education– or lack thereof

[Devil]

https://www.datapandas.org/ranking/pisa ... untry#core

Every few years, every country is classified for education at 15 years. The full information can be found at the above link. The ratings are determined on how well the 15 year old students do with standard tests on mathematics, science and reading in their native language. The overall results for a few countries that I have selected are:
Cyprus 403 points coming 57th
Singapore 560 points coming first
United Kingdom 494 points coming 14th
Greece 436 points coming 43rd

Broken down, Cyprus' ignoble 57th rank breaks down to 48th in maths 56th in science and 63rd in reading (Singapore was first in all three disciplines).

My unofficial comment is that the good scores in half a dozen East Asian countries puts the rest of the world to shame, particularly European countries. I also asked myself about reading in Cyprus compared to Greece.

[jeba]

These results need to be taken with a spoon of salt. Part of the reason for poor results is that in larger European countries there are many children who don´t speak the local language well as they are refugees. No wonder that their progress in school is hampered by that. Another factor is covid. Countries which closed schools without having appropriate distant-learning infrastructure in place (e. g. Germany) will obviously suffer more in terms of education.

[Les Bean]

The big problem in Cyprus is the extremely poor quality of "teachers". There's no such thing as a teacher training collge,anyone with a degree can apply,then it's a case of waiting for your name to come up on the list.There is no promotion on merit,since theres no assesment procedure.Many deliberately hold back on lessons in order that they may earn extra cash for private lessons.There are a few teachers who have a genuine interest in teaching but unfortunately for the kids most are only interested in maximum reward for minimum effort.

[Devil]

These results need to be taken with a spoon of salt.

Maybe aye, may be och aye. I don't know all the details but I do know that the organisers bend over backwards to get a representative result. And your argument hardly holds water when you consider that many of the countries with poor results are 100% monoculture while the top ones for results are often multicultural, such as Singapore, with four distinct ethnic groups.

The big problem in Cyprus is the extremely poor quality of "teachers".

Agree 100%

[Dominic]

The State Education System in Cyprus was summed up by Les Bean. I can't add anything to that.

But let's look at what we are comparing. Science, Maths and Reading. Of these three, the only one that really matters these days, to the majority of students, is the ability to read. The maths curriculum needs to be modernised to teach people useful stuff like how savings and interest rates work. That is much more useful than learning about sets and the area of a circle.

Don't get me wrong, I personally love maths, and used calculus in my Biochemistry degree to determine rates of enzyme reactions. But I am in a minority. During my first year at Uni, we spent most of the time getting everybody up to speed on the maths, chemistry and biology that would be required. I don't really see a need for everybody, no matter what their chosen career path, to have to learn more maths than they will ever realistically be required to know. Ditto Science.

Reading though, that's different. We all need to be able to do that.

[Devil]

A agree with you Dominic up to a point. I was a scientist and I was pretty good at both maths and chemistry at school. On the other hand, I was not monocultured in that I was also always an avid reader – I still have a book by my bedside: want to know what it is? In reality, I am obnoxiously proud of my command of the English language and I believe that I have more -than average vocabulary, despite my battles with Alzheimer's or something similar. That is not to say that I am never mistaken because I frequently am, and my dictation system helps me make mistakes at times!

[Chaddy]

I went to a basic secondary modern school,failed my eleven plus ( my dad went mad ) failed every other exam i sat.I struggled with maths,reading,science you name it.
I left school and served a six year apprentiship as a joiner.A couple of years after that i started my own business,worked every hour god sent me and was succesfull.
My poor maths,reading etc was not a problem i had other people paid to do it for me.The business is still up and running ( 55 years ).My opinion is that the ability to work hard can be more important sometimes than being accademacally ( if thats how you spell it ) gifted.

[WHL]

I went to a basic secondary modern school,failed my eleven plus ( my dad went mad ) failed every other exam i sat.I struggled with maths,reading,science you name it.
I left school and served a six year apprentiship as a joiner.A couple of years after that i started my own business,worked every hour god sent me and was succesfull.
My poor maths,reading etc was not a problem i had other people paid to do it for me.The business is still up and running ( 55 years ).My opinion is that the ability to work hard can be more important sometimes than being accademacally ( if thats how you spell it ) gifted.

Ditto left school at 15 worked my arse off, ducked and dived, build up a very succesful chain of retail shops in the uk and here, and made a few bob along the way.

[Chaddy]

Well done WHL

[Firefly]

There is a lot to be said for a good education, but to be able to pass exams, doesn't give you common sense. One can have a string of qualifications, and be as thick as a plank.

I have met some people, just like that.

[Kili01]

The low standard of education in the State run schools has for a long time been very low,specially in the secondary schools. Half day school lessons, with indolent teachers has been the norm. Local parents who can afford it send their children to private schools, like the International School. Many of these children go on to University in Cyprus or abroad.

[Chaddy]

There is a lot to be said for a good education, but to be able to pass exams, doesn't give you common sense. One can have a string of qualifications, and be as thick as a plank.

I have met some people, just like that.

exactly ( if thats how you spell it ) Firefly,good post.

[El tel]

I was lucky enough to win a scholarship to a boys school with 200 pupils . It was a progressive school and was flexible enough to allow half of my form opt out of languages and we took GCE’s in accountancy , economics and commercial knowledge , it made such a difference when I left school as I knew how the commercial world worked . Now it appears that current GSCE’s seem to about media studies and children leave school without even understanding how bank accounts work .

Terry

[Devil]

children leave school without even understanding how bank accounts work .

I opened my first bank account with Lloyds about 70 years ago, when the erstwhile manager invited me in to his holy of holies for a glass of sherry. Since then, I have worked with a number of banks in four or five countries. Up to about 15 or 20 years ago, running a current account presented no problems, even with interest on a few of them. Then, little by little, instead of providing their customers with unadulterated services, they started to tell us what we could do and what we couldn't do. Worst of all, they started to charge us ever-increasing fees for their "services". Money grabbers!

[Firefly]

I had my first bank account at junior school.

Paid in so much a week, and had my bank book stamped accordingly. I thought that was the norm in the early 50s.

Sadly today, the local bank is long gone. Faceless people to deal with over the phone, that's if you can actually speak to someone.

[Devil]

I had my first bank account at junior school.

Paid in so much a week, and had my bank book stamped accordingly. I thought that was the norm in the early 50s.

Sadly today, the local bank is long gone. Faceless people to deal with over the phone, that's if you can actually speak to someone.

Yes, I had forgotten totally that when I was at school, I had a post office savings book. I must have been about seven when I was given a shilling by a visitor who had stayed with us for a few days. My mother insisted that I put half of it, sixpence or a tanner into the PO! I'm reasonably sure that it must have been before the war because, after the declaration, all spare coins went into a fund to build a Spitfire. I wonder what happened to my POSB – with the interest, after 80-odd years, I must be worth a fortune!

[Firefly]

I would like to bet that you're not alone, Devil. There are probably thousands of unclaimed bank accounts in credit, floating about in the ether.

[Kili01]

Yes, like Devil I had a POSB and was encouraged to save money on occasions when I rec money in lieu of birthday and /or Christmas presents as a child. But I'm not sure what happened to my book after I grew up andI left home. So I have never had the chance to spend the small amount of money .. I must have saved.

[mark4007]

There is a simple way to find out what happened to your old UK accounts.

https://www.mylostaccount.org.uk/