[BusyBee]

I think a combination of the way school was in the 1950s and how things are done today would actually be a good combination.

As a school governor of a secondary school until recently I was amazed at how little respect the pupils had for their teachers who cannot discipline bad behaviour except by 'time out' which just means the kid gets off class.

I also had to interview prospective staff members and was absolutely astonished to find that many of them couldnt spell, had no idea of grammar and couldnt write a decent letter of application. And some of these were applying to teach English!!

There really was a hierarchy for people of my generation. I can remember when I passed the 11 plus and went to grammar school that lots of my friends thought I was going to be too good for them and wouldnt want to speak to them. And I was held up as an example of what you could do if you worked hard. Secondary Modern kids were looked down on and nothing was expected of them. There really was a divide between grammar school pupils and sec. mod. However well they did, when it came to jobs grammar school was seen to be the best.

This programme really has highlighted the difference between today's teaching and that in the past. It's a shame that some of those 1950s kids couldnt be sent into the future and take GCSEs. I have a feeling they would struggle because they learnt by rote and not by thinking.