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Member for

9 years 6 months

Posts: 1,613

Anarchists takes over a building in London to teach the man a valuable lesson about... I don't know, I'm bored already.

I like the little table they have set up to greet visitors. I can imagine how that meeting went down;

Anarchist A: "Go and man that table for a few hours yeah?"

Anarchist B: "Don't tell me what to do!".

Member for

12 years 11 months

Posts: 6,535

My D.Tel. (report, to-day) comments that normally around 5 million viewers tune into BBC 2 for Top Gear. On Sunday last about 4 million did a runner with 1.3 million tuning in to watch a replacement; a repeat program about the Red Arrows.

Member for

12 years 11 months

Posts: 6,535

This should be a more than interesting example of chickens coming home to roost. Trevor Phillips the former boss of the Equalities Commission, with his eyes suitably descaled, is appearing on Channel 4, 9.0pm tonight, to tell us all where and how multiculturalism has failed.

There really is nothing like a sinner that repenteth. I crossed swords with Mr. Phillips and his Commission about six or seven years ago when it was announced by a well known book publisher that a competition followed by an award they were proposing to make would exclude white male authors.

How was that for discrimination ? So we went to war. Took us a while but, we won and the competition was withdrawn.

Member for

12 years 7 months

Posts: 851


How was that for discrimination ? So we went to war. Took us a while but, we won and the competition was withdrawn.

I am genuinely glad that you were willing to oppose discrimination in one form at least.
I would also hope that you would do the same if a competition was limited to male white authors?

In this context, who are the "we" who fought the war?

Member for

11 years 5 months

Posts: 11,141

I was fiercely opposed to the whole concept when Blair introduced "multiculturalism", and I recall Phillips under fire fervently defending his role. I think it has done more damage to race relations than anything else so it is good to see him declare the error of his ways. I noted that he spoke to Blair in the programme last night. Was he contrite?!!

Member for

12 years 7 months

Posts: 851

There is nothing like a failed stitch up to end a parliamentary session. I bet Gove is feeling a bit deflated at the moment. My heart bleeds for him, Hague and Cameron. Not.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/general-election-2015/11496026/Leaders-prepare-for-television-grilling-live.html

It is sad that this has meant that there is now not enough time for long serving (and shorter serving) MP's to all give leaving speeches. Shame my MP isn't thinking of standing down.

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12 years 7 months

Posts: 851

Poor Mr.Gove, Downing Street have said that Cameron has "full confidence" in him as Chief Whip. Watch this space...

Member for

12 years 11 months

Posts: 6,535

Poor Mr.Gove, Downing Street have said that Cameron has "full confidence" in him as Chief Whip. Watch this space...

Gove ? Quite probably the best Education Minister we've had in recent years. He certainly took the battle to the heavily politicised, left wing union rabble that presently control our State education system.

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12 years 7 months

Posts: 851

No, his policies will be shown to be taking the education system up a dead end in most cases. His shake up of the post 16 exams system is not supported by the universities. This government has wasted many millions on ideologically based Free Schools that have been shown to be no better than existing schools in the main, and worse in a number of cases. A 'light touch' approach to their governance has allowed corruption and bigotry to flourish. He was a disaster waiting to happen, hence is removal by his friend Cameron as a liability. To have an idealogue who would not recognise when he was wrong even in the light of overwhelming evidence was not the right person to be education minister. He has shown similar ability as a whip. Undoubtedly a cultured and personable man, but not a good minister and poorly advised by his Spads.

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12 years 7 months

Posts: 851

Gove ? Quite probably the best Education Minister we've had in recent years. He certainly took the battle to the heavily politicised, left wing union rabble that presently control our State education system.

But he did not win those battles, the 'rabble' are still in place, he is not, thank goodness. The Blob prevailed.

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12 years 11 months

Posts: 6,535

But he did not win those battles, the 'rabble' are still in place, he is not, thank goodness. The Blob prevailed.

Yes, I do take your point, the rabble are still in place and predictably still, our young people leave State education largely innumerate and illiterate.

I should know.

Member for

12 years 7 months

Posts: 851

Yes, I do take your point, the rabble are still in place and predictably still, our young people leave State education largely innumerate and illiterate.

I should know.

Oh really, why is it that more young people are attending university and completing apprenticeships than ever before. This would not occur if they were "largely innumerate and illiterate" as this suggests that the majority are effectively innumerate and illiterate which is not true.

I would agree that the current system does not encourage independent thought and good study skills as it is so target led which discourages deviation from rigid pathways which means that teaching away from the specifications set by the exam boards in state secondary schools is a luxury that rarely happens. The Gove 'reforms' actually make this situation worse.

