EDUCATIONAL FAIRYLAND

Hearing the daily drivel about what the Government is doing to improve educational standards, I have to wonder what they really know about normal, everyday people.

While the 'experts' pontificate about all sorts of educational theories, the rest of us try to deal with the real world. In my case, I have no children of my own but know a variety of teenagers through their parents. In one particular case that I'm thinking of, I try very hard to convince a 14 year old that she should work harder at school in order to fulfill her potential; given today's fancy for encouraging everyone to aspire to University, she certainly should be looking in that direction, however, she is far more interested in playing with her 'phone and doing as little as possible in order to avoid being considered 'nerdy'. Sadly, her parents, who are divorced, don't seem to have any real interest in their daughter's education.

My young friend, let's call her Gertrude, is an intelligent teenager, far more intelligent and 'commonsensical' than many of her peer group, but she is intractible when it comes to her own education, potential and future. She appears to have little or no ambition, has no real idea of what she wants to do in adult life, and sees achieving her 'predicted' school exam results as being all that is necessary. Any suggestion that she could achieve better results with a bit of effort is met with a scowl.

Why is this ? The answer is simple yet denied and even ignored by those in power. In any school environment, being part of a group is important; being a loner is to be considered strange, weird and is an invitation to abuse and bullying. In a comprehensive school environment, the most powerful are often the most stupid; those with a ha'peth of brains are frightened into denying their innate intelligence and thus do whatever they can to deny their own intelligence in order not to be considered clever or 'nerdy'. To add insult to injury, the imbecilic practice of telling children their predicted grades months in advance of their exams simply depresses any desire to better themselves. It becomes good enough to simply achieve whatever grade teacher has predicted, whether that is a real reflection of the child's ability or not, and denies many children the opportunity of achieving their true potential.

While all of this is happening, our Glorious Leaders embrace the celebrity culture, which is far more attractive to young people; they 'knight' characters such as McCartney, John, Jagger and Geldof, plus a ridiculous array of other media and sports 'stars'. They seem to feel it's necessary to refer to their adherence to the music of the Arctic Monkeys etc. in order to gain approval, all of which tells the youngsters that celebrity is where their futures lie. The popular media concentrates on this same celebrity culture and places far more emphasis on the doings of some inconsequential character in some TV soap than it does on anything to do with real life. As a result, far too many of the younger generation seem to believe that their own futures lie in this ridiculous fairyland rather than in any real world in which educational attainment has any importance.

I hope I can eventually convince Gertrude that she is worth more than her 'predicted grades'; I'd like to think that she might fulfill her true potential, but the odds are against her. Many people will say it's all down to her, but they'd be wrong; it's actually all down to her parents and other adults around her, and to the educational environment created by the Government and media. If the adults show little or no interest and the media, aided by the Government, emphasises only the possibilities associated with 'celebrtity', what chance do most of the children have ?

Will anyone ever put things right ?

EDUCATIONAL MADNESS

Once again, our children have, apparently, achieved 'best ever' exam results.

How long this fiction can be perpetuated is a matter for conjecture but what is irrefutable is that the results are a fiction. Today's children are educated in a way that is entirely alien to anyone of my generation - 50+. They take exams in manufactured subjects and in subjects that have no place in a school curriculum.

The release of exam results has become a major national event with ludicrous film of teenagers leaping around uncontrrollably and hugging each other as they discover that they've just been awarded 'A's or even 'A*', in a dozen subjects ranging from needlework to 'art and design', but with no sign of anything that might lead to a genuine career. There's no sign of chemistry, physics or biology, nor any languages, nor of history. Geography sometimes turns up but it's nothing anyone of an earlier generation would recognise: ask the students to say where Africa is on a map and they'll struggle; ask them to tell you why Africa has regular famines and they'll bore you to tears. Their abilities in English and maths seem shockingly limited, even when they have achieved the most exalted of grades, and our premier universities seem to have recognised this in their introduction of an assortment of remedial courses for new recruits to their courses.

