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College is a place to learn! What a bad lesson some college's give! - View From The Other Side Of The Fence

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    Diary Of Becoming A Farmer

    College is a place to learn! What a bad lesson some college's give!

    I was very sad to learn that one of our forum members has felt pressured to remove their blog from this site. 

    I read the blog and felt that the comments where in no way defamatory but merely reflected the thoughts of a number of students, in the 16-19 year old bracket, as to the relevance of some of the lectures that are included in their course.  However the college felt that the comments reflected badly on the college. But why didn't the college respond to the blog through the comments and right of reply system? 

    I know from some of the students who I attend college with (I am not 16-19 years old, not for a long time!) that their interest is all things agriculture.  But the course is structured in such a way as to have formal maths or English or IT in a session called key skills.  This does not engage the students and they just switch off.  Then the session becomes a battle of wills, the lecturer's get frustrated the students are not interested and don't learn and this tension continues into other lectures making it difficult for everyone to learn.  

    I know from teaching my own children, 5 years, 3 years and 1 year, that when they have engagement they absorb information like a sponge.  I taught them to count using hay bales, they learnt colours from the different manufacturers of tractors and machinery, they are learning about the seasons because of farming, they have a good understanding of where food comes from.  The eldest started to learn to read from the Farmers Weekly.

    I was going to write a blog about the subject of college and engaging the students, following on from the blog in question, with some other thoughts about education and our industry.  Sadly I can't remember everything that was written in the blog in question, but actually it was the best blog that this person had written so far. 

    I also feel a little guilty as I had encouraged them to write a bit more about their life and intentions. I'm sorry. 

    I'm afraid to say, however, that the college has let this person down.  Instead of encouraging this person and engaging them in the bigger agricultural debate they have probably made them feel scared and disillusioned.  We need free thinkers in this industry as well as people keen to learn.

    I may need correcting on some of the detail as I can't remember the blog in it's entirety but I throw down the gauntlet to the college's to debate the education required for our future generation of farmers and agriculturalists. 

    Click on the link below and Challenge Me?

    "Let's Debate The Future Education Within our Industry" 

    Posted: Jan 25 2009, 09:26 AM by viewfromtheothersideofthefence | with 4 comment(s) | [Edit Post]
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    Comments

    pyjamafarmer said:

    Im sad that the blog in question has gone, as its the first one I saw fit to comment on, as I thought it well written and relevent......I am in the situation of not being a 'farmer' as such, as I have had to return to the farm to look after an elderly parent, and a decaying farm thats best days were in the 70's.My son, however will be going to college in september, and really wants to know what things are like from someone his own age....not from a brochure.We have no Y.F.C round here, so the internet is a good source of info.He wants things that are relevent to the farm, but also to do other things

    .His view of key skills is similar to 'pastys'!!!Any self esteem you had is worn away by people Implying you are thick(usually in several differnt formats!)

    I assess in child care, and I find key skills classes actually put kids off, as they seem to have little or no relevance, and actually take teaching time away from something they love!

    please  continue to let the blogs of the younger age group reflect what concerns them...it would be a sad world if everyone had to tow the college line all the time!

    # January 25, 2009 5:04 PM [Delete]

    viewfromtheothersideofthefence said:

    very well put pyjamafarmer.  I do hope the college feels strong enough to comment.  I do not believe it is the college's fault but a symptom of the nanny state in which we now live.  If this is the case I'm more than happy to get behind the college's to push for change.  It's in all our interest.

    # January 25, 2009 6:24 PM [Delete]

    pasty girl said:

    sorry i havnt commented till now but thanks for ur support....

    i deleted because i am not sure if i want to study there next year but i may not have enough money to go elsewhere

    # February 1, 2009 8:15 PM [Delete]

    robinpc said:

    Sounds like the college has less than brilliant management - a familiar story.

    But as to whether the courses are inappropriate depends on what the students are training for.  To carry out the various basic farming tasks needs practical training but negligible maths, english or IT.  On the other hand for any level of farming management, those surely are key skills and the college should simply explain how that is the case.  Maths especially is a uniquely valuable subject to study, partly because of the useful conceptual frameworks it provides, but mainly because it trains one in clear accurate thinking, exposing one's mental mistakes in a way others don't.  And there's a lot of clear accurate thinking needed in farming!  

    # March 1, 2009 1:55 AM [Delete]