Should university academics be sent into “struggling” state schools to raise standards?

Do politicians have their brains surgically removed once elected? Doesn’t (the government’s social mobility tsar Alan Milburn) realise that few university lecturers would last five minutes in the average comprehensive with anything but the top stream?

FolkFan

University staff are not well-equipped or interested in showing teachers how to raise attainment in key stages 4 or 5. Most lecturers have no clue about the subject specifications at this level.

Crowbob

I wouldn’t give them five seconds.

Siegen81to82

Oh, it’s laughable! University lecturers are not exactly renowned for their teaching ability or enthusiasm. All they pretty much do is read out PowerPoints and assess what students manage to teach themselves amid the horrendous group tasks that they dish out.

Eureka!

It’s a while since I was at a university but I remember good teaching but not one group task. Has it changed that much?

airy

It is very hit and miss (like everything else, unsurprisingly).Teaching is, generally, a little archaic and “group” work is the new buzz (though it is quickly dying a death).

Crowbob

The quality of university lecturers is perhaps a secondary issue. In my experience, lecturers are willing to spend countless hours helping students, if they engage the teacher and make a concerted effort to study. The problem is that, by and large, young people are dullards.

Streetcleaner

Most of my lecturers were interesting. But my generation had not been spoon-fed at school so we did not expect our assignments to be done for us. We were the last generation able to think.

Bungie

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