h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Well, there is supposed to be a national shortage of qualified science teachers in Britain, especially chemists and physicists. However, against a background of an overall shortage, there is a relative plethora of biology teachers. So why is it that I have found it difficult to gain employment as a chemistry teacher?

Part of the reason appears to be (as Britain's Royal Society of Chemistry reported in a recent publication) that the shortage of chemistry and physics teachers is masked because most schools offer 'Double Award Science' rather than the 3 Separate Sciences.

Hence, even to a Head Teacher, a science teacher is a science teacher, capable and competent of teaching all 3 sciences equally well. However, as most teachers will appreciate, chemistry is as different to biology as geography is to history - or history is to R.E.

As I said in a different conversation, I have recently gained a part-time lectureship - teaching BIOLOGY in a tertiary college. (This complements my part-time job in a school teaching 'A' Level chemistry. Now, on Friday, yet another F.E. college has contacted me with a view to me teaching BIOLOGY on an Access to Higher Education course. However, they have said that they are interested in me in the longer term as a chemistry teacher as they hope to re-start offering this subject.

I am due to visit the college on Thusday to chat about these positions.



On a totally different note, I was somewhat miffed for another Researcher to write in the Conversations to one of my Entries submitted to the Edited Guide, "SCOUTS - DON'T PICK THIS ENTRY". This was because he and I disagreed over whether my Entry was sufficiently different to another Entry already in the EG. Well, we are all 'volunteers' trying to do our best, and trying to write Entries that will be of interest, and perhaps even of value, to other Researchers. Surely the Scouts are capable of making up their own minds without people making such gratuitous remarks.

Good luck for Thing!

Yeah I was spittin' blood when I read the recent RSC Newsabout the amount of money the British Government was prepared to put into developing the teaching of Chemistry (I think it was about 20% of the projected requirement).

Half a century ago we were were world leaders...now what?

The Chemical and pharma industries aren't helping. I recently heard an interview with a leading VP in a chemical company (can't remember which one) and he expressed disbelief that they had difficulty recruiting kids into studying chemistry or keeping PhD's in the country ... try paying them what they're worth !!! (me included, I'm currently considering a move to RTP. The UK has shown it's disregard for the sciences and those who work in them).

Agian good luck next week!

Traveller in Time lost in the categorisation system
"I totally agree with you as each should be entitled to have their own opinion about what is Edited Guide material.

However, I think each commenting on an entry should use some caution as like 'scouts, I concider this entry a duplicate of the eisting'.
(I have no idea what this is about)

Apparently we do not have to lose the planet to lose 'tact' "

Hi BigAl

but you're not gonna like what I'm going to say re-your Mnemonics Guide Entry. I found and read all the conversation, I have to agree with those that said it is very similar to the current Edited Entry, and not really in the spirit of h2g2 to do an upgraded version.

I read just some of both Entries, they both 'went over my head' I use Mnemonics in my ECDL Course and didn't know there was a name for it. ie;

Big Knickers May Get Tight

Big ~ Byte
Knickers ~ Kilobyte
May ~ Megabyte
Get ~ Gigabyte
Tight - Terabyte

Any Problems Tell Dad

Any ~ Analysis
Problems ~ Programming
Tell ~ Testing
Dad ~ Documentation

These are just ones I made up to help remember the sequence, there're not common known ones.

Is it really important to you that your Mnemonics entry gets into the Edited Guide? Have you considered a Mnemonics club or society? Might be a good idea

Emmily

Hi Emmily,

No, it doesn't really worry me whether it gets in or not. It was one of the first 3 entries I ever wrote - before I really understood how h2g2 works. I actually started writing it for my own benefit, but found another Entry (unedited) by Gerterd which attempted the identical aspproach to myself. So I asked him/her if they minded me modifyng it, but I had no reply. So I just continued what Gerterd had started. I still think it is substantially different from the existing Entry. The style is so completely different to the existing Entry (and the content is also somewhat different) that it would be far too much trouble to try and update the existing one.

P.S. I'll put those ECDL entries in. I'm also doing the ECDL course at one of the schools where I teach, but it's so badly taught that I'm not really getting anywhere. I also asked the trainer how it differs from some other qualifications I've already got, like RSA Stage 1 and INTEL 'Teach to the Future', and he hasn't been able to answer it. I can't really saee myself continuing with the course as, what I do with my computer I do well. All the stuff that we're 'taught' on the course which I don't use regularly, I can't remember from onbe occasion to the next.

BigAl

I've got a good tutor for my ECDL Course, and find I'm learning quite a lot, (though, I'm probably starting from less PC knowledge than you) and enjoying it too.

I've just passed my Module 2 Test with 89.06% (28.5 out of 32) would've got more if I could remember how to highlight 2 files at the same time. D'oh I went back to that question when I'd finished the rest and spent the best part of half an hour, trying to remember, and trying different ways, but I couldn't remember, I know now, and will never forget again, it was the first thing I asked tutor when I'd finshed the test.

Have you thought about a Mnemonics club/society? IMO it would be a good way to get Mnemonics on the 'h2g2 Map' and you'd have total control over it, and could update it as and when you pleased.

Emmily

Well, once I'd started writing my Entry, I discovered that there had been a huge spate of 'Mnemonics' writing way back - but it just fizzled out. I did apply to be a 'Keeper of Mnemonics' but, at present, there is no 'Keeper of Keepers'.

