Posts Tagged students
Don’t force children to play the Government’s war-games
Posted by Nick Cowen in Education on 31/10/2007
More powers, new targets, less tolerance for failure, a boost to several central government run schemes (Teach First and Teach Next), are the only discernible content of Brown’s latest speech on education. The tone of the speech makes it sound as if the government, having annexed and occupied the education system decades ago, still finds itself combating a never-ending insurgency of ‘failure’. These forces of failure cannot be tolerated and must be eradicated.
Combien d’étudiants qui ont appris le français jusqu’à GCSE savent écrire cette phrase?
Posted by Nick Cowen in Education on 23/08/2007
In the wake of the annual controversy sparked by inflated A-level results, real evidence has emerged that GCSEs are similarly suffering a crisis of quality – writes Thomas Woods. Writing in today’s Telegraph newspaper, a languages examiner has revealed the existence of a co-ordinated system of ‘teaching to the test’. In the French Oral section pupils are at liberty to memorise a string of answers which they are assured will be required in the exam. The writing section (which is now 100 per cent coursework) involves students reeling off identical essays using ‘writing frames’ already set out for them by the teachers. Token attempts at variation are provided with the individuals’ choice of holiday and weekend activity.
68% of 16-18 year-olds say no to re-introduction of EU Constitution
Posted by James Gubb in European Union on 13/03/2007
In a survey conducted last Thursday (8th March) at the annual Civitas Sixth Form Conference on the European Union, 68% of 16-18 year olds revealed that they would vote against ‘a Constitutional treaty that gives the EU legal personality’ (i.e. the power to make international agreements by itself, or on behalf of member states).
Significantly, 54% of students also responded that ‘the UK should stay in the EU, but push for a looser relationship, based on free trade and intergovernmental cooperation’, when asked which of the following statements came closest to their own view:
a. The UK should support further EU integration, giving more power to EU institutions. (19%)
b. The UK should stay in the EU and push for a looser relationship, based on free trade and intergovernmental cooperation. (54%)
c. The UK should support maintaining the status quo in the EU. (8%)
d. The UK should withdraw from the EU. (13%)
e. Don’t know. (6%)