WE DON'T NEED NO EDUKAYSHUN!
You won't find me complaining about the long-overdue reform to examinations in English schools. Speaking as someone who even managed to fail basic stupidity, I still say that moving the goal posts does not help youngsters to prepare for life after school and for once, I can't lay the blame squarely at the door of New Labour, although Tony Blair's government did nothing to improve the situation.
We have long seen a culture in schools where no pupil can be seen to fail. Even school sports days became victims of the idea that little Johnny mustn't be upset because he didn't run as fast as the other kids. In some schools, the children are all termed as 'competitors' and no-one is named as the winner, no matter what the outcome of the race or football match - and the same culture has resulted in 'dumbing-down' exams.
Currently, half the grading is based on modules and continual assessment, and pupils can bump-up their grades with endless re-sits of each exam module.
In my day we only had one shot at the target and trembled at the prospect of turning over an exam paper to find we had no idea of the answers to the questions laid out before us.
The GCE (General Certificate of Education), taken at 16 years of age, was tough. If you really were a masochist, it was possible to stay on at school for an extra year and try for A-levels. There was another option for those who – like me – had no desire to stay after their 15th birthday, called the Secondary Modern Schools' Leaving Certificate. It didn't have the street cred of a GCE but at least I was free!
Of course, some people will agree with Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg's original opinion that the new system would be 'elitist' and 'stigmatise' children considered not bright enough, but I've never felt stigmatised simply because I don't have a suitcase full of qualifications. I knew I wasn't the cleverest kid in the class, so I just made the best of what I felt I was good at. The Deputy prime Minister may be interested to know that it's called 'living in the real world'.
DON'T BADGER OUR BRIAN
Just as with any other debate; from incineration to immigration, aliens from the stars, to electric cars – the bovine TB issue has two opposing sets of people convinced they have right on their side. For me, the great badger-culling debate is all the more interesting for having guitar-legend Brian May at its centre. Still, I can't help wondering whether Brian is so ardently opposed to the cull because, with his long grey hair, he fears he will suffer from a case of mistaken identity while walking in the countryside!
AND FINALLY…
Why is the time of day when traffic hardly moves, called rush hour?