We don't actually get 'taught' on my ECDL course. Also there are frequent problems with the School system which means that it's sometimes impossible to log on. So the Trainer logs us on to his site and saves our work there, and the next week nobody can remember where the files were saved. So, there's a lot of precious time wasted.

It seems to me that passing the course, like a lot of education is just 'jumping through hoops'. Thus there are several things which I am able to do on my computer e.g. using Access Database, which we are 'taught' on the course to do completely differently. Also, I sometimes don't understand the question on the Test Paper, even though it's asking something exceedingly simple.

I've just been to the Keepers page, from a link on your page BigAl, it seems there's no Keeper of Keepers at the moment, I have enquired if I can help, wait and see what reply I get now.

I see what you mean about your ECDL Course not being very well run, I think it was pretty bad having to pay £25 for the log Book, IMO that shoul be free, though I shouldn't really be complaining as I got the course free, as I work for the college, in the coffee bar.

We were 'warned' about the way the questions are sometimes asked, and had quiz and mock test with those type of questions.

Emmily

Yes, I get my ECDL course for free as well, although they haven't provided us with text books. I would probably do better if I bought myself a text book and worked from home. However, I can't really see the point. As I say, when I was teaching in a 6th Form College I sat and passed the RSA Exam in Word Processing, Access, Excel and something else. Also, as we were lecturers, part and parcel of the course was that we were also taught to teach andexamine it. Then when I was teaching in a school we were taught two courses in parallel: INTEL 'Teach to the Future' (all about using ICT effectively in lessons, run by Oxford Uni; and 'New Opportunity Fund'ed course on 'Use of ICT in Subject Teaching', run by University of West of England.
In the past I've also attended certificated courses in Word Processing and Excel Spreadsheets. Soi, I can't see the point of doing ECDL. I did ask whether I could get 'Accreditation of Prior Learning' to count towards ECDL, but apparently not. I just feel that, if I get the ECDL, then someone will think of yet another course for us to attend e.g. The Global Computer Driving Licence!

Regarding 'Keeper of Keepers' I was once in contact with someone who was hoping to take over the role; I think her name was 'Kat' or somethinhg like that, but nothing ever happened. I think the outgoing Keeper was 'Galaxy Babe', and, at the time, she was transferring the details to Kat.

You'll know more about educational type things than me, but I think your ECDL Course may be worse than you think BigAl.

The ECDL Log Book I mentioned is not a text book, it's the size of a passport, and all test passes are registered in it. We couldn't take any tests until we had the Log Book as we had to enter our Log Book number on the paper.

We recently had ECDL inspectors at our college, (or so the newsletter told us) some changes were made after this, one of those was we had to produce two items of proof of ID, with our address on before we could buy Log Book, I was on their pay roll, but still had to have the ID items

As courses such as this are suppose to be national, they should be basically the same, no matter where there taken, I would've thought. Humour me BigAl, ask your tutor about Log Book, see what reply you get.

I love doing computer courses, when I've finished this one, I'll enrol in another probably 'CLAIT Plus' next time, as I've already done 'New CLAIT' Though my partner complains I'm not learning the 'right things' because I don't know how to deal with the 'technical side', when the PC is not woring as good as it should.

Re-Keepers I had a look on Kat's page, nothing there about being Keeper, maybe she changed her mind. The transferring would be the easy part, just a matter of entering code in address bar, then copy & pasting it all to another Guide Entry, the rest is more time consuming. I'll have to wait and see what Galaxy Babe says when she replies.

Emmily

We have actually got our log books (I think, but I can't think where it is. I believe the tiutors might be keeping them for us). Another problem we had was that our tutors hadn't received their accreditation when they started teaching us. So we went through 'Word', Excel, Access etc without being examined. Then we came in one evening to find that they were iving us the test - without prior warning. So there were things we had to do which I just couldnt remember how to, because I don't do it routinely. One of these was a 'screen dump' of what your screen looked like at a certain time.


I also like doing computer courses - when they teach me things I need to know and use. It's just jumping through the hoops of convoluted test questions that annoys me.

I think there are 2 different Kat's, that's why I can't recall which one it was. Think I'll look back at some of my earlier conversations.

This is the Kat who originally applied to be Keeper of Keepers. U234368

Yeah, it was the same Kat, who's page I went to.

I just found the conversation on Galaxy Babe's page, which I really should have done last night, but it was late, I was tired that's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it

The Keepers entry is stil in Galaxy Babes name, so don't know what happened there.

I'll go post in that thread, see if Kat still wants to do it.

Emmily

Kat seems to have some severe personal problems at present.

Had my chat at the College. They want me tio start teasching GCSE Biology more or less imminently, then to start teaching on 'Access to Higher Education (Biology) in January. This course is really targeted at nurses in the local hospital. In September, they're hoping to re-start the 'A' Level chemistry course. They're going to try and fit this in with my other teaching commitments, rather than conflict with them.

I am amazed at how easy it has been to build a 'portfolio career', although this year is the first time I've felt sufficiently financially comfortable to take the risk.

Sounds like they're keeping you busy and out of mischief BigAl
No rest for the wicked eh

Emmily

Definitely worth being a bit of a eh, Emmily!

Now, how would I know about such things, being the that I am and *chokes on her *

Emmily