Seems to me hasbeen by your own admission quite a few people annoy you.
With a little more guidance maybe you could have come to have had a career that you might have held in a better light than the one you describe.

It seems I merely contribited financially and rather thanklessly, to your wages, for the building of all those bridges etc

My son was never gifted. At age 10 he had a speech impediment, lacked reading skills and was a very average student.

The pathway of his education was determined by me and a couple of very experienced College Maths and Science teachers, until his university years.

What we did was very effective.

My point was not that he was in any way brilliant or gifted (Where it seems you think he was) but only that the traditional English Liberal Education pathway he followed led him and those of his university cohort to be a very well rounded and contributing, hardworking individuals.

Settle down there Nutter, you paid stuff all for my B Sc. Half of it was done, with some encouragement while I was a pilot in the RAN fleet air arm. Encouraged, but it was done in our own time, & expense. The rest I payed for, after I returned to civvy street. No free or subsidised uni courses back then.

Perhaps I over stated, my annoyance was with my lack of ability, compared to the two mentioned, who were gifted, not with them.

I feel I was lucky with the quality of teachers we had, in a backwater country town, compared to what is offered today, even in larger centers.

It appears your son was also lucky. Good teachers are getting very thin on the ground.

We did get a more rounded education in the 50s, for which I am grateful, however, if you wish to get a science education, it is not much use coming out of year 12, nicely rounded, if tour math/physics is rounded at year 10 level, an event that is all too common today.

Hasbeen

The difference between our educations in the 50's and 60's and today's education is that were were taught to think.
Today kids are attempted to be taught how to do things.

Initially we learned basic arithmetic by rote, reading by rote, English spelling by rote, writing by rote, then some simple arithmetic problem solving, English grammer and simple reading, writing then comprehension and expression exercises, some simple sciences, geography and history. As the years passed these processes didn't change much. All that occurred was that as our intellects developed and we refined the learning how to learn process the subject matter simply became more complex.

By the end of year ten very few people hadn't skills of simple maths, English comprehension, writing skills, an understanding of the world around them, an ability to learn and therefore most were able to slot easily into the workplace. Those who had the ability and aspired for more went on to year twelve and studied Maths B, Maths C, English, Chemistry, Physics and Latin or one of the latin languages, usually French.

In my opinion I think my son not so much talented but assume had he been educated in the 50's and 60's (and produced the effort he did)he'd be an average Graduate. I think that because I think the education system in Australia has been 'dumbed down' so much. The processes which once produced functioning young adults and superior disciplined intellects is no longer a widespread occurance.

Regards

Interesting digressions from Hasbeen and nutter.

My children are at high school at present, one in grade 10 and one in grade 8. While the teachers seem reasonably dedicated to their task, the curriculum seems to me to be hopelessly inadequate and there is little emphasis on achievement, with at least as much weight given to behavioural aspects in reports.

Moreover, the teachers seem either unwilling or unable to identify problematic areas for individual children. For example, my son was having trouble with simple algebraic problem solving using transposition of terms (which they call "back-tracking" in his text book). For some 3 weeks the boy struggled with the problem, trying to work it out for himself before I noticed he was avoiding doing maths homework and got to the bottom of it. After a bit of help and some practise he got it sussed and was away and running. The teacher simply didn't care enough about his achievement of competency to pay the small amount of extra attention he required, or even to draw it to anybody's attention. After all, he's a good boy, does what he's asked, doesn't disrupt the class - he's invisible.

I'd also suggest that a large part of the problem is that our educational institution have become a front in the feminist war on all things male, including maths. Since the girls who make up 2/3 of the uni student population are mostly NOT going to need rigorous maths training, that is sufficient reason to let it wane as a serious discipline in our schools. The drive for feminisation of the workforce has produced some very curious distortions of the educational process.

We don't want or need Aussy engineers or scientists.

They take too long & cost too much to train and educate when we can immigrate 'em for 10 a penny.

Besides they tend to get political and upset our corporate
apple carts by informing the hoi-polloy about ridiculous claims that corporations are corrupt and only benefit Australia short-term.

HSC maths? -- Keep 'em in the dark and grow mushrooms - not mathematicians. We've invested heaps in I-Tech gadgets and NBN just so we can divert their attention while we steal their future. Don't attempt to undo our good works!

JB Pitbull
CEO
BHP Gro-a-Con Forteskewer Corporation

Yes Anti, they have developed this wonderful system which suites the girls beautifully.

Rather than having major exams, where some actual retained knowledge, & the ability to work under pressure is required, we now have assignments. These have feminised the education very well.

Apart from the fact that the work can be done by mum or dad, it can also be done by a tutor, to achieve the desired result.

Even if done by the pupil, girls have always been much better at sitting down & doing home work. Add to that teachers who want as little hassle as possible, & the boys are in a false heaven. They simply don't do the assignments, & are allowed to go through a couple of years thinking they are getting away with it.

The lax reporting system, with no marks, just computer generated bland statements, keep parents uninformed, until far too late to demand better. It is only the poor OP result that finally tells the tale.

If you want your kids to get an education, you will have to keep a damn close watch on what's happening.

We only got a reasonable result for my son, after I convinced him it was him loosing out, not the teacher. Once I had him convinced he had to grab the education system & shake the daylights out of it, to get what he wanted, he did as well as possible with the existing system.

My education had been so good at a country high, that I would never have known how bad things had got, if my wife & I had not set up, & run for 15 years, a textbook hire system for the P&C. Close contact told us how bad some departments were, & the $170,000PA it put into the school meant that we were listened to when we had suggestions.

As an older than usual dad, & all ready a grumpy old bugger, I made my presence felt when ever I found slackness, both at "our school" & at district office. Be prepared, you may have to do similar