We are not the same!

a small booklet published by the police was distributed to kids through their schools. It’s called KNOW YOUR RIGHTS!

When we were kids we got a similar booklet. It was called RIGHTS & RESPONSIBILITIES.

I don't feel like it's the same species any more.

Put the Students Behind Bars

An article in yesterday’s paper describes the government's intention to force high-school student that refuse to stay in school to 18 to attend weekend detention.

What will happen to those who do not appear to the detention? Will we employ the police force – too busy to finish their current paperwork – to chase students? And when they catch them? Will we burden the legal system, or shall we simply extend the anti-terrorist law and allow for detention without a trial? Shall we build special jails for them, or shall we just release before time some more dangerous rapist and murderers to free jail space?

There was another interesting fact in yesterday’s paper: on an international scale, in the past five years, British students have plunged down from 4th to 14th place in science, and from 3rd to 19th in Reading Literacy.

So why do we want to force people to go to school? After all, they don’t seem to learn anything there. Aren't they better off getting a job and learn something useful?

Instead of detention centers, the government may want to think of alternative education, make educational TV attractive and exciting. Or perhaps create a free game arcades with exciting educational games.

I’m sure it can’t be that difficult to create some exciting and educational games. For example: a person approaches you in the dark and asks for help (oral comprehension), as soon as you recognize he made a grammatical mistake you can blow his head off, but if you were wrong, he chops you with a machete (grammar education). However, when you are out of bullet you can pick up a bottle of acid (chemistry) and throw at his face and see how his body deforms (biology).

I am sure that the creative minds can come with better games, if not we might want to consider the drop out student as their replacement -- a change that may feel just like the holiday that UK needs.

Tribute to Jade Goody by ranfuchs @ 22/03/2009 – 20:28:46

The death of a young mother is always a tragedy, for her friends, family, and most of all for her kids.

Yet it is not a national tragedy. Definitely not when Jade Goody is concerned. Jade Goody's only contribution was to demonstrate to the ignorant that being uneducated, and racists can make them famous; that their flaws is what this country likes. But is that enough to justify a tribute from the prime minister? What message is he conveying to our children? That cheap fame wins you honor more than education and hard work?

As sad as a death of a young mother is, this is of no national interest whatsoever. Unless, of course, Brown needs reality shows to devise his policies.

It certainly seems so.

Not another policy!

Gordon the Magnificent continues with his infinite list of new unrelated ideas. The latest is to half-train failed bankers to become half competent teachers. In other words, bankers who failed at their jobs, will get an accelerated course to become teachers.

As a full time teaching course seems not to be doing much good for the UK education system, why not do away with teacher training altogether, can't anyone with a stick become a teacher. 

Alternatively, we may also want to encourage early-released prisoners (one of Gordon the Magnificent latest policies) to take teaching jobs. After all, these guys sure know about life.

By the way, does anyone know what happened to the elimination of prostitution policy?

Legal Matters

The life of a girl of 15 working as a prostitute was exposed when a suspicious teacher, who searched her bag, found condoms and the name card of her agency and alerted police.

Two legal issues are yet to be resolved before any act can take place:

1. Should the crown sue the teacher for abusing her power and conducting an unauthorized search?
2. Can help services ‘rescue’ the girl, as evidence was obtained illegally, and therefore, by law inadmissible.

There is nothing like a good bureaucracy to raise ones confidence in the system.

Fatherhood at 12

Does anyone else find it strange that three boys of 12, 16 and 14 quarrel over the fatherhood of a baby born to a 15 years old? They all claim to have slept with her in her bed with the consent of her parents. I just can’t really imagine how the conversation with the parent went:
“Yes dear, he is 16, don’t you think he's too old for you? Why don’t you bring someone younger next time. He may be smaller, too, and will fit in your bed better. Also make sure you don’t use any of these contraceptive. The priest was clear that we must not corrupt your young minds, lest it should put strange ideas in your little heads.”

Trust the News: Education

“Primary schools should place just as much emphasis on children’s wellbeing and lifestyle as maths and English”, says the latest government report.

