It’s been that kinda day. The occasional brief glimpse of the sun then just grey, cold and damp.

“Dad that’s so wrong. That’s not Henry II. It should be Henry III. “

Son was talking about a national History Revision package which his school is using. All the kids are expected to revise using this. On history I would never doubt our son. But as this was a national teaching package so I thought I would double check. Yes full marks to Son and the Teachers compiling the package – you must try harder. Yes they were referring to the wrong King Henry.

“I also certainly don’t agree with that view of King John. It’s as balanced as the biased tosh Shakespeare wrote about him and Richard III.”

When Son raised this with school they told him that the pack had been compiled by teachers and it had been used by many kids. So basically accept it. I’m happy to report that Son is sticking to his guns and if asked will stick to his version of history. His version which is factually more accurate. If he’s marked down by school for this then stuff them.

It’s been a bizarre set of exams that he’s had to sit. In English and Science he’s been given a scribe. But in the other subjects he’s had no help so he has had to read the papers on his own. He’s certainly been provided with no additional time. I’m still not convinced school has any real idea how to deal proactively with dyslexia and autism. Given this is 2020 I find that staggering. Even with the scribes it’s been far from ideal. At his last school Son knew weeks in advance who his scribe would be. They worked together on a number of dummy test runs to get used to each other. He also received additional time. This week he only found at if he was getting a scribe at the start of the exam. The exam was the first time that he had worked with the person scribing for him. The scribing happened in a room he had never been in before.

“So how did the history exam go Son?”

“Well I didn’t get any help. Not sure I read the questions correctly. But I knew the answers to the questions I sort of read. Not sure they will be able to read my answers anyway. I definitely got one question wrong. I knew the answer. But I could not spell the two battle names. In the end they looked more like Pokemon or Manga character names rather than English Civil War sites.”

So if the teacher is reading this

The Battle of Nagato means the Battle of Naseby

And

The Battle of Madoka Mano means the Battle of Marston Moor.

55 thoughts on “King Henry III meets manga”

  1. Two … no wait … TEN thumbs up 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 to your son, the child prodigy, for a) knowing the difference between Henry II and Henry III, and b) sticking to his guns! Tell him my mantra: Never back down when you know you’re right, but make sure you’re right first. He is, indeed, his father’s son.

    P.S. What is a ‘scribe’ in this case? Like a helper, or translator?

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  3. Argh!🤬 He is too dang smart to be testing badly! Why can’t they give him the tests orally in a separate room or something?
    I guess it’s good that I’m not in UK cuz if I were, I don’t know that I’d be able to keep myself from causing a One Woman Ruckus!
    He’s got the best Dad, but I’ve got tons of experience with schools and also causing ruckuses… rucki…????😂
    💌

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  6. I once took an IQ test where circumstances held I was able to see my mistakes. The only mistake I made was a mathematical process test which was written in mathematical gobbledygook intended only to screw up the testee by adding bunches of useless material. As I crossed out all the useless information the answer became obvious. I rechecked it three times before I submitted it. When the examiner marked my test, and gave me the result, I asked her if my wrong answer was the mathematical one. She said yes. I told her the answer key was wrong, but she said that was impossible. She told me her husband was a university math professor, and she would ask him. After doing the same test she said he got it right, so it must be right.
    To make a long story short, I had her contact the company that produced the test, and after careful consideration they agreed their answer was wrong, and mine was right. They were surprised the writer of the question had fooled himself, and many others. So, definitely, have him stick to his guns. He can change the world–or rather in this case keep it where it should be!

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  8. Steam is coming out of my ears as I read out to Jackie your son’s brilliant comments and the crass attitude of the teachers who should know better and the national bodies who probably know nothing. And this is nothing to do with dyslexia.

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  9. Oh that makes me madder than mad! If he needs a scribe for exams, he needs a scribe for exams! They can’t pick and chose which he gets one for and which he doesn’t! How does that even make any sense? It must be so frustrating for your son who is obviously a very bright and hard working boy who wants to (and is capable of ) doing really well.

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      3. Funnily enough we were talking about that word yesterday before all this cos there’s a woman where the Mr does some voluntary work and her name is Linda Tosh. And we were saying what a braw name in a way and how that word is not used much now.

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  11. Schools are totally inept at seeing kids needs in America too. Funding out the window and teachers so young they dont have much experience. The good ones retire early bc it is such a tough job.

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  12. Oh my goodness, your son is so smart. That school is not letting him shine! Uggggh. I agree with you, too. Declan is having a hard time and I am telling him the same thing – you do you and if they don’t like it, I don’t care. If you fail because you refuse to do something they force you to do that causes you great stress, I don’t care. These schools aren’t teaching to our kids – our kids need different considerations. Frustrating!

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  13. Good for Son for sticking to his guns. But not even knowing if he is going to have a acrube until the start of the exam is just shit. Your Son is just SO reslient though Gary. He is a great credit to you. And you are not so bad yourself either xx

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  14. “It’s been used by many kids” so it must be right? “It was written by teachers” so it must be right? Good grief. It sounds like no one in the current education system will be able to think for themselves when they get out of school. Our “alternative facts” have crossed over to your side.

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  16. From all of these stories about your son and his school I’ve come to 2 conclusions …
    (1) Your son is an amazing young man with more guts than almost anyone I know.
    (2) His school makes me want to swear. I just feel so helplessly angry with them for letting him down like this.

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  17. This brought tears to my eyes. God bless that son of yours – sounds like he could teach the teachers a thing or two !(Scratch that, he could teach them a million things and not necessarily to do with academia). You must be so very proud of him! Thanks again for sharing. This is simply superb!

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