A-levels, GCSEs are easier, so what?

Predictably today and last week the headlines all screamed of 'record pass rates' for A-level/GCSE students.

Is it true that the students of today are really cleverer than those of us who sat these exams 10, 15, 20 years ago?

Maybe, some are. But judging by the mentality of some of the 'yoof of today' that I see around, I certainly don't think the majority are.

I was speaking to a teacher friend of mine the other day and I said that as an observer, I think schools should really teach pupils valuable things on top of the normal subjects such as social skills, how to hold a conversation, manners, respect.....that kind of thing. She agreed with me. There is too much emphasis on targets and not enough on being a decent human being and managing expectations.

Everyone wants to be 'famous', either via Big Brother, X-Factor or some other horrendous reality TV rubbish, and traditional subjects such as science, languages and IT are just not glamorous enough for the average pupil, and take-up rates are falling. Students want to do 'Med-ya Studies' or some other equally nauseating subject that has absolutely no use in later life.

I recently sat in a room on a visit to friends where a 16-year-old was sat with headphones on and music playing full volume, while reading a vile teen fashion magazine filled with air-headed non-entities or 'slebrities', so every time someone asked her a question - she just completely ignored them. I was quite ready to strangle her with the headphone cord within 10 minutes, but I actually held back.

This kind of attitude fills me with dread at the calibre of some of the job applicants of the future. Schools are told to 'let everyone be a winner', pupils are spoonfed in lessons and allowed to repeat coursework until it is word perfect, and their spelling, grammar etc is ignored and not marked down.

Real life is just not like that. Not everyone can be a winner, you don't get everything you want first time and if you submit a report or piece of work with spelling mistakes in it, it will be noticed.

Of course there are some great teenagers out there who will be valuable assets to any workplace in the future and who work hard to learn all the necessary life skills.

Surely it is far better to be realistic from the start of the education process and not let every person think they are the best, only to be let down once they have left school? The real world is a cruel and often harsh place.

I feel that with every year that passes and record pass rates achieved, it is the pupils themselves and ultimately the employers, that are being let down most of all by the system.