On the other side of this Bush is a stunning view yet it’s blocked by plant beauty.

Our Son loves history. You often see him watching very in-depth documentaries about a vast range of historical subjects

  • Romans
  • Viking
  • Pharaohs
  • Greeks
  • Persians
  • Incas
  • American Presidents
  • British Kings and Queens
  • Battles and Wars
  • and on and on

Unfortunately he doesn’t get the chance to extend this knowledge at school (yet).

It’s probably due to being put in the bottom set due to his dyslexia but the teaching is at such a low level. Son says he will keep watching historical videos as it’s the only way he learns anything new. He smiles when he calls himself the Hermione Granger of the History class. If the teacher asks a question he is always the first hand up but is never selected to answer.

I think one incident really sums up the problem.

In a test the class were asked to name facts about King John. Our Son then provided an in-depth answer which talked about

  • When King Richard the Lionheart was captured on the third crusade John (his brother) negotiated with the captors to keep him imprisoned
  • He lost most of his fathers empire
  • After he was forced to retreat from France he alienated himself from the many of the barons and a rebellion started
  • Eventually the two factions started negotiating after months of conflict. The end result was the Magna Carta which limited the power of the crown.
  • He then got the Pope to declare the Magna Carta invalid sparking more civil conflict which spilled into the reign of the next king – his son Henry III
  • He may well have killed his nephew (Arthur of Brittany) a potential rival
  • John was excommunicated when he refused to let the Pope have a say in the selection of a new Archbishop of Canterbury
  • He probably died of dysentery

That is my son speaking not me. My knowledge of John ends with the Magna Carta being signed under his rule and the stuff in Ivanhoe.

His teacher spoke to our son and basically told him that he provided too much information. That he was in Year 7 and he shouldn’t know this stuff until Year 10. That’s a way of inspiring his love of the subject. To be fair to the teacher her approach to learning is what the government wants. Sadly the government understands as much about education (and actually most other areas) as does that Bush in the photograph.

56 thoughts on “Hermione”

  3. Ugh…Your son is so smart and it makes me sigh that he is not allowed to really flourish. Those details are so fantastic. I can’t wait until the system meets him where he is and allows him to be himself, and not follow some mundane protocol – and admonish him for being him. (And thankfully I love documentaries too as my guy has me watch lots. Now his favorite YouTube guy is Mystery Doug and I get special emails when a new idea is explained. Learn a lot! 🙂 )

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  5. Sounds like your son should be the one teaching the class. My son is one year behind yours and loves history as well. He’s always reading history books, watching a documentary and then re-educating me, ha. I never was great with history, and most of what I learned, I’ve forgotten. Keep on filling that brain with knowledge, kiddo!

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  6. My heart bled when I read this Gary. That son of yoyrs is an absolute gem. What travesty that his school does not see that. I want to come and hug the both of you.

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  7. That sucks! At our school, they have someone assigned to read a test to you and record your answers verbatim if you have something like dyslexia. Forget Switzerland; move here. 😉

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  8. 😲

    Maybe i shouldn’t be surprised (disgusted actually) but our governments do not want people with thoughts and ideas above their ‘place’ and most schools (not all, fortunately) reinforce this: Know Your Place! (I guess the teacher ‘knows’ her place/role, too?)

    It’s certainly nothing new. When i was about your son’s age the teacher was giving us a science lesson. He asked what part of the roadway is the first to dry out after it rains.

    Clearly remembering the road surface as i walked to school alone that morning, which was drying out from the earlier rain, i stuck my hand up. “The parts the cars dry with their tyres sir, car tracks!”

    He gave me ‘the look’ – that was not the answer he wanted, despite it being patently true: “No!” he said, “It’s the middle of the road where the camber is the highest.”

    While, with no cars on the road, that may be a legitimate answer, the fact that i had provided one from direct personal observation of the fact was not acknowledged in any way – i was just ‘wrong’.

    I lost a lot of respect for teachers that day – it has stuck.

    Like you, i am concerned at what ‘normal’ schooling is doing to your boy… and all other kids, for that matter. 😦

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  10. Teachers need to have a way of letting a child know they’ve, perhaps, gone on longer than is appropriate without discouraging them. I would have thought that if a child shows interest in the subject you’re teaching, you would want to encourage them. One simple but effective way would be ‘You seem to know quite a lot about this already. Would you like a project?’

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      1. That shouldn’t happen. We actually do it the other way round – look at primary teacher assessments and CAT tests. We then try them in the higher sets first. If they can’t cope, we then move down. But it’s based on understanding and knowledge rather than written responses which they will struggle with.

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  14. I hope you respond to these teachers about trying to stifle a brilliant child. You must find a different BETTER school for him…..He could be the next Einstein……….

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  15. What education? America is same. Re-writing history. Our young people don’t care, they are not dumb just uneducated. What a waste. Let son continue educating self.:)

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  17. I wish I loved history as much as your son clearly does! It’s always been a struggle for me, and I’m so impressed with people who can draw connections between things that happen across the years. He sounds amazing.

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