SATs Ur-day...

So.. its SATs time again.. possibly for the last time... which brings out all the old arguments about tests getting in the way of education.. which I feel misses the point.. for most people in this country, including the educators, have no idea about the aim of education, or rather, what was the aim when our rather artificial system was divised... who has not heard a teen ager complain bitterly that knowing the rainfall on the bus in the amazon delta will be of no use in the outside world... do I see a hand raised at the back?? No?? good.... because ( and this is a closely guarded secret these days, yet known to our not so distant ancestors... ) the aim of our education sysytem is not to enable the student to gain knowledge in the subjects taught.. the actual subjects taught are immaterial.. remember the early schools and unis taught religion and latin.. occasionaly maths.. even today a Classics degree will get you far in Civil Service.. but why? what is the point of education? I will tell you.. promise!! Our education system is set up to teach people to learn... to accumulate and assimilate information, and then show that the student can use that information or skill under pressure... it is to prepare you for doing the same in a job..... the idea is that (i) you will make your errors at school rather than in the more costly work environment, and (ii) to weed out those less able... the aim is not to enable everyone to get a qualification.. in fact its aim is to make qualifying so difficut that it is easy to see who is good at learning and who is not... which is where it all falls down of course.. because today we see education as inclusive, yet attempt to do it in an exclusive way... and we place far too much emphasis on academic subjects, mainly because education is controlled and formulated by academicians... which makes our supposedly new, inclusive way even more exclusive, by effectively penalising those who would do far better in a less academic environment... and here liesthe problem.. we purport to wanting inclusive education, but cannot get away from exclusivity... we need to decide what we want to do. do we separate wheat from chaff at a certain age, ensuring that the so called best jobs go to the best students, or do we attempt to educate everyone to the same level, accepting that that means some will leave school at thirteen, while others stay till seventy.... or do we find some middle ground.. encourage the student to find out what they enjoy and are good at (and the two are not necessarily the same!) and channel them in that direction, regardless of what that is.. value those who are less academic, and show them that just because they are not university degree material, they are not second class citizens... and vice versa... or even verse vica.... in my (possibly incorrect .. but only possibly.. ) opinion, we need an education system tailored more to the individual, and less to government targets... put those who desire high pressure positions under pressure, so they don't crack at the wrong moment, and let the others off.... make education about learning about learning, and about learning skills, and gathering knowledge.. but that would take thought, long term planning, interest and above all money.. all of which are in short supply... but i digress.. good luck to those sitting sats, and to those satting sits.. and until we learn what we need, Wisebeard salutes you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Avocets and Elephants....

The other day I went with my best friend and my son to a fairly local beaty spot, to do a spot of birdwatching.. which is always fun, even though I'm not as into it as young Matt is... but then he does work for Birdwatching magazine.. after the usual great jokes ( That gull -like bird gave me a funny tern, etc!) the conversation turned to avocets and elephants... which is admittedly strange.... but i see them as a symbol of my basic disappointment with life... let me explain.. i see myself as an incurable optimist, as you know, but i keep getting told that i'm a cross between Alan Partridge and Victor Meldrew... and I admit that i do seem to be a miserable old bugger sometimes... but as I told Matt, just because I'm miserable doesn't mean I'm not happy... he actually told me that on the surface I'm probably one of the happiest people he knows, but that deep down I make Morrisey look positively gay.... I just believe that disappointment is the natural state of human affairs, but like any good Taoist will tell you, this matters not... the best way to explain this is to take a look at that famous piece of Chinese artwork, The Vinegar Tasters.. as opposed to the vinegar tasers, which is something totally different... but I digress.. this picture, which to some is the pinnacle of Chinese symbolic art (although some believe that Willow Pattern holds that title, coming as it does from that famous beijing suburb, Stoke on Trent..) showsa three men licking their fingers around a barrel of vinegar... the firts man, who symbolises Kung Fu Tse (or Confucius if you'd rather.. ) has a sour expression on his face.... the second, who is apparently Buddha, looks bitterly at the varrel.. the third, Lao Tzu, is smiling.. but why the discrepancies?? Well, Confucius believed that the world was a sour place, to be tolerated and put into order... so therefor his core belief was that there was something wrong with the place.. Buddha believed that this world was a bitter place, to be escaped from asap.. but the Taoist Lao Tzu accepted that the world was both, and that that was the way things were, so why not make the best of it... the idea is, why curse vinegar fro being bitter and sour? That's what you expect of vinegar! If the vinegar is bitter and sour, smile.. you've got good vinegar! I think I cn see the point I'm trying to make.. but what of avocets, i hear you cry.. or maybe not.. well, the point is, and I've nothing against avocets (or indeed elephants for that matter..).. in fact,they are still one of my favourite birds.. but after looking ongingly at them in my Ladybird Book of Sea and Estuary Birds I was quite excited at the prospect of actually seeing one.. for some reason I was expecting them to be about the size of a heron... and was quite disappointed to find them a lot smaller....and the same with elephants... but i accept that the problem lay not with the creatures, but with my expectations of them... which is why I still like elephants, and avocets, and my disappointment has not made me all that unhappy.. it would just be silly to blame the avocet.. and it is a beautiful bird. but enough of my wittering.. the curlews are curlewing and the whippoorwills meeping, and it is time for bed.. so until all our avocets are like vinegar, Wisebeard salutes you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

May I.....

So may is upon us.. the last of my one a day has been written, my entry for the BBC is being honed, survival camp is over, and everyione is happy.. except my spellchecker.... but there we are... its strange how may sandwiches itself quite nicely between two bank holidays.... its almost as if it were deliberately planned.... but i digress.... bivouaacing does that to a man.. until we are all comfy under canvas, wisebeard salutes you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!