Original post by AstronomicalYou would tell them, in one sentence, that negative and positive charges attract. That is just a fundamental truth, with no hidden simplifications. Energy is just something we define a globally conserved quantity, and then we define it's various forms. If something moves, we define it's kinetic energy. We define potential energy, too, using calculus. Of course this is a simplification because we'd be ignoring special relativity, and general relativity, and probably some other advanced principles, but the point is it's far more advanced than it is currently.
It wouldn't be though. You could easily teach what an atom is in one lesson, including what all the bits of an atom are. Then you could move on next lesson, and so on. Like university - a new topic every lesson. You should be able to cover a topic in an hour of writing on the whiteboard, and students can copy this down or get it printed off or whatever.
I personally think many of the strugglers struggle because it's presented badly, and because, let's face it, year 1 to 9 maths is boring, doing the same thing over and over, and nobody pays attention after a while. Like I said, I think a topic a lesson, then a lesson of questions, then a new topic, and so on, is the best way to do it. It keeps everyone interested, and maybe some people will struggle, but the majority of people will benefit hugely, and that is who needs to be focused on - the majority.
Squashing into 4 years, not 2. And it's not really squashing it, because you wouldn't be covering most of the things you'd have done in say year 7 chemistry. You'd start off at a higher difficulty, and given you'd chosen to do it by that stage, you'd have at least some interest in it and want to learn more about it, so this wouldn't be a problem. Ah, gosh, making maths harder won't solve the world's problems. What it will do, however, is mean that everyone leaves school better at maths, that people are better prepared for any science course at university, which is what school is preparation for, and mean that much of the overly simplified science you'd have done in earlier years can be forgotten, as the students are capable of dealing with less simplified versions due their mathematical skills (including thinking logically). Likewise improving everyones English will enable people to write better essays, analyse more critically, and so on, allowing those people to do better at their university courses too, and the A-levels that get them there.