Considering that only a few weeks ago, another report claimed that our students miserably failing at math and English, I am not sure if the new one is bad news or good news. 

 

Trust the News

"One in ten British young people believe that George Bush is the head of the commonwealth"

I think it’s wonderful . After all, I would have never guessed that so many young people knew what the commonwealth was. By the way, I feel that it’s high time for renaming it to commondebt -- a far less misleading name.

Trust the News

"Teachers ordered not to risk touching children."

Teacher: can I speak with Ms. Smith.
MS: This is she.
Teacher: Rachel just had a little accident, and until the ambulance arrives, I need your consent to treat her and stop the bleeding.
MS: Sure sure, what happened? Is she OK?
Teacher: She’s losing some blood, so can you please give me your email address so that I can send you the forms so I can touch her.
MS: just go and treat her
Teacher: I am very sorry, but I need a waiver. You see we are restricted by legislation from touching anyone without written consent …

Sounds ridiculous?  Tell it to the good policemen that did not save drowning child, as by doing so he would have violated health and safety regulations.

Poetry and Modern Education

A poem:

Rats racing,
Cats Chasing.
Birds flying,
Cats crying.
Child calling,
Milk warming.
Cats lapping,
Birds tapping,
but
Cats napping.

This is not my poem, but my nine year old son. It was his homework. He felt very proud. The teacher praised him, and he got the HP award. What a wonderful inspiration it was. But when he wanted to read his poem to the class, his teacher refused. She felt it would hurt the feelings of those who did not do so well.

Is this a new trend in education? Hide the good, not to discourage the majority?

Trust the News: Education and HIV

‘One in five is high-school children is unaware of the connection between HIV and sex.’

Math and science are on the decline, and so is English and History. So what do they learn at school?

Martial arts and violence

My son was taking karate classes at his school. He loved it, he was good at it (genetic I suspect .) But when his friend's parents commented that there was enough violence in the world, and that kids should not learn martial arts, and his class mates were teasing him, he stopped. I can’t talk him into going back.

Isn't is amazing how much our life is defined by ignorance and stupidity?

Most traditional martial art are non violent. There is far less violent in a karate match than in a football match. Very little of the violence in our street is by martial artists. On the contrary, it has been shown that martial art training in violent neighborhoods reduced violence. This is for two reasons:

• Traditional martial arts instill self discipline. “Be a devil for yourself and an angel for the other.” The gang culture in our streets is about lack of self discipline.
• When people are confident (not arrogant) in their ability to defend themselves, there is less chance they, or people around them, will be attacked in the first place.

There are two type of non-violence attitude.

1. You avoid violence for philosophical reasons, while knowing that in cases when violence is the only resort, you will not be afraid to use it. This attitude reduces violence. 
2. You avoid violence out of fear. Being a cowed attracts violence. After all it does not take two to start a fight.

 If more people avoided confrontation for philosophical reason, out of choice, instead of running away from it out of cowardice, our streets would be much safer.I still hope I can talk my son into going back.

School Bullying

Today’s paper reported on another school girl who committed suicide, allegedly as a result of school bullying.

I don’t know if the claim is true, nor do I know the statistics. But from my personal experience, school bullying is much more tolerated in the UK, than in any other country I’ve been.

I have three kids going to three different schools, and this is the fourth country we’ve lived in. We’ve always lived in similar type of suburbs, and sent our kids to similar types of schools. By all means, my three kids have encountered (fortunately, not first hand) more bullying here than in any of their previous schools.

The scarier thing is not the bullying itself, but the total inability of the schools stuff to discipline the bullies. Despite the fact that a single bully can make life hell for an entire class, school stuff is not given any means whatsoever to discipline them.

As one of the teachers said: “I don’t know why we need to sacrifice entire classes of good student for some hypothetical ideal of giving everyone equal opportunity. It doesn’t work.”

If at school you realize that bullying is not punishable, can we really complain about the level of violence in our streets?