It was like 16, 17, and maybe 18 year olds who behaving like they don't want to know.
Throwing bits of pipe, pens or anything else about the workshop; or sword fights with lengths of copper pipe 4 or 5 feet long.
Constantly on mobiles in class/workshop, no matter how many times told to put them away; going off topic, talking amongst themselves, making weird noises and no they did not have an involuntary response condition.
Going to class without course book, paper pad, pen or anything, then saying "I didn't know what we were doing I thought we were in workshop"; so why did they turn up in class at the same day and time as they have done for weeks.
Going to morning / lunch / afternoon break and not coming back for rest of the day because what they were doing was "boring".
All students were told how important maths are and a number of examples were given, including some of personal experience.
But they walk out of a class because they can't understand the tutor (neither could anyone), but she was writing everything down correctly, I followed it and learnt something (I have always had bad maths so took the opportunity offered), but it was to difficult for them.
Turning up for maths and there is no tutor, and instead of going to library and studying or finding a maths tutor and asking for some work they close blinds, turn off lights, use class PC and large screen and put a film on, after messing about and swearing; there were a number of students who were trying to study but ended up leaving that lesson.
There were teenage students on a health course who caused so much disruption in maths the tutor was regularly in tears and ended up leaving the college.
I made a complaint and the head of maths was telling me about the problems they are having.
From what I saw at college of those who were early twenties or younger (whose ages I could identify), there were some but not all who did not seem that interested, from my personal experience they were generally not interested.
Even the tutor stopped giving out homework because not many students were bothering to do it.
And I'm not saying where this college is.
D'you know that's almost the exact reason I gave up a teaching career and went back to plumbing. 14 years as a head of department and if they didn't do the homework (Because they were too tired after a day messing about disrupting lessons), it was me who got disciplined for not making it interesting enough.
Not all young people are the same though, and I teach kendo to quite a few in the age bracket. These people have what it takes to get on, and they will, but not all of us are the same.
I was a very late starter, leaving school with 6 CSE's and none of them above a grade 3.
I messed about doing unskilled jobs in factories, foundries, on farms, and in the the building industry before I conned my way onto a Government training programme for plumbers.
I did have to work damn hard though and we were always told by the course leader (Jim Foster if I remember correctly) that he would show us how to do something once and we got the chance to have a go. We could mess up once, but if we messed up twice we were off the course so we worked, and concentrated.
We also did nearly all our written work in our own time, after the workshop sessions. There were times when I was finishing at 10pm and then getting into the workshop for 8am but I knew that it was for a reason and, as I keep telling my actor son, I had something to fall back n when teaching failed for me, so in the end all the hard work was worth it.
BTW - I started in plumbing at the age of 24, and I was a complete idiot, running around with a very bad crowd and getting into trouble, but I changed. So can the others that 'Appear' to be a waste of space.
To paraphrase David Bowie, they're just "Going through changes"
Enjoy your time on the job, enjoy your time off the job, moan if it's making you feel like it, and try to be nice to everyone because it does make life a lot easier in the end
That's a lot of typing - I think I might write a book now 'coz I'm well experienced after this bit
Another BTW - I got on my course by using a graded scale I marked on the edge of the question paper to work out a cylinder circumference. Ingenuity, and an ability to solve a problem are far more important that qualifications IMHO
