Ban 'Fail' from Classrooms 1

[sha76]

Unfortunately the British education system is becoming dumbed down.
Exams get easier (please note, I am talking about a gradual change over a long period of time, at least since the GCSE replaced the O-level in 1988. I find it very insulting to those who do well in their exams that every year the press comes out & says that of course, they were far easier than last year.).
There are more universities and more degrees than ever before. This makes it far easier to get onto a course, but money is becoming a limiting factor. It used to be that a degree was really worth something, but the range in the standard of education & of examining is shocking, I know of one course where, for a final exam, students were given the topic for an essay in advance and allowed to take any notes they wished in with them! Yes, that did mean they could write the essay at their leisure & copy it out in the exam!

The message I get from the way all this is sold is that you're worth nothing without a degree. Maybe this is why we're starting to see a lack in skilled tradespeople. What do you now if you want to be a carpenter? You go to college. Is this really better than an apprenticeship? To my mind this attitude devalues both academic and vocational standards.

</rant>!

"Your rock is eroding wrong." -Dogbert

 

[jakeyg]

The sunlight challenged

 

[johnwm]

We will change our educational standards so ALL our children are above average

<snigger> so that's what higher education will do for you!

________________________________________________________________
If you want to get the best response to a question, please check out FAQ222-2244 first.
'If we're supposed to work in Hex, why have we only got A fingers?'
Drive a Steam Roller

 

[BobRodes]

I've often wondered at the pathological fear of being average that we seem to have. If average isn't good enough, what does that have to say about life in general? Are we really such a world full of pessimists?

I, for one, am happy to be average. I have an average number of psychological problems, am better at some things than average, and worse at others.

sha76, I'm very sorry to hear that that fear appears to have begun to undermine the British educational system.

Bob

 

[sbudzynski]

Being average is tricky, its so very weird how one thing for one group of society is considered average yet another thing can be completely unacceptable!

For instance, cannibalistic tribes in New Zealand, I bet Jeffrey Dahmer would be right at home, but here in the States he was crazy.

Native American medicine men were giving the gift of hearing voices, but to hear voices in society now means your schizophrenic.

But hey, I know im average! (Somewhere)

Steve Budzynski
Metro Office Products Inc

http://www.metoffpro.com

 

[BobRodes]

Yeah, I agree with you, Steve. I guess the thing that gets me the most is the idea that average is bad. Everybody gets a B, because a C is a bad grade, even though it's average, which it isn't really, because most people get B's.

Bob

 

[sbudzynski]

Well good thing most people aren't cannibals!

Steve Budzynski
Metro Office Products Inc

http://www.metoffpro.com

 

[tgreer]

My father tells a story about moving to Wichita, KS, to start work at one of the aircraft companies. The brochure from the Chamber of commerce mentioned that Wichita has the same average temperature as Honolulu, HI.



Thomas D. Greer

http://www.tgreer.com

http://www.brownfedora.com

Providing PostScript & PDF
Training, Development & Consulting

 

[BobRodes]

That's a good one, Thomas! Talk about spin doctoring.

Bob

 

[yanqui]

No, trolls don't need politically correct names; trolls are trolls, just like dogs are dogs and bats are bats and goats are goats. Dogs aren't "felinically challenged" just because they're not cats, they're dogs. Trolls aren't centaurs, they're another species of being. They have certain characteristics, stupidity among them.

 

[tsdragon]

That would depend on whether the word "troll" is their own word for themselves, a scientific designation, or a derogatory term for "subterranean individuals". (Just like "mutt" is a derogatory term for dogs). There is a long history of peoples and societies using terms to refer to one group or another than are common usage, but still considered derogatory (especially in these "enlightened" times). Since I don't know any subterranean individuals personally, I can't ask them whether they consider the term "troll" to be derogatory, or what they would prefer to be called.

Tracy Dryden

Meddle not in the affairs of dragons,
For you are crunchy, and good with mustard.

 

[sha76]

If anyone wants to add further discussion to this then I guess it would be better in a new thread, but thought I'd just post a link regarding something sensible, and against current trends, coming out of the same conference:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4720567.stm

"Your rock is eroding wrong." -Dogbert

 

[sbudzynski]

i was just making a joke about the whole troll thing

are they even real?

Steve Budzynski
Metro Office Products Inc

http://www.metoffpro.com

 

[PaulTEG]

Trolls that are really real. ;-)
Trolls of other types
--Paul

cigless ...