Some hopefully common sense thoughts on the current problems about teaching children today.

i) Schooling success is a function of class size. The smaller the class the greater the success (to a point)

ii) Home schooling is of course just primarily just an exercise in one or two children class sizes. Greater time and care can be afforded to each individual child.

iii) Larger class sizes are subject to disruption. I was a disruptive influence in class when I was at secondary school for various reasons to the point I was removed from the class. An example was when I completed 2 weeks mathematics work on surds and indices in a single afternoon. Some will struggle to keep up and some will be left twiddling their thumbs. One size does not fit all.

iv) A maximum class size of no more than 15 and an optimum of around 8-10 is best. Teachers don't even then really have to try. One of the best school teachers in Engineering Science in Scotland (he had the highest examination pass rates) used to always disappear off to the teachers common room for a coffee and cigarette almost every lesson for about 20 minutes after setting a tough problem.

v) Word recognition versus phonetics. This is an easy one for the main stream English teacher who doesn't know any better. Ask them what the word analogy means then teach them to program a microprocessor firstly in binary machine code then in Assembler. They will soon get the point.

vi) One of the downsides to home schooling is actually the teacher or to be more precise the lack of very specific hardcore expertise in specific subjects esp Maths, physics and chemistry etc. When in primary school (aged about 11 to 12) my father was given some course work arithmetic where he had to point out to the qualified primary 'English' teacher the mistakes of the incorrect marking where my correct answers were being marked down.

vii) Discipline. Hire more male teachers than female ones. Female teachers will either themselves get bullied by the school children or overcompensate in disciplinary matters when there is no need. Jean Brodie was a f ascist.

And finally, always remember that a poor university education is not always a barrier for not achieving success just as long as you know how to spell potatoe or know that the Canadian National Igloo doesn't exist. I am always amazed that ill qualified politicians, who no nothing about teaching on both sides of the fence always seem to have an agenda with regard to education. Most teachers know how to teach, just let them get on with it (in those smaller class sizes of course) without all the administrative and political nonsense they have to deal with.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwDknTtkVdc&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usK3eA9tezA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w84BDXVL7UI

I always remember looking forward to go to my public school but then again it was just like the film Gregory's Girl (yes I had hair like that as well ).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEol7v7cA7Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aG545vIYkQA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrfLHS_Ylxs&feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wr6BzQ2Q2uI&feature=channel