> There is far more to a person than just certificates.  It's so very sad when a person has NO life or personal interests outside of  their professional life.  

it is also bad for applications for uni, college and jobs... recruitment teams want to see a well rounded personality.

>Would love to meet you at a show perhaps one day Dill?

YOU never know ;)   At the moment though, I'm not showing much, I had to choose between paying for a course and showing the dogs for the next 2 years - The course won out as it's something I've wanted to do for a looong time  :)

My daughters school was glad to give her the day off (infact two days) a couple of years ago to attend Crufts and proudly told of her achievement of handling and showing whilst there.
I would guess most schools would be the same if the child was to be involved.

I also know of a graduate seeking employment with perfect certificates but no part time work experience of any description, nor any type of volutary assosiation involvments like ST John Ambulance or boy scouts. He had the hardest time ever................... :(

Unfortunately more and more schools are refusing to do this now since the government have decided that authorised absence from school is no longer permissable.   Children are also getting fewer opportunities to partake in extra-curricular activities, especially after primary school when they seem to be so busy with homework.

This government seems to think that as UK Education results are at the bottom of the international league tables, doing MORE of the same, for longer is the answer.   It is not.   Once the donkey is dead kicking him won't make him go anywhere.

Education in schools needs a complete overhaul, for a start attention needs to be paid to how children learn - and it varies with the individual child.  A one-size-fits-all solution just isn't good enough, children develop at different rates, both physically and mentally and this is completely ignored in education.

We've all seen it in dog training and behaviour, more enlightened approaches pay dividends, now we need to convince the Government to listen to the experts in child development and learning.

Less is more effective.

This government seems to think that as UK Education results are at the bottom of the international league tables, doing MORE of the same, for longer is the answer.   It is not.   Once the donkey is dead kicking him won't make him go anywhere.

Oh how i love this statement, going to be using it alot this year lol :-p

I know someone who is a director at a university and was told that they prefer Home Educated Students as they may not have handfuls of A level certificates but they are still able to go straight onto the degree courses, whereas there has been a huge rise in A-level students who need the foundation course before they can think of doing the degree courses and they need a lot of extra support as they are so ill-prepared for university. 

I think that common sense has gone out the window when it comes to making decisions .

Too much bureauocracy dictates what they should do or shouldnt do and what targets to meet and have taken away the power from the schools.

Yes there need to be guidelines but the Ofsted inspections could be better organised and done differently rather than to tick the boxes  and give more freedom in how they run the schools and the head teacher should then become more accountable for what they implement . If you don't achieve the standards then you are gone. Might make the way the schools are managed abit more focused and accountable for the what I think are very generous salaries :-) Just my opinion :-)

Ah, yes, sorry I forget that we are not part of the UK and have more flexibility from our education here.
In fact we are very lucky in the main with the all that is on offer from education and also music and sporting activities.

Karen

My daughter was granted time off for Crufts as she was showing and stewarding.  She also had permission for another champ show qualifier.  I was amazed to not only be granted permission but to receive a letter from the hear suggesting we apply for a bursary to help with costs recognizing the vocational value of what she was doing.. I would of put money on them saying "no" to the request!

Did you get any comeback from taking him out of school?
Lea :)

Not yet!
He did say that his head teacher had asked if his cold was better and had it been really bad. I asked him if she mentioned going to crufts and he said no, so assume she hadn't said anything......he told me he had to go to her office on Friday and I thought oh no, she's on to me, but it was because he'd written an exceptional piece of work on the Egyptians in his free time.

Looks like they had to 'tick a box'!!!!! So he was refused so they could say, oh look how good are we, we ticked this box on paper, but actually if they hadnt had to tick that box they would have agreed, hence nothng.
Good call :)
Lea:)