Culture

'Fine exam boards' that dumb down

in Culture

Exam boards that breach the expected standards in science and "dumb down" the subject should face hefty fines or even bans, a leading scientist says.

Chief executive of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Dr Richard Pike, claims entire exam papers contain no maths in them and some questions no science.

Dr Pike said a new, more independent regulator with more clout was needed to prevent standards from "dumbing down".

Study pressure stressing out Vietnamese teens

in Culture

The pressure to study well and score high marks is creating a lot of stress in teenagers that is damaging their physical and psychological health, a doctor said at a conference in Ho Chi Minh City last weekend.

Dr. Nguyen Le Binh, lecturer at the pediatric department of Pham Ngoc Thach Medical University, which co-organized the conference with the Paris School of Psychology, said their parents’ hopes, their teachers’ desire for good results and peer competition were significant stress factors for students.

“But their ability is limited and children suffer internal conflicts that they dare not or cannot tell anyone else.

“The strong emotions compressed over a long time will cause functional disorders such as headaches, insomnia, loss of memory and allergies, and in girls, abnormal menstruation.”

11-plus replacement tests taken

in Culture

More than 7,000 primary school pupils in Northern Ireland have sat new grammar school entrance tests, against the wishes of education chiefs.

The 11-plus was abolished last year but, with no political agreement on a replacement, the Association for Quality Education has set the tests.

Next Saturday, 6,700 pupils will take a different test aimed mainly at those seeking places in Catholic grammars.

Teachers revolt over 'check-ups'

in Culture

Schools Secretary Ed Balls is to be given more than 11,000 postcards from teachers protesting about plans to make them undergo five-yearly "check ups".

From 2010, newly qualified teachers in England will be given what is called a "licence to teach", which will have to be renewed every five years.

Members of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) have sent postcards to the union to show their opposition.

Ministers say the licence will put teachers on a par with doctors.

Teen in school stabbing described as mentally ill

in Culture

WOBURN, Mass. – A teenager charged with fatally stabbing another student at a suburban Boston high school was portrayed by a prosecutor Monday as a calculating killer who brought a carving knife to school, then picked a victim at random in a boys' bathroom.

But the youth's defense attorney told jurors that John Odgren was mentally ill when he killed 15-year-old James Alenson in January 2007.

Attorney Jonathan Shapiro said Odgren was struggling with a form of autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, depression, anxiety and possibly bipolar disorder when he attacked Alenson at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School.

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Culture

'Fine exam boards' that dumb down

Study pressure stressing out Vietnamese teens

11-plus replacement tests taken

Teachers revolt over 'check-ups'

Teen in school stabbing described as mentally ill