our selective grammar schools and universities, though I only became
an academic because of disability. I was often taught by people who
did short teacher training after WW2 (like Dad who left school at 13
and was somewhat less academic than my big toe) or achieved
qualifications through night school and day-release schemes. I agree
a lot with rigsy on this.
I also agree a lot with the expressions on zerohedge that education,
and particularly higher education, has become a fraud. The costs in
HE have spiralled (more correctly the 'charges') 900% since 1978 (this
needs a deflator applied but it's still a lot) and there is no real
competition or vision. The problem as I see it is the extension of
childhood and child-minding. Kids who are failing at 11 and 13 are
still failing at 16. At least half of those who qualify at 18 have no
academic talent. I think we should deschool in order to get more
productive education that has less to do with classrooms and content
most can't manage. I first noticed how useless most HE teaching was
when I taught my first returners from a year at work on our old
sandwich programmes. Almost all the students were at a new level
because they had got away from us. Mature students were also a
blessing, perhaps especially those who had failed school.
We need to collapse some of our habits concerning meritocracy and the
rewards of hard work - 'birthright' and luck have more to do with what
is currently regarded as 'success'. Most kids can't even get in their
school teams, let alone Manchester United. Academic ability is about
as equally shared. We should focus on much wider opportunities and
providing them.
On Mar 20, 9:01 am, rigsy03 <rigs...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> This started seriously with NAFTA- mostly to Mexico from USA.
> Consumers wanted low prices and our workers refused low wages. Cameron
> gave Obama a ping pong table made in China as a recent gift- at least
> I read that. I though he might bring Churchill's statue/bust(?) back
> instead. :-)
>
> On Mar 20, 2:01 am, Allan H <allanh1...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > Personally, I don't think it is either the students fault . As I think
> > about it it is purely the fault of corporate greed and banksters. They are
> > the group of people who in sits on maximizing profit. An extreme example is
> > the mountain of cash Apple is now having to deal with.
>
> > This is being done by moving job to minimize tax and maximize profit.
> > Allan
> > On Mar 20, 2012 12:33 AM, "archytas" <nwte...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > Turns out I've seen most of it - BBC2 did a dubbed version - I
> > > remember the bit at the beginning where the teachers get the classes
> > > neither is suited to. In the rest of the film I can't get over how
> > > impossible the setting is in English terms as our undergrads are
> > > nowhere near as sophisticated as these 'schoolies' (neither am I).
> > > The best strategy on creativity I ever found was to let people do
> > > their own thing and find ways to mark that with them. Film was often
> > > the chosen medium. I'm both overbearingly serious and very shy, so my
> > > icebreaker usually involved taking the rise out of this as a self-
> > > aware dork.
>
> > > On Mar 19, 10:44 pm, archytas <nwte...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > > I'll track down The Wave. I never quite get to despise students James
> > > > - I'm sick of seeing them taking on mortgages in order to clutch
> > > > increasingly worthless qualifications.
>
> > > > On Mar 17, 1:01 am, James Lynch <ashkas...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > > > On Thu, Mar 15, 2012 at 6:33 AM, archytas <nwte...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > > > > This is true rigs - but the deeper point on this is about how we
> > > > > > maintain a more collective form of madness and lack the means to
> > > > > > question it without massive resistance. I forget most of Freud these
> > > > > > days James, though I'm looking at Weber again. I rather like the
> > > idea
> > > > > > of looking at ourselves as Jared Diamond suggests in terms of
> > > > > > societies that went barking into ecocide.
>
> > > > > The hilarity just struck me when considering the Romans, we don't seem
> > > > > to have things figured much better. Where is the waste exchange
> > > > > economy? I agree, resource consumption is a good variable to watch-
> > > > > but then I have lately been translating everything from garbage to
> > > > > crime and poverty with one variable resulting from mismanagement:
> > > > > Waste.
>
> > > > > > I'm not really a tree
> > > > > > hugger (though have been known to hug trees), but feel we have to
> > > find
> > > > > > ways to admit we've got most things upside down.
