A little while ago I came across a site called Notalwaysright.com which is a collection of stories mainly posted by people who work in retail and service jobs about their encounters with members of the public. Among the stupid, the entitled and the obnoxious people there are some who lack the most basic numeracy. For example someone who bought four items for $2.99 each and insisted that the cashier must have rung it up wrong when the total came to $11.96 and still insisted that it was wrong when the cashier demonstrated that 4 X 2.99 = 11.96 using a calculator. I can do that sum in my head in seconds it is that simple. How can anyone spend eleven years in school without being able to do the simplest arithmetic?
Unfortunately, I suspect that most Ministers of Education over the past forty or fifty years have been more concerned with increasing exam scores (or pass percentages) than with actually making sure that the output of the education system can demonstrate that it has been educated. Bliar, with his absolute conviction that a high % of the population must have a degree is to blame as well - funnelling resources (money and left-wing educators) into giving dustmen degrees (maybe I exaggerate) can only have diverted the same resources from pre-teen and teenage education. Mind you, those left-wing educators would probably indoctrinate their teenage pupils instead of educating them! So many of the pupils leaving our secondary schools cannot do multiplication, are unaware of how to use the apostrophe, say "nothink" instead of "nothing" that I despair - I must be too old!
Regarding the linked article. It seems to me that there are people who are deliberately trying to screw stuff up. If racial minorities are under achieving and then blaming whitey by claiming discrimination the answer is to tell them that they need to take responsibility for their own futures by turning up on time and knuckling down. A policy of not sanctioning them because you are treating their colour as though it was a disability is pretty much guaranteed to make an already difficult situation even worse.
A little while ago I came across a site called Notalwaysright.com which is a collection of stories mainly posted by people who work in retail and service jobs about their encounters with members of the public. Among the stupid, the entitled and the obnoxious people there are some who lack the most basic numeracy. For example someone who bought four items for $2.99 each and insisted that the cashier must have rung it up wrong when the total came to $11.96 and still insisted that it was wrong when the cashier demonstrated that 4 X 2.99 = 11.96 using a calculator. I can do that sum in my head in seconds it is that simple. How can anyone spend eleven years in school without being able to do the simplest arithmetic?
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I suspect that most Ministers of Education over the past forty or fifty years have been more concerned with increasing exam scores (or pass percentages) than with actually making sure that the output of the education system can demonstrate that it has been educated.
ReplyDeleteBliar, with his absolute conviction that a high % of the population must have a degree is to blame as well - funnelling resources (money and left-wing educators) into giving dustmen degrees (maybe I exaggerate) can only have diverted the same resources from pre-teen and teenage education. Mind you, those left-wing educators would probably indoctrinate their teenage pupils instead of educating them!
So many of the pupils leaving our secondary schools cannot do multiplication, are unaware of how to use the apostrophe, say "nothink" instead of "nothing" that I despair - I must be too old!
Regarding the linked article. It seems to me that there are people who are deliberately trying to screw stuff up. If racial minorities are under achieving and then blaming whitey by claiming discrimination the answer is to tell them that they need to take responsibility for their own futures by turning up on time and knuckling down. A policy of not sanctioning them because you are treating their colour as though it was a disability is pretty much guaranteed to make an already difficult situation even worse.
ReplyDelete"Among the stupid, the entitled and the obnoxious people there are some who lack the most basic numeracy. "
ReplyDelete'Education, education, education' as someone I can't quite remember once said...
"Bliar, with his absolute conviction that a high % of the population must have a degree is to blame as well..."
Ah, yes! Thanks for the reminder. I think.
"It seems to me that there are people who are deliberately trying to screw stuff up."
Well, I suppose that's a more charitable way of looking at it. The other assumes they actually believe this nonsense!