The failure in the system is that failure is not an option.

Member for

12 years 11 months

Posts: 6,535

Oh really, why is it that more young people are attending university and completing apprenticeships than ever before. This would not occur if they were "largely innumerate and illiterate" as this suggests that the majority are effectively innumerate and illiterate which is not true.

I would agree that the current system does not encourage independent thought and good study skills as it is so target led which discourages deviation from rigid pathways which means that teaching away from the specifications set by the exam boards in state secondary schools is a luxury that rarely happens. The Gove 'reforms' actually make this situation worse.

The failure in the system is that failure is not an option.

No my friend. As with everything else you have it completely wrong. As with teaching so with the NHS. When it was decided that nurses required a degree to do their work, nursing, as it had been for the last one hundred years changed completely. As part consequence, we now have nurses that do not or cannot nurse, and we now require the services of the Care Quality people to oversee and maintain standards formerly associated with nursing as it was.

Teaching ? Much the same. It was decided that teachers should have some uniform formal teaching diploma thus removing teaching from a vocation incorporating the ability to communicate knowledge of one's subject, to the forced - if you wanted a job teaching - indoctrination of acres of pyschobabble theory mostly concerned with the now discredited student centered learning.

How do I know? I went thru' the process. Michael Gove, the Michael Gove you pillory, made every effort to separate State Education from left wing political control. I believe his political demise was a consequence of political racketeering by the Lib Dems.

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12 years 7 months

Posts: 851

To be pedantic (again, sorry) you should really have said 'as with everything else in my opinion you have it completely wrong'.
If I were to counter 'but I know I am right' would be to fall into the position of Gove, IDS et al. who insist something it true ' because I believe it to be so' even in the face of considered scientific or factual evidence presented to them. How one interprets evidence is a very personal thing of course, that is why we are all different, but to ignore it because it is inconvenient is not intellectually sound ( although we all do it to a certain extent- mea culpa)

Pob may have 'made every effort to separate State Education from left wing political control' but he, like you, assumed most of those in the education establishment are left wing. My local education Authority has been run by Tories for decades, they were proud to advertise that their spend per pupil was below the national average for those decades, but I would think that they would be most aggrieved to be called left wing. I know that they did not like the destruction of local democratic control over schools in their county because of the enforced acadamisation of secondaries and primaries.

Personally I believe that Gove was pushed by Dave because he could see that he was becoming an election liability.

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12 years 11 months

Posts: 6,535

The D. Tel. (report, 30th inst.) informs us that at least 700 foreign students, intent on coming to Britsin to study science and engineering, have been refused admission.

It is thought that what they were taught could have been used in the preparation of weapons of mass destruction.

I would have thought that the Internet was more than capable of supplying information on how to make explosives or how to obtain the correct ingredients for the making and distribution of bacterial or other toxic agents ?

A majority, if not all of the schoolboys of my generation certainly knew how to make explosives. We made them in small amounts, put them into suitable containers and using simple percussion, with huge delight, frightened ourselves witless by detonating them in convenient places. No one thought anything of it.

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12 years 7 months

Posts: 851

It seems that on the first day of electioneering, the tories have been a bit fast and loose with their claims, at least according to the IFS
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/david-camerons-claim-that-labour-would-raise-taxes-by-3000-is-not-sensible-says-the-ifs-10144367.html

But then, when has telling the truth ever been a priority for Mr. Shapps. Apparently when challenged on the figure of £3000 he admitted it was a guess "because Labour hadn't been specific about their plans'"!

This latter point was also picked up by the IFS report which said they, and to a lesser extent the Tories, are not clear in explaining how they would achieve their stated aims.

http://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/7678

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12 years 11 months

Posts: 6,535

Hmm ! Economical with the truth. Bit like the Socialists then ? Ed, with a cheeky body swerve and a dummy, avoided mentioning the deficit and immigration !

Politicians; ain't they adorable ?

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12 years 11 months

Posts: 6,535

My newspaper reports that the NUT - bless their busy little bodies - are entering the minefield that is social engineering with their demand that schools teach a positive slant on homosexual and same sex union.

So they are not content with improving their members wealth prospects but now feel impelled to influence the social views of the their captive clientele on this extremely touchy and divisive subject.

Member for

11 years 5 months

Posts: 11,141

And yet another nail in the coffin of parental responsibility. This and many other elements of social education should not be within the remit of the school at all.

Is it any wonder the modern parent has such a low perception of his responsibilites when they are taken on by schools?