The working classes just aren't very bright so have no chance of bettering themselves

I was born and grew up in Sweden. It never ocurred to me that I belonged to a class. We were just 'normal' people. Had I lived in the UK we would have been considered working class. I went to grammar school and university and this was not thought of as unusual or unnecessary. There was nothing like the 11 plus examination, instead our progress had been measured since we started school at the age of 7. I started a no-fee grammar school when I was 13.

I'm not sure that all of us value education and qualifications in this country. Not so long ago a neighbour commented that her granddaughter was interested in working in a nursery school. She found out that she needed certain qualifications and my neighbour's reaction was ”why does she need qualifications, it's only working with kids?” I get the feeling that this sort of reasoning is not uncommon.

Whitewavemark2

I hope that you aren’t equating dyslexia with intelligence?

My question was are learning difficulties inherited.

I just spotted my spelling mistake: occurred

Sone are genetic sone arent.

Was that deliberate Galaxy

Found the answer, dyslexia does run in families.
britishdyslexics.co.uk/dyslexia-gene.

All the boys in our family except one are dyslexic to varying degrees. None of the girls are.

All have gone on to study at degree level and above except one - who is only 16.

My son needed huge support from us as it wasn’t recognised at the time.
The grandsons were getting superb support until the budget was cut, now my daughter pays for private tuition. Those who do not have the wherewithal to support their children must see them struggle without help.

Katie59

Was that deliberate Galaxy

Found the answer, dyslexia does run in families.
britishdyslexics.co.uk/dyslexia-gene.

Actually that says some cases of dyslexia are genetically linked, not all.
The immune system bit was interesting my dyslexic DS has immune system problems -psoriasis etc.

It absolutely can. My father and brother are. My ex husband is and my daughter is too. Seems as if I was the only one in the family it avoided. Hoping GS isn't. It makes school life a lot harder.

Sorry no of course that wasnt deliberate. I work with children with additional needs (not dyslexia) and know lots of parents waiting for inordinate lengths of time for genetic testing.

that's an unnoffical unsanctioned privately owned website. I could set one up titled "All Gransnet members are wankers"

Special training is essential, a friend had a dyslexic son who was getting very little help at the local school, at 11 they found the money to send him to a private school that specialized in learning difficulties. What a difference, at 25 he is running his own business, a very clever young man.

Katie59

Special training is essential, a friend had a dyslexic son who was getting very little help at the local school, at 11 they found the money to send him to a private school that specialized in learning difficulties. What a difference, at 25 he is running his own business, a very clever young man.

Actually it isn't. It can be very valuable, but what is most helpful for some dyslexics is to find something they are passionate about and work their learning around that. A good computer, a spell checker that uses context and software that reads aloud all help. It's why university studenst get financial help towards technology. The help should come earlier.

You don't necessarily have to send your children to a private school to receive additional support for dyslexia. My own school, a state primary in an area of high deprivation in Scotland, was deemed a dyslexia friendly school, where many of the staff, myself included, made the decision to obtain additional qualifications to identify and support children with dyslexia.
My own daughter, who went to a state school, has dyslexia and was able to get a place at university, because supporting pupils with dyslexia was high on the agenda of the LA where I lived and worked. not all schools and teachers fail to support children like my daughter.

trisher

Katie59

Special training is essential, a friend had a dyslexic son who was getting very little help at the local school, at 11 they found the money to send him to a private school that specialized in learning difficulties. What a difference, at 25 he is running his own business, a very clever young man.

Actually it isn't. It can be very valuable, but what is most helpful for some dyslexics is to find something they are passionate about and work their learning around that. A good computer, a spell checker that uses context and software that reads aloud all help. It's why university studenst get financial help towards technology. The help should come earlier.

Yes I think you are right. My GS had all that help and his passion is electronics of all sorts he is now reading an electrical engineering degree with assistance from the university. He gets extra time in exams and of course software etc.

He has had to work and struggle incredibly hard to overcome his difficulty but my goodness how proud we all are of him and what a lovely gentle young man he is turning out to be.

Whitewavemark2 I wish him all the best. One of the misunderstandings I think about dyslexia is the idea that extra help can "cure" it. The extra support may help, but the dyslexia doesn't go away. having an enthusiasm for something helps make the hard work of reading and writing more worthwhile. As an avid reader it took me a long time to realise my DS would never enjoy it as I do and it would always be a slog for him. He is successful in his field and uses heaps of technology to help. I hope your GS continues to achieve. He sounds delightful.