As it happens, it seems that the establishment has finally started to wonder about the system we have in operation, though they also seem entirely incapable of understanding what needs to be done. A very senior officer of the 'Google' company recently suggested that our system has taken a wrong course and that we should move away from the so-called 'humanities' and put more emphasis on what I would see as being 'REAL' subjects. Sadly, he's been condemned by many who claim this is an unreasonable attack on our system but, in reality, see it as being an attack on their socialist approach to education, in which everyone is equal, everyone must pass and all must get a certificate; no one can be allowed to fail.

The socialist approach is obvious nonsense but has held sway, very strongly, for the last 30 or 40 years; today we are reaping the rewards of this lunacy, with more and more of our children leaving school with no useful education behind them. The 'Google' man has been 'poo-pooed' but I've also heard another suggestion that our abandonment of the idea of technical schools, and their follow on of technical colleges and polytechnics, was a mistake; apparently, the Germans have followed this system very successfully for years. We seem to have become wedded to the idea that university is the only way forward, with apprenticeships, and the like, not really given much support. This is such a mistake as to bring to mind the immortal words of Julia Roberts in 'Pretty Woman' : 'Mistake, Big mistake, HUGE !'

It is ridiculous to give so many children grade 'A's and these silly 'A*'s; it gives them an utterly false view of their abilities and gives them nothing to strive for. The imbecilic practice of giving them all 'predicted grades' before the exams is even worse, telling many that they're only worth a 'B' or 'C' and thus encouraging them to work only to such an end. Our education system is so broken as to be irreparable without a major overhaul; turning existing schools into 'Academies' isn't the answer, it's politicians playing around. What we need is a genuine 'root and branch' reform, but that would mean ditching decades of socialist clap-trap and reintroducing some genuine subjects and challenges for our children - challenges that some might fail, god help us. It would also mean employing people who really can teach and actually want to teach, instead of simply seeing it as a means to a payday, which would probably count out a large proportion of the existing teaching workforce. However, if the powers-that-be could actually realise that everyone is different and that the education system should be tailored to meet a variety of needs instead of having a 'one-size-fits-all' approach, we would all be better off. People have many different talents and abilities - some are academic, some practical and some empathic; why can't we have a system that develops the talents of all, equally ?

Some hope.

ANOTHER YEAR, ANOTHER 'A'-LEVEL FARCE.

Year after year, we are treated to the ludicrous spectacle of groups of teenagers hugging each other, giggling or weeping, after discovering their A-level results. Given that, these days, they've all been told what is supposed to be their realistic expectations well in advance of even doing the exams, it all seems very silly. The ease with which the children seem to achieve 'A*' and 'A' grades gives them a wholly distorted view of their abilities, with some of the better universities still having to run 'remedial' courses in order to bring students up to the required entrance standard in basic skills or knowledge. To add to the nonsense, radio and television stations treat the unveiling of the results and the ensuing annual chaos of the UCAS 'clearing system' as a news event of world-shaking significance.

My 'A'-level results, in ca 1970, arrived in the post with no fanfare; there was then a 'clearing system' but I was fortunate enough to be spared from it. I didn't, of course, have the vast range of universities and courses to choose from that exists today, but in those far off times, those who didn't achieve adequate results, or even attempt the exams, had the option of going on to attend local Technical Colleges, Art Colleges, or Polytechnics. Today, it seems to be university or nothing, with far too many ending up in 4th rate institutions studying useless and pointless subjects; 3 or 4 years later, they are perusing the racks at their local Job Centre, wondering why their 3rd class degree in knitting technology hasn't enabled them to find employment.

