Public money to private pockets

There have been several schemes devised by the Government of the day that were designed to help the working class, but have not had that effect.  Let me explain, after the deregulation of the rented housing market, the amount of Housing Benefit paid has ballooned, principally to private landlords.  My first example of the title.
Another example is Tax Credits.  Rather than pay a Living Wage, businesses are allowed to pay lower rates of pay, and the Government tops up the pay packet of the workers, saving the business money.  Another example of the title.
Finally, the story that started off this train of thought appeared in yesterday's Guardian.  You can read about it  yourself by going to this website: http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/jan/12/taxpayer-funded-academy-paying-millions-private-firms-schools-education-revealed-education

Anyway, it is nice to know that we are indeed "all in it together"

U.K. National Lottery

The U.K. National Lottery (N.L.)have recently announced a 100% increase in the price of their tickets from £1 to £2.  This has handed it's competitor, The Health Lottery, (H.L.) a new advertising campaign.  The H.L. is now crowing about the fact that it still only costs £1.  Many people with a spare quid in their pockets will be tempted to play the H.L rather than the N.L. This was a serious mis-calculation on the part of the N.L.
The reason given for the price hike is that it is struggling to support the charitable causes that it supports.  My answer to this is to pay the shareholders less!  Also, the H.L. supports various Health charities up and down the country.  Given the parlous state of the N.H.S. who wouldn't want to support the N.H.S.?
This is a major P.R. disaster!

Syria......Part Deux

Today, following a debate in the House of Commons, the Government were defeated in their plans to take actions against the perpetrators of the chemical attack.  A lot of commentators have said that this weakens David Cameron's position and the position of Britain in the rest of the World.  Personally, I do not know if that is true, and I must be honest and say that I couldn't care less if Britain's position has been weakened.  As far as Syria goes, a military solution, I.M.H.O, will not change things at all.  Who in their right mind thinks that adding more military hardware to a situation awash with weapons is going to improve the situation?  I am not the only person that thinks that a Diplomatic Solution is the only sensible way to proceed.  The United Nations has many people skilled in the dark arts of diplomacy.  A discussion involving all interested parties, including Russia and all the Middle Eastern neighbours, should be held, under the auspices of the U.N. to discuss the way forward.
The obvious aim would be to have Syria come out the other side with a Western-style democracy, and a pro-Western outlook.  But what would happen if the population of the country voted for a single party state, possibly run by the Ayatollahs, or even worse, the Taliban.  What would the West do then?  My suggestion would be that nothing would happen.  The reason I say that is that Syria has no oil.  Am I an old cynic?  I would have to plead guilty to that one.

Syria, and all that........

Today we have the Western Leaders getting their collective knickers in a twist over the recent events that have occurred in Syria.  The latest 'twist' is the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime, during which attack thousands of people died.  Surely the point is that thousands of people died, not who caused their deaths. 
The U.N. weapons inspectors were fired on, presumably, to stop them finding out whether it actually was a chemical attack, what was the chemical used, and, if possible, who originated the chemical attack.  Who would want to stop the inspection?  Clearly the originators of the chemical attack.
The U.N. are clearly 'dragging their feet' by not coming up with a sensible suggestion to deal with the sorry situation in Syria, where hundreds of its' citizens are killing each other by the bucket load.  All attempts have to be used to stop BOTH sides.  America seems to be favouring 'surgical strikes' by  missiles, the American public being understandably unwilling to commit ground troops to a fight in foreign fields.  Britain has been making lots of troops redundant, and I doubt a sustained action by troops could be maintained.  America, with its' side-kick, Britain, should leave the role of the World's Police to the U.N., but until the Russians agree to a course of action, the options are severely limited,

I am confused..................

I would like to ask, with all the "new initiatives" and cash thrown at Education over the many years since OFSTED ,  why are there still kids that leave school hardly able to read and write?
I would also like to ask, what makes you think that "league tables" are the way to improve schools' performance?  Just because schools get '98% A* to C' does that mean that schools are turning out well-balanced, polite, graduates, able to think for themselves? 
Several years ago, more years than I care to remember, I started a P.G.C.E. to become a Secondary Science Teacher.  As part of the course, we had to pass a Literacy, Numeracy and I.T. Proficiency test.  As one of the Lecturers said, "You all have English and Maths qualifications.  If they do not prove that you are literate and numerate, then perhaps they should fix the English and Maths qualifications rather than make you do these tests."
Personally, my view is that Education is not fit for purpose.  Does the honourable Michael Gove, Minister of State for Education seriously think that turning back the clock and making Education the image of the Education he experienced, will fix all of the problems?
Only time will tell.
Perhaps we should take education out of the political arena all together and stop it being used as a political football?

Being on Supply

I am a skilled man.  I have 3 'A' Levels in Chemistry, Physics, and Zoology; an honours degree in Psychology; 16 years experience as a Registered Nurse; and 10 years experience teaching 'A' Level Psychology.  Since leaving my last job, I have been doing some Supply work, as well as Invigilating exams in a local Secondary School.  But it is the question of supply teaching that I wish to turn to.
I have been on supply at a Secondary School, covering a teacher that has been on long term sick.  Prior to me arriving at the school, the students had a succession of supply teachers.  While I was there, I had to give the classes a test on the stuff that they had been set while their teacher was absent.  All of the students said that they did not know the topic, I replied that it was important that they learn the stuff that supply teachers give them.
In the last weeks of my stay, I had to set them a project to do.  The hand in date coincided with my last day at the school.  Some of the students had obviously worked hard at the project, and I gave them praise and wrote nice comments in their books about the work that they had done.  Not surprisingly, some of the students had not done the work, I wonder what the consequences for those students will be?  What will those consequences say to the students that had worked hard at their projects and those that did not a lot?  I must say that in a previous stint as a supply teacher that I was at a school where the students told me that their teacher threw away the work that they do while he was off sick.  Is that what will happen to the students' work who had completed their projects?  I hope that the school will be able to look those students in the face and tell them that the work they did was valued!

Reminisences of College - No. 1

When I worked in a College, I taught A Level Psychology.  One of my students used to come to my lecture at 10 a.m. on time, because she set her mobile to remind her at 9.30 a.m.  On the same day as my lesson, she had an exam at 9.00 a.m. when her Mum woke her up.  At 9.30 a.m. her mobile phone, still in her pocket, went off.  It is normal exam invigilation technique to remind students, more than once, to hand in their mobile phones.  This obviously fell on deaf ears as far as this student was concerned.  The result was that she was disqualified from the exam, and all other exams in the series.  When other people found out about this, and no doubt said something to her, she decided to leave College.
I wonder what happened to her?
Answers please in the box below.