Science of the advert?
Posted by subman68
On my way to school today I heard a radio ad. The idea was a kid was playing football and not too good, then it started to rain. The voiceover asked, do you want football boots that are 20 per cent more accurate? Do you want a shield to deflect the rain? Well, study science. What the hell is that about? We need inventors and scientists but let’s not bull-shit the kids with this sort of thing.
I have an S2 class with 13 kids wanting to pick two science subjects because “that’s what we were told clever people do and we will just be doing experiments”. Most also want to be forensic scientists. Who is peddling this stuff?
Why are we also pushing the two sciences idea when it is not needed for most (any) jobs, but we still have a country which is business and ICT illiterate? You might have guessed - it is option time in my school.
Posted by paladinStand
Your point? Is it that science subjects are making efforts to show how their course content is relevant to the wider world?
Posted by subman68
We have lost kids to science this year - they think because the department has said they can do three, they should do three. I think guidance is a problem here and during careers PSE events, they are not giving informed and accurate information.
Posted by paladinStand
Telling kids that science will make their football 20 per cent more accurate or that they can invent a rain shield for the football pitch is false advertising. You might as well get the art department to say that they will all be in the Tate Gallery if they pick art or everyone who picks drama will win an Oscar. Let’s get a real crime scene investigator in to tell them they don’t track down the killer and it is 95 per cent lab work, and if they leave that sector, they will have very few job options and the pay is not great anyway.
Posted by bigjimmy
It’s these unrealistic expectations that are not right. Too many pupils choose subjects with no idea what they are letting themselves in for. How many of your S3 pupils have said that they didn’t expect your subject would be “like this”?
Posted by GhostPoster
I agree, we shouldn’t be lying to kids about all these magical careers they could do. However, science and engineering in this country is not going to improve by having kids drop a science to do drama or art.
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