When are we going to bring some semblance of sense to this annual farce ? Far too many degree courses are in 'soft' subjects, with little or no practical value to the individual or to society as a whole, while many children find that the only way to access particular careers is through the acquisition of a degree, whether or not there is any real logic behind the demand. It is high time that we recognised that university is not, and should not be, for all. Some are suited for it, many, even most, are not; some subjects are properly taught in a university, most are not. Having a degree a has become the 'be-all and end-all', an end in itself, instead of concentrating on the real matter of acquiring the knowledge and learning the skills for future life and employment.

Sadly, and as long as the media and the government continues to highlight the annual 'A'-level scramble as they do, the children will still be encouraged to believe that this is the only path to enlightenment, and our society will continue to sink ever deeper in a bog of false and unfulfilled hopes and aspirations, a mire of mediocrity. 

WHITHER WESTERN DOMINANCE ?

As the world staggers from one financial crisis to another - or is it really all the same crisis ? - one wonders what, if anything our rulers are learning along the way.

For generations, many governments have believed that the road to success is paved with public spending, fuelled by vast amounts of government borrowing. There can be no doubt that this approach bore fruit for many years and western nations prospered as wealth was spread more widely through an assortment of government initiatives, ranging from direct spending on building and engineering schemes to the creation of the vast array of social support that exists today. Unfortunately, the underlying ability of nations to support their extravagant spending has not kept pace with their ambitious plans.

Added to this, the ludicrous attempt to tie European nations together with a single currency, the Euro, has created pressures that everyone anticipated, excpt, of course, those politicians who saw the Euro as a means to an end and were intentionally blind to any negative consequences.

What we now have is financial melt-down of potentially catastrophic proportions. The borrowing that has been out of control for decades has finally come home to roost; the idiocy of the Euro means that many of the Euro-countries cannot survive with a 'one-size-fits-all' financial and monetary policy. The answer so far is for the richer nations, in Europe meaning mostly Germany, bailing out the debts of those in trouble; this approach can only continue for so long. Greece, Ireland and Portugal have failed but been bailed out; now it seems that Spain may fail but that Italy, the third largest Euro-economy, almost certainly will. Bailing out Italy is likely to be a step too far, even for Germany, so what will be done ?

In Britain, our government has sat back and congratulated itself on its independence from the Euro, while also having to recognise that its dependence on its trading links within the European Union make it horribly vulnerable, nonetheless. Regardless of this, the British government is also borrowing far more than is good for it in order to prop up the vast amount of spending that it feels committed to, mostly social spending aimed at areas such as health, pensions and social services. It is institutionally incapable of acknowledging that this is where the real problem lies and doing anything meaningful about it.

The truth is that every government in the western world has been living beyond its means for several decades. Their people have experienced enhanced standards of living that they have not really earned, principally financed by borrowing against expectations of future economic growth. Now, it seems that these expectations are not to be fulfilled and we will all be poorer as a result, the youngest in society being the ones most likely to bear the greatest burden. While we in the west suffer decline, those in the developing world of China, India, Brazil etc., will, of course, take our place as the leaders of tomorrow. Britain, together with the other over-indebted nations, will become part of the new 'third world' or, perhaps, that should be 'fourth world'. As financial reality takes hold, Europe and, eventually, North America, will find themselves increasingly impoverished; China, India and the rest will take over.

Where all this will lead is hard to say. There is no doubt that the USA and Europe have been the driving force behind most innovations in the last few hundred years and it's questionable whether other countries will be able to do the same in the future. Can China produce a next-generation 'Microsft', or India a next-generation 'BP' ? Will Brazil be able to create the confidence to house the next HSBC ? If the developing nations prove unable to replace the dynamism exhibited by the west since the Reformation, we may well be in for a future period of stagnation which could easily last for centuries.

