did any of their own work, their final year project was the first time they'd been allowed to do their own thinking rather than writing essays etc. on already established research. So yes it may look like those subjects are a doss but believe me they aren't, if done properly. As for nowhere doing pure chemistry degree's are you sure that's true? I'm sure a friend of mine is doing a BSc in chemistry at Bristol and I seem to remember another friend graduating from York last year with the same. Congratulations to your son on gaining his degree. Agreed if done properly they are but the fact so many are doing it undermines the few who fully commit to it and makes it harder for the gifted few to get a decent work when there are so many average who will work for less. Your friends doing maths and physics is exactly my point, it's bloody hard work, been there done that got the t-shirt, as for the chemistry, UCLAN next year will be the first uni to start a fell chemistry only honours degree in the UK for the last 7yrs all others atm are more applied chemistry with anohter subject thrown in. In other words yse you can get your Bsc but its not easy to get it with honours purely on chemistry, usualy pharmachology, chemical engineering, foresnics etc are used to buffer it up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jehovah Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 Don't you have the option to pay for it yourself? I'm sure some uni will take your money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbms Posted July 17, 2008 Author Share Posted July 17, 2008 Don't you have the option to pay for it yourself? I'm sure some uni will take your money. I have to pint out we are not all called salford, to pay for the tutors and administration fees for one year alone could bankrupt most peaople better idea increase the fees for useless degrees to fund the courses that are needed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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