>
> > > > > Several times I've communed with a hand on one, but I've personally
> > > > > taken down several more. Kids make some sense when asking "why." If we
> > > > > took time to inspect the answers we might find things resemble a
> > > > > science, of the dark ages..
>
> > > > > > On the personal
> > > > > > paranoid side James, I now find myself believing very little outside
> > > > > > of science in the guise of public argument and academic trivia. I've
> > > > > > long believed creativity is killed stone dead by 'smiling ignorance'
> > > > > > and daft ideas like brainstorming - because the critical edge needs
> > > to
> > > > > > be sharp and stun the ideological trance.
>
> > > > > Very much in agreement, but tact is important to get them decoupling
> > > > > their enthusiasm from conditioning without putting them into a
> > > > > post-traumatic state. Leave enough slack for the trauma to his them
> > > > > around bedtime! :D I say stuff like this to my fiancee about her
> > > > > students to lighten things up a little. It would be neat to take
> > > > > something like brainstorming and collect a few strategic examples of
> > > > > problem solving methods from different fields, there's gotta be
> > > > > something out there to ignite a few synapses. If you get flak from the
> > > > > supers chide them on the lack of dynamic teachers in the profession
> > > > > who can get through to kids and the impacts on society, be sure to
> > > > > phrase it in a way that makes the super look good of course. ;-) LOL
>
> > > > > Somewhat unrelated, there is a neat German movie (subtitled not
> > > > > dubbed) called The Wave you might like, it's one of those simple
> > > > > concept movies tying psychology to social movements baring the dark
> > > > > and potentially sinister and is between a teacher and his students.
>
> > > > > > I find myself a proponent of de-schooling after so much time in
> > > > > > education. Apple is now 'worth more' (in market capitalisation) than
> > > > > > the whole of US retail. I don't like being retailed and would be
> > > > > > happy to see the shops go in favour of more direct sales. What we
> > > > > > miss is stuff like this means we are finding new efficiencies, but
> > > > > > retain the same old ideas on what jobs are for. Fear not, the
> > > > > > private sector cavalry will ride in with new products and services -
> > > > > > but where are they? My guess is this is all to do with our easy
> > > > > > acceptance of positive gloss and lack of ability to take
> > > > > > responsibility for new ways of living. This is so bad we 'believe'
> > > > > > that global competition will do something other than put us all on
> > > > > > Chinese wages and conditions.
>
> > > > > I think the plan was for global economy to stabilize around the year
> > > > > 2050, but then again I never caught wind of a Plan A before the B. I'm
> > > > > confident you would despise me in the classroom due to learning and
> > > > > study habits, I once had an Indian algebra teacher chanting the rule
> > > > > of not dividing by zero for a solid four minutes, he had the whole
> > > > > class join in. :/
>
> > > > > > On Mar 15, 6:12 am, rigsy03 <rigs...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > > > > >> Sociopaths exist in all socio-economic groups.
>
> > > > > >> On Mar 14, 9:32 am, archytas <nwte...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > > > >> > I particularly like the research on investment CEOs that shows
> > > they
> > > > > >> > over-rate their abilities and actually produce 'negative alpha'
> > > rather
> > > > > >> > than competent investment decisions - these being the very people
> > > who
> > > > > >> > threaten to go away if we restrict their 'earnings'. The quick
> > > > > >> > portrait of Steve Jobs also demonstrates a main theme of the
> > > 'rich are
> > > > > >> > mean' in his selfish world in which rules do not apply to him.
> > > One
> > > > > >> > wonders whether Apple might be an American manufacturer (and so
> > > on) if
> > > > > >> > we had proper economic rules that stop chancers like him doing
> > > their
> > > > > >> > immoral stuff?
>
> > > > > >> > On Mar 14, 2:23 pm, archytas <nwte...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > >http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=opting-out-of-overop...
>
> > > > > >> > > This is an interesting little story covering some of the
> > > research
> > > > > >> > > demonstrating people are over-optimistic and this has dangerous
> > > > > >> > > outcomes. I winder if this is how the peculiar views on
> > > economics
> > > > > >> > > most hold and the dominance of cheery types in our media?- Hide
> > > quoted text -
>
> > > > > >> > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -
>
> > - Show quoted text -
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