The western world is not yet finished but its decline is inevitable and its end certain; to deny this is not only arrogant but also stupid. Every empire, and I count the western dominance of the world over the last few centuries as such, collapses as a result of its own certainty that it is immortal and cannot possibly die; those who run it become increasingly focused on their own comfort and position and forget about the need for innovation and effort, and they also become increasingly desperate in their attempts to shore up a lost cause, such as the 'Euro'. In Britain we have already lost most of our great manufacturing base; we no longer make cars, ships or aeroplanes to any extent. Instead, we rely on the so-called 'service industries' of finance and insurance to keep us wealthy, industries that are all to moveable. More and more people have become reliant on the state for support, something that is wholly unsustainable, and we continue to poor billions of pounds into largely pointless social ventures as well as fatuous schemes to promote an apparent air of well-being and success, such as the Olympics. Government charges on with but one aim in mind, winning the next election and damn the costs or consequences, while the opposition does no different.

The future belongs to China and the other third world nations that are now undergoing rapid development. In Britain, Europe and the USA, we will continue to encase ourselves in a bubble of self-denial as our politicians refuse to either accept the truth, or to tell the people what it is, for fear of electoral rejection. Eventually, though, the brown sticky stuff will hit the fan and all hell will be let loose; revolution, blood letting and all the other horrors that we now think of as being purely the property of uncivilised nations will be unleashed upon us and our descendants - I can only hope that I'll be long gone by then.

AMY WINEHOUSE DEAD : WHO ?

I read that a so-called singer named Amy Winehouse has been found dead at her home in London. Ms Winehouse, aged 27, had apparently 'struggled with drink and drug addiction' and had spent time in recent months undergoing rehabilitation.

Whether or not Ms Winehouse could sing is a matter for debate; that her lifestyle as portrayed in the press was pretty foul seems beyond dispute. That she was someone who made a substantial amount of money but, through ignorance or stupidity, wasted her life is indisputable.

She is not the first so-called 'star' to have ended her days in such fashion and she will not be the last. The difference between her and some of those who have preceded her, most notably the truly great Billie Holiday, is that they had shown real talent. Ms Winehouse will have been forgotten, completely, within a decade, if not much sooner.

LUCIAN FREUD ; RIP

The death of Lucian Freud at the age of 88 is, without doubt, an event to be noted.

This grandson of the psycho-analyst, Sigmund Freud, was a man who had gained enormous regard during his lifetime and, no doubt, the value of his art will multiply now it is known that there can be no more. I have to admit that I am no art connoisseur and I find Freud's paintings a little unsettling, to say the least. Nonetheless, I also find his art somewhat compelling and realistic; his subjects are portrayed in all their gory detail, no warts or wrinkles omitted.

I wouldn't want to hang any of his pictures on my walls but I think I can see why others would pay serious money to do so on theirs. The man was an artist of genuine ability and talent and his works will survive the test of time, far more so than some of the abstract nonsense of other so-called artistic greats.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, YOU OLD DEVIL !

Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, is 90 today. Seeing the occasional television coverage of events which he attends, it's hard to believe that he's now quite so ancient; both he and the Queen toddle around without support and many ordinary elderly folk must wonder how they do it. No walking sticks, zimmer frames or mobility scooters for them.

Whatever the secret, and one suspects it's down to receiving the finest medical monitoring and care available anywhere on the earth, the Prince has certainly became a bit of a national treasure. His tendency to make inappropriate remarks comes across as a rather endearing quality that marks him out as both an ordinary man and someone who shares the views of other ordinary folk. Remarks about 'slanty-eyed Chinese' may have caused a stir amongst the intelligensia but went down well with the public; asking Scottish Tory leader, Annabel Goldie whether she was wearing tartan knickers showed a devilish side of his nature that must have drawn many a titter down the local pub, while his apparent 'chatting-up' of Pippa Middleton at the recent royal wedding must have made many young men intensely jealous. He's also shown himself to be a no-nonsense man who doesn't believe in beating about the bush and has little time for the namby-pamby side of life.

The Prince has supported his wife, the Queen, for decades and despite his occasional impolitic moments hasn't done a bad job. Given a choice between him and his tree-hugging son, I know which one I'd choose.