Robin's rant to ofsted.

[Robin]

Sensitive information removed so I can post it on /b/. :D

> Subject Area: Software development
>
> Dear Sir/Madam,
>
> I'm reaching the end of my two year course at [College Name] and I can safely say it's been largely disappointing. If it wasn't for some of the tutors being absolutely fantastic at their jobs and being actually interested in their subject field I probably would have dropped out soon after the second year started, similar to as I did when I attended one year of AS level at Sixth Form. The areas the course covers are largely unrelated to the actual development of software and some areas cover horribly simple actions, such as basic Microsoft Office control.
>
> The areas which actually give us a chance to develop software (known as 'programming') are dreadfully underweight with large emphasis on language-specific subjects which could be easily learnt by simply messing around with the damn thing for a few hours yet have little use outside of that language. Although I can't talk about the teaching of this area generally, the tutor I've had teaching me programming has shown little interest in the field and so far his explanations have been far too abstract and generic to have any real meaning. The only reason our entire class has managed to make it through the programming areas of the course so far is because I know enough about the field from programming as a hobbyist, and as such understand enough to help my class-mates whilst the person who is supposed to be teaching us is discussing his new camera, or something else off-topic.
>
> As I said above, it's thanks to some very motivated teachers that so far the class has managed to get through the course without losing enough interest to simply give up. It's these teachers who have gone out of their way to teach us about entire subject fields, rather than limiting their teaching to the curriculum (Which, to be frank, is horrible) thus indulging our interest in software development and allowing us to explore our own skills and knowledge without having to do the age-old "Write a report/leaflet/presentation on what you've learnt" crap which the curriculum thinks should be a staple in any educational diet.
>
> Quite simply I've learnt nothing new about software development. Although some of my knowledge has been reinforced by the course, this could have taken place without the huge amount of wasted time I spent aimlessly wandering around [My City] trying to fill in the stupidly large three hour breaks we had to endure between lessons. If anything, I've learnt more about teaching than I have about software development. This isn't because of the example of my own tutors, however, it's down to my own actions, namely; helping out my class-mates during both lesson time and through correspondence via. e-mail and instant messaging.
>
> The simple fact is that as long as the country has such a heavy emphasis on targets and Gordon's idea that "every child is special, every child precious and therefore no child should be left behind" then those who actually show natural talent will be lost within the system to come out of the other end completely disillusioned by their ordeal in the education system, lost under a sea of mediocrity.
>
> Yours faithfully,
> [My Name]

[Drummerpete]

Sounds fun. >_>

[KrakaKrucifix]

Wow, you hit the nail on the head as the saying goes.  I've felt largely the same way during my time in college.

[unknown]

I took post secondary options @ a community college my senior year in HS & it was exactly like you described. A good CS cirriculum should really only have one or two classes on programming, a couple classes on theory & a lot of hands on 'project' classes. My current college is the exact opposite of yours, it's overloaded with theory with not enough.. practical.. stuff

[Robin]

Keep in mind that if you're American, College is not the same over there as College over here.

[SHADERS]

how different is it?

[Robin]

College is basically just Sixth Form but for more vocational subjects.

Over here mandatory education ends at 16\. You can then go on to College/Sixth Form then onto University if you want.

[SHADERS]

wait wait wait wait…

you have 16 grades? we have 12 and all of them suck >.>

[Drummerpete]

No, age 16.

[ddunit]

Send that to your college, if you haven't yet.

[Robin]

@Ddunit:

> Send that to your college, if you haven't yet.

I sent it to Ofsted, the body which do college inspections.

[In7el3ct]

That is the exact opposite of my school, given it is a technical school. We spend more time in the lab programming than we do in lectures, and the curriculum is all relevant. Go Bachelor of Technology degree, suck it Bachelor of Science degree.

[shrig94]

I love my school. IB ftw. Haha
We study broad areas, like next year when I join IB I am studying:
HL Math
HL Phys
HL Chem
HL English
SL Economics
HL French
SL Art
SL Further Mathematics

I like being able to study from a large scope of subjects.

[Adulese Games]

Yep, Robin. You basically just summed up my views on the American Education system as well. The classes move at a pace that is to keep the slowest kids at an average grade, not allowing those with talent and understanding to move forward. My motto, "If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen." applies directly to this.

Also for those Americans wondering, I'm going to attempt to rationalize the UK system of education. You go through what for most Americans would be 10th grade and then you finish required schooling. Much like going till 12th and getting your high school diploma. Then you go off to a college or as Robin stated, Sixth Form. Then University which can be compared to graduate school for higher degrees.

- Adulese

[Marsh]

@Rodriguez:

> Yep, Robin. You basically just summed up my views on the American Education system as well. The classes move at a pace that is to keep the slowest kids at an average grade, not allowing those with talent and understanding to move forward. My motto, "If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen." applies directly to this.

I think that if the school is doing this perhaps you should have applied for a more prestigious school. If the requirements to get in our extremely strict then most likely the course will be equally as hard.

[Adulese Games]

I got into the best school that would allow a 16 year old to attend. Even when I took a class at Harvard, the class was geared to the slower kids.

- Adulese

[Dthen]

Robin owns ofsted like he owns the noobs on here.

[Drummerpete]

@Dthen:

> Robin owns **his college** like he owns the noobs on here.

Fixed.

[Robin]

It was supposed to start out as a rant about college but I ended up ranting about education as a whole. :(

[Drummerpete]

Don't worry Robin, it's perfectly understandable.

[zade_o]

Yeah I have the same feeling towards college. except with a few more problems.

They seem to feel like you don't know as much as you really do. With a 5 on the AP compsci AB test, I got to skip 1 semester of programming class. That's it. They stopped after loops. So the class I started with, started with loops. It's pathetic. I have so far been able to finish every programming assignment I've been assigned from my programming courses in less than 4 hours the night before they're due. It's very frustrating.

And i'm tired of taking classes that explain how computer hardware works, and the history of computers. That's not what I care to know, idc how my computer runs the code, I just code. To me they're different fields and I'm tired of taking the same classes that don't seem to relate to my aspirations at all.

But what can you do, they don't listen to us because it's like I said, they don't think we know anything.

[Smallbro]

So college is better than sixth form? Cause I have to make my choice in like june next year.

[Drummerpete]

In college, you get pretty much the qualifications of 5/6th year but without as many subjects. It's basically 5/6th year for one subject. xD
(Scotland is slightly different to England. ¬¬)

[Dthen]

No, not his college. I meant what I said.

[Drummerpete]

He didn't own ofsted, he submitted a review of his college to them..