My daughter is dyslexic, and as you say, trisher, she struggles to enjoy reading. This is a shame, as she loves stories, and is well aware that an audiobook is an interpretation of the original, so doesn't care for those either.

Like you, I get a lot of pleasure from reading, and feel for her, but I doubt if she will ever enjoy it in the way that I do. She has been hampered academically by this, and I think it was made worse because she is intelligent and found her own coping mechanisms, which meant that she presented as 'average', so never got much help at school. The school was also very hung up on results, and gave far more attention to children who would 'perform' than to those who got along but underachieved. She's doing fine now, but it has been an uphill struggle for her, which I think would have been much easier if she had been younger, as things seem to have improved immeasurably more recently.

I read hundreds of books of all sorts to both my dyslexic son and GS’s as did their mother in order that they didn't loose out to wonderful children’s literature.

They never went to bed without a chapter or 2 in their imagination.

Yes, so did we. The problem arises when they outgrow bedtime stories, and when they move away to start their own lives. My daughter knows that she loves stories, and can remember all sorts of detail from the books she was read as a child, but the sheer slog of reading now takes all the pleasure away.

Doodledog

Yes, so did we. The problem arises when they outgrow bedtime stories, and when they move away to start their own lives. My daughter knows that she loves stories, and can remember all sorts of detail from the books she was read as a child, but the sheer slog of reading now takes all the pleasure away.

I know, but they’ve had a good grounding, what else can we do as parents/ grandparents?

Oh, nothing. I wasn't suggesting that we could.?

Going back to Arts education.

The Arts play a large part in the economy in a variety of ways. I can remember when graduates from the RCA went to work as designers in the Italian and German car industries and also in the European fashion houses. Admittedly those particular young people didn't bring money into the economy but for a long time we have had excellent fashion designers who are renowned. Two examples of this are Bruce Oldfield and Ossie Clark. (Both from poor backgrounds)

Having some knowledge of the Arts is usually useful for interviews because the interviewee is able to converse on a variety of subjects. Even if it is poker! A young friend of mine, at her boyfriend's employers' Christmas party spent some time teaching someone to play poker. She was at college at the time but when, later on she went for an interview with the company, the director interviewing remembered her. As a result of the poker playing she stood out from the crowd and got a job.

Music is another subject which has long disappeared from the schedules I think. It has also brought substantial amounts to the economy. Mick Jagger used to claim that the Stones brought more money into the country that the British car industry and he was probably right.

Regarding student loans - in the 60's 4% went to uni. Now it's 40%. I personally see no reason why students should not take out loans in order for them to further their education. Currently £50,000 is bandied around as the amount of debt that students leave with. They only start repaying when their income reaches £27,295 and only on the income above that. So someone earning £35,000 would pay £793.45. Hardly a large sum to find.

If you earn less that £27,295 you don't pay anything.

There are also maintenance grants, bursaries and several other sources of finance from various charities.

Our Local District Council has 82 Liberal Democrats, 14 Conservatives, 5 Independents and 1 Green Councillor.

What Labour Party???

I have a feeling of déjà vu !

Dinahmo, you seem to forget that many university students get help from their family. It may just be a bag of groceries every few weeks, but it could be that parents and grandparents can pay enough for the student to come out of university with little or debt atall.

This means that a student without help coming out of university with a £50,000 debt is at a severe disadvantage compared with other students who have somesort of help and support from their family and the amount they need to borrow will stop many applying.

I think we should be putting far more money into expanding the Open University so that that is an option for 18 year olds. They would end up with some debt but could work their way through college and even begin their careers. DD recently completed a degree in STEM subjects and got a job using her degree (and her previous career in the media) before she had even completed it.

They will have the debt when they leave uni but no one is going to be forcing them to get a job with a large enough salary to repay it. There is an informative article on money saving expert about this. The loan doesn't affect their credit rating.

I don't agree that they are at a severe disadvantage because they will have received an education that should improve their lives in one way or another - whether it leads to high paid employment or some lower paid, but possibly more fulfilling work.

I have clients who didn't start to pay off their student loans until well into their thirties, or even forties.