CASTLE ROCK BY SUBJECT - PART 3

Design consisted of the subjects of Home Economics (cooking), Woodwork, Metalwork, Art and Ceramics which we rotated between on a 6 week basis. It has only just occurred to me that this was an average of just 36 minutes a week devoted to each subject. I think it would have been far better if we could have chosen 3 out of the 5 subjects to do. Overall I was average at best in these subjects, I didn’t mind the practical side but struggled a lot when it came to drawing whatever we were going to make. ART I don’t care what anyone says as far as I’m concerned Art is one of them things you are just born good at or in my case very bad at. Mrs Miller was a good teacher but nothing on this earth was ever going to make me a good artist. I have always considered every minute I spent at school doing Art a total waste of time. Reports December 1989 - Matthew has many imaginative ideas but he still experiences problems in handling a variety of materials with skill and accuracy. He has however a sound understanding of the colour theory taught this term and I have been pleased with his progress. November 1990 - Matthew has experienced some difficulty when trying to represent objects accurately and I would certainly like to see him pay more attention to detail but he has good imaginative ideas and can work reasonably well in a variety of materials. CERAMICS I didn’t mind doing a bit of pottery even if it was with my horrible form teacher Miss Davis. Reports January 1988 -  Matthew has ability but is not always prepared to utilise it fully. His work demonstrates a basic ability of materials, tools and processes. Drawn work needs more care and effort. February 1990 - Matthew has worked well in these lessons and has shown that he has an ability to analyse an idea, select and communicate relevant information graphically. WOODWORK Famous for having the most negative, miserable teacher in the school Mr Smith. He talked to people terribly and never used anyones names it was always “you boy” and “you girl”. In response loads of people would sent him christmas cards knowing that he was a Jehovah’s Witness and didn’t celebrate christmas. I didn’t personally have any real problems with him and tried to get on with the subject the best I could. Top memory of this subject is cutting my thumb with a saw in the first year and having to go to the doctors to get a tetanus injection. Reports April 1989 - Matthew has shown an interest in creative activities. He the ability to handle tools and materials but needs more time in order to become competent. Has ideas but needs more help to bring them out into visual form. Can record with reasonable accuracy but lacks attention to detail. February 1990 - Enthusiastic and involved prepared to experiment in all media and materials. Is able to select both tools and materials with skill and confidence. Always works with imagination and flair never short of visual ideas. MY COMMENT - are you sure you didn’t mix my report up with someone elses???????? METALWORK I still find it hard to believe that at the age of 11 we were allowed to use things like welding torches but given the way health and safety moves that would probably have been banned within a few years. As with woodwork I didn’t mind the subject even though I was average at best. Reports December 1988 - Matthew needs to take more care over theory work, he lacks ability to record well. He can handle tools and materials but needs more time in order to become competent. HOME ECONOMICS Running riot in class and sometimes the odd foodfight, Mrs Bodicoat didn’t have much of a clue of how to control the class and that was the end result. Some of the food I came home with was sometimes not the best. Reports December 1988 - Matthew tries hard with his practical work but his folder could be kept a little tidier. October 1989 - Matthew does not like written work. He does not concentrate during demonstrations then cannot answer the written questions correctly. His practical work is quite good. October 1990 - Matthews practical work has improved this year. He is able to concentrate better and use the equipment with skill. He could work more tidily. EXPRESSIVE ARTS “What the hell is expressive arts ?“  was the first comment by most people when they looked at my school timetable. Well the answer was physical education and (bizarrely) music. Typically we would do a sport like football, rugby, cricket, swimming etc for 6 weeks before starting a new one. I suppose music couldn’t be fit into anywhere else so once in awhile we would have 6 weeks of music. As with primary school I was next to useless at sport but contrary to popular belief I didn’t hate it overall. I didn’t mind things like football or hockey even though I probably got on a couple of touches of the ball during an hour's games lesson. As before I was best at long distance running but only seemed to get the chance to prove myself once a year. I scored one of the highest results in our school on the “bleep fitness test”. My least favourite sports were Rugby (simply because I’m built as a slim long distance runner), swimming (because I was about the only person who couldn’t swim) and cricket which I hated so much that I have created a separate entry on the subject. The school reports I got were hardly great but I can’t really argue with them....... DECEMBER 1988 Matthew is able to understand the concept of space and the skills of catching and throwing but in a game situation lacks the control to perform well. In swimming he lacks the confidence to improve greatly but he does show the enthusiasm to gain water skills. He has shown an interest in improving his personal fitness. MAY 1989 A very quiet and unassuming member of the group. Matthew needs to acquire greater self confidence in his work. FEBRUARY 1990 Matthew does experience difficulty in certain aspects of this subject nevertheless Matthew has always continued to be reliable and consistent. NOVEMBER 1990 Matthew tends to linger on the fringe of any activity he takes part in. Greater confidence in his own ability would make participation enjoyable and worthwhile. MUSIC As stated above music was also part of “expressive arts”, described by my parents as “just a messing about lesson”. To be honest I can’t remember a lot of what we did so it was probably just that. I really can’t see how you can learn anything when you do a subject once a week for 6 weeks. I could write at length saying what a total waste of time it was but when it was only a small percentage of total lesson time I see little need to bother. I do remember the first teacher we had (Mr Gallagher) was laid back and easygoing while the second one (Mrs Blagg-newsome) was horrible. How do you write a school report on someone you see for less than 2% of the total classroom time?????? DECEMBER 1988 Matthew tries hard with all aspects of the coursework. A pleasing start to this years programme. MAY 1989 Matthew enjoys these lessons and he has participated well in all aspects of the coursework The question I would have to ask is what coursework ? and what programme ?