Friday 4 July 2008

Learning: Only Ever To Be Undertaken By Qualified ProfessionalsTM

Young people are being left "globally illiterate" as school fails to prepare them for the wider world, according to a new study.
Half of children believe people of different backgrounds and cultures should not live in the same country, it is claimed.

And a fifth of teenagers have never discussed worldwide news stories or problems, such as the crisis in Zimbabwe or the Beijing Olympics, at school.
Oh, horrors! What shall we do? The end of civilisation is surely upon us, unless our elite imparts this information to our children….
Hetan Shah, DEA chief executive, said: "In secondary schools there seems to be an overwhelming focus on getting pupils through the tests. Teachers are finding it more and more difficult to bring in some of these wider issues.

"I've heard of incidences of children going into schools and saying 'What's going on in Zimbabwe', and the teacher saying they don't have time to get into those issues."
Now, he has a point about teaching to targets, but the rest of it is the usual babble you’d expect from a hired mouthpiece for another money- and publicity-hungry charity. God forbid the children so curious about Zimbabwe access this information from anyone but the Government!

Kids: You probably have PCs and Internet access – if you are curious about Zimbabwe or world affairs, leave off Facebook and downloading the latest MP3s and try Google. I’m reliably informed that even modern gaming systems can access the net, where all kinds of information from the MSM and blogs is available; it’s not just so you can access information about how to progress in ‘Grand Theft Auto IV’.

There are still free libraries in most areas (though the government is working on that!) and they do sometimes have internet access if the thought of cracking open a book or a newspaper sends you into spasm.

You could always ask your parents, too…

But now we come to the real meat of this little study:
Mr Shah called on the Government to make world issues a central part of education, saying employers were no longer interested in individuals with a "little England" mentality.

"The Government wants young people to have a 'world class' education but a key question is whether it is preparing them for the world," he said.

"Ahead of the G8 meeting to discuss world issues, we need to face reality. An education system that leaves English children globally illiterate, without a basic understanding of world events or problems and intolerant towards those from different backgrounds is one that sets children up to fail."
It’s all about getting a compliant workforce that has been spoonfed government propaganda since before they could toddle. No free thinkers need apply.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Back when lower class people were really struggling for an education, free libraries were put in place by socialists because a solid background in knowing about stuff was thought to be a passport to economic stability and personal progress.

Nothing much has changed except the economics. The gap between the rich and poor has widened. The way money is made by people is less tangible and (of course) the chattering classes pay more tax
for ever-widening, expensive and flagging public-service. In addition to this, gainful employment for inarticulate and less-able people is not that available in a bear market.

Quite a puzzle for a queen of the right to solve.

Keep looking out for that little house painter !

TT

Anonymous said...

"Back when lower class people were really struggling for an education, free libraries were put in place by socialists because a solid background in knowing about stuff was thought to be a passport to economic stability and personal progress."

Ah, yes, those 'socialist' philanthropists like Andrew Carnegie, and his modern day equivalent, Bill Gates?

Hint for you, Total Twat: Most socialists, if they have any money, like to keep it to themselves. You won't see them spending any of it on the little people...

"..a queen of the right ..."

Hmm, wasn't that a song from 'The Bodyguard'? Oh, my mistake, that was 'Queen of the Night'.... ;)

DJ said...

Hmmm... couldn't the inarticulate and less-able do all those jobs the British just won't do ?

Anonymous said...

You're right, the only purpose of 'our' education system is social-engineering.

When they've figured out how to spin the Tibetan-Chinese confab sympathetically to the Chinese without endorsing the Dalai Lama's ethnic nationalist solution - and so raising questions in the minds of native children - it will safely join the curriculum alongside the false histories of Jesse Owens, WWII, and slavery.

Re: education as deliberate dummy-making and social-control, John Taylor Gatto and Charlotte Iserbyt have written some supremely sourced books and articles available online.

Anonymous said...

No concrete solutions from you a again predictably, just another load of rhetoric, insult about my name and hubris.

And there was me thinking you'd finally got it.

Our country is bursting with people just like you.

Carping and complaining, but taking scant responsibility for anything. Offering little or no solutions to problems but puffing up themselves with self-aggrandisement and satisfaction at their own cleverness.

This tendancy is shared by all wannabee politcal bag-carriers.

Please also, try not to put me into some little enclave with socialists. I'm not one. I look merely at what a particular government achieved in their tenure of office and reported it back to you.

Unlike properly dedicated Britons, like nurses or van drivers, or trades people or shopkeepers or drain clearers, you seem to be doing little or nothing concrete to make life better for others.

But then, you wouldn't understand that because you're far too busy being very important on here and keeping your right-wing snout firmly in the trough.

TT

Anonymous said...

P.S. good work at this blog JuliaM, I'm a little puzzled as to why someone so sound would make that comment about the DailyMailonAdrianChiles @ Laban's.

Anonymous said...

Sorry - the anonymous of 11:25 and 11:28, me, is clearly a different shy type than the other anaon(s).

Anonymous said...

"I'm a little puzzled as to why someone so sound would make that comment about the DailyMailonAdrianChiles @ Laban's."

I don't know myself, it was just so grating suddenly reading it and thinking 'What possible reason could they have for adding that fact..?'

It didn't seem to have any bearing on the story at all. Very odd...

"Sorry - the anonymous of 11:25 and 11:28, me, is clearly a different shy type than the other anaon"

Yeah. He's a bit of a frequent visitor here lately.

Like a cockroach.

I might have to purchase some poison soon.

Anonymous said...

"No concrete solutions from you a again predictably, just another load of rhetoric, insult about my name and hubris."

No point to your comment again, predictably, just meaningless whining and a false assumption, plus getting your facts hopelessly wrong.

"..properly dedicated Britons, like nurses or van drivers, or trades people or shopkeepers or drain clearers.."

Ah, the Total Twat seal of approval in public duty! What, no policemen or firemen? And what have you got against librarians...?! Why no love for librarians, Total Twat?

"...you're far too busy being very important on here and keeping your right-wing snout firmly in the trough."

I think you are a bit confused about who has their snouts in the trough - let me help...

Anonymous said...

yes please JuliaM..
time to squash the pretend-not-socialist Tedious Twat into oblivion.
it's long since past its sell-by date.