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Should we rename this forum 'Education'?

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  • Millie2787Millie2787 Community Champion Posts: 5,194 Part of The Furniture
    edited January 2019
    Shaunie said:
    Meggles said:
     We refer to our high school kids as students where I am. 
    & Your school must of used american terms then cause i never said the word “high school” either was always secondary school. 

    I have a feeling it comes down to what type of tier your county uses to what you call it -so yours @shauine may use a 2 tier system which means primary( R-Y6) and secondary school( Y7-Y11)  whereas @meggles may use a 3 tier for primary(R-Y4) middle ( Y5-Y7) and high school (Y8-Y11) 😊 I hope that makes sense x
    Sometimes all you need is one person to believe in you , for you to begin to believe in yourself.
  • TheMixTheMix Posts: 3,113 Boards Guru
    edited September 18
    This has evolved into such an interesting conversation. Good to think about the nuance of these things - as minor as it might seem, all this stuff plays a part in how easy the community is to use. :) So it's good that we're discussing it.

    Aidan said:
    @The Mix what is the 'student life' subforum for? The 'about this forum' page is vague and only makes mention of GCSEs and Uni. Knowing what the section is really about would help name it more appropriately.

    What about:
    External candidates?
    Primary school students?
    College students?
    Adult learners?
    Learner drivers?
    Apprenticeships? (would this count as work instead, even though it's a learning process with awarded qualifications?)
    Someone doing qualifications through the military? 
    A migrant with a student visa?

    This is why the 'about this forum' thread is vague - because it covers such a broad range of stuff. The uni and GCSE points were just in there as relatable examples, but like you went on to say, it's for anyone who is studying.

    The thing that separates this forum from the others is the education aspect. Social issues could still fit in Sex & Rels, educational stress could still fit in Health & Wellbeing, etc. So there is some crossover with other areas, but the unique aspect of this forum is the actual studying and conversations about education institutions themselves.

    Ideally we want to keep the name inclusive without being too verbose. "Student Life & Education" is a possibility @Aidan, though I wonder if they're a bit close in meaning? @Past User your name is a bit more prescriptive, but then maybe not as inclusive as it could be (listing things tend to imply that only the stuff in the list counts, which doesn't always work is the range you're covering is very broad).

    In the UK, 'student' does tend to have connotations of university ('student finance', 'student housing', etc.). Even though it doesn't exclusively mean university as some of you have pointed out, this is something to consider.

    Education - although it may sound a bit formal to some - does have the benefit of being a much broader and clearer term, avoiding the subjective understandings of what being a 'student' is. As @Shaunie mentioned, you could also argue that calling it 'education' encompasses the problems around education too, much like some of you mentioned 'student' encompasses the problems around the studying itself.

    Maybe another option could be 'studying'?

    Happy to hear any further thoughts on the above points - love the discussion and suggestions here so far. :)

    Mike & the team
    Post edited by TheMix on
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 193 Trailblazer
    Interesting thoughts @The Mix 

    I guess with "School, College & University" I was just following the kind of format we already have with things like "Home, Law & Money". If you're studying something that's not at one of those kind of institutions it's probably more vocational and might then fit in the "Work & Volunteering" section. 

    I suppose there also always going to be some overlaps between the different forums. Like if I was going to post about being scared of moving away from home for the first time when I go to uni then I would probably post in this forum, even though that could also go in the "Home, Law & Money" forum.

    So for me I think "Student Life", "School, College & University", or "Studying" as you suggested all work. But I still personally find "Education" too formal and feel like it doesn't encourage people to post about the wider aspects of school, college, and university life.

    Just my two cents! Sure others feel differently. :) 
  • independent_independent_ Community Champion Posts: 9,030 Supreme Poster
    edited September 18
    Really interesting conversation here, never thought it would start such a good debate when I posted last night aha.

    When I first joined I definitely thought it was just for university students, but then again I was only just 13 and hadn't really used the word much. My school refer to us as pupils (hate that word it reminds me of eyeballs every time) but I'm also doing a part-time college course and there we're students. We have student cards etc. It was only when I started to post more and became more active on here that I read the 'about this forum' post and realised what it was all about. 

    There's a few good ideas of inclusive, less formal titles on this thread: "Student life and Education" (which could even be reversed and called "Education and Student Life") and I also like the idea of simply calling the forum "Studying". These might make it clearer what would fit into this forum and make it more obvious to people who have never really thought about it before that it's not just for university students. 

    I also understand where @Past User is coming from though, some of the other forums have a list-like name so I like the idea of "School, College and University" too - although I understand maybe not as inclusive of people who are studying in another environment. 

    Hmm. 
    Post edited by TheMix on
    “Sometimes the people around you won’t understand your journey. They don’t need to, it’s not for them.”
  • TheMixTheMix Posts: 3,113 Boards Guru
    edited September 18
    Past User said:
    I guess with "School, College & University" I was just following the kind of format we already have with things like "Home, Law & Money". If you're studying something that's not at one of those kind of institutions it's probably more vocational and might then fit in the "Work & Volunteering" section. 
    Totally get this, @Past User. :) That's a good point. Initially that name sounded too specific, but thinking about it, there are lots of different kinds of schools, colleges and universities; they're quite broad terms. That name could cover driving schools, specialist colleges, etc. Hmmm...

    Agree that there's always going to be a bit of overlap too, and that's totally fine. :) Issues are very rarely limited to one topic.

    Thanks for sharing your own insight into those understandings, @independent_ - super useful. The term 'pupil' was always used for me personally, too (also totally get the eyeball imagery...).

    So, it feels like the options we have are:

    • Education
    • Education & Student Life
    • School, College & University
    • Student
    • Student Life
    • Student Life & Education
    • Studying

    What are we feeling? Vote for your favourites. :)

    (this doesn't have to be the final decision - just seeing what we all like and didn't want to create another thread just for a poll!)

    Mike & the team
    Post edited by TheMix on
  • SienaSiena Posts: 15,681 Skive's The Limit
    edited January 2019
    studying

    edit - oh didn’t realise that went to an actual link sorry. Thought I was going to vote here lol
    “And when they look at you, they won't see everything you've been through. They won't see the **** that turned to scars that began to fade with time. They won't see the heartbreaking things that shook up and changed your entire world. They won't know how many tears you cried or even what it was you were crying about. They won't see how strong you had to be because you had no other choice. What they will see though is how compassionate you are because you experienced pain. What they will see is how kind you are because you experienced how cruel the world is. What they will see is how good you are because you've seen how bad things or people can be. The difference between you and your experiences are who you choose to be, despite everything that could have turned you cold and unkind.You are the good the world needs and the best of us.” ~ Kirsten Corley
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