tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22403989.post1835596174670311874..comments2024-01-18T10:54:54.459+00:00Comments on Iain Macwhirter Now and Then: 2010: Year of Protest.iain macwhirterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14486911281896217461noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22403989.post-12353422457477466522021-09-03T14:38:43.364+01:002021-09-03T14:38:43.364+01:00J’ai passé un bon moments et j en ai eue plein les...J’ai passé un bon moments et j en ai eue plein les yeux!!! <br /><a href="http://www.voyance-gratuite-mail.eu" rel="nofollow"><b>voyance par mail rapide</b></a>rosy123https://www.blogger.com/profile/11078697457266524111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22403989.post-58880697323803379162010-12-23T00:20:06.468+00:002010-12-23T00:20:06.468+00:00Anon, numeracy and literacy are separate issues? ...Anon, numeracy and literacy are separate issues? Are you serious? For University candidates both should be absolute basics and anyone permitted to enter Uni should be more than competent in both. That was once the case. We are now turning out people with no command of English and poor ability when it comes to mathematics. That is absolutely NOT a separate issue: it is the whole point and we have to act on it now. It screams out that standards have fallen dramatically. <br /><br />It also raises questions about the high passes being awarded at higher level if the reality says otherwise. I can only think that ability is simply not being tested any more in the way it once was. <br /><br />Many jobs do not require a degree for goodness sake. In my day Higher English meant one had ability in English, Higher Maths meant the same in numeracy. And careers were there for the taking. We are now filling our universities with the mediocre while still carrying on insane teaching practices in schools and kidding ourselves our children are achieving when they are actually not being challenged.Jo Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08536467440869239587noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22403989.post-26452103753439079332010-12-22T22:51:26.651+00:002010-12-22T22:51:26.651+00:00JoG
They do not feel they are entitled to get into...JoG<br />They do not feel they are entitled to get into Uni as you suggest.<br /><br />There is no other route for them. Few if any jobs are available for people with highers that will give on the job training and day release leading to a recognised qualification in a job with a defined career structure. <br /><br />Many undergraduates would be happier taking the route I have described above but it is not an option and employers have shown no inclination to go back to that system.<br /><br />Numeracy and literacy are separate issuues.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22403989.post-77517847527270073012010-12-22T00:40:24.451+00:002010-12-22T00:40:24.451+00:00Sorry Anon, must disagree entirely. There are man...Sorry Anon, must disagree entirely. There are many worthless, useless and irrelevant degrees to be had via our universities these days with absolutely NO need for people to study some of the subjects at Uni. That is the whole problem. <br /><br />These days it seems everyone thinks they're entitled to get into Uni. Why? <br /><br />And I will not apologise for referring again to the appalling standards evident in the areas of literacy and numeracy when those lacking competence in both are buried under passes in both subjects. It really doesn't make sense. <br /><br />Are you aware of how many companies now have e-letters on their systems because so many people cannot be trusted to put a simple letter together? These companies can't risk letting even some graduates loose because their command of English grammar is non-existent and their spelling is appalling. <br /><br />I see examples like this daily at my place of work from people just out of Uni. They don't know the difference between there, their and they're or between to and too. They don't write in sentences but just lump everything together. Many employers are tearing their hair out because they've thought, "Oh, a graduate, phew, they'll be literate." Errrrrr, no, many of them aren't. <br /><br />The shortcut routes that now exist are a menace because ultimately people who really aren't fit to get into teaching or medicine or law are indeed getting there. That is why our young now are coming out of our secondary schools lacking the ability my generation possessed at the same stage. For the teachers themselves lack the skills and can only pass on their own flaws. It is why our education system is now an absolute mess.Jo Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08536467440869239587noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22403989.post-55886469341008115252010-12-20T17:09:41.301+00:002010-12-20T17:09:41.301+00:00When people talk of 'meaningless courses and d...When people talk of 'meaningless courses and degrees' they should remember that entry to many, many professions such as accountancy, medical laboratory sciences and nursing to name but a few, once required highers and/or O-grades to gain entry - NOT degrees.<br />Professional Qualifications were gained through a mixture of on-the-job training combined with day release and evening classes leading to a relevant professional qualification awarded by the relevant Professional Institute. <br /><br />ALL of these routes have now gone and entry to a very wide range of jobs is graduate only. Hence the explosion in different degrees. Without those degree courses and funding for them then a great many career areas and professions would find themselves with a skills shortage. <br /><br />Bringing in graduate only entry to many of these professions was seen as raising the standing and standards of the profession in question.<br /><br />So those degree courses are there for a very good reason and serve a useful purpose that benefits society as a whole and are therefore worth funding just like any other University Degree Course.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22403989.post-59975361061199583202010-12-19T13:39:59.475+00:002010-12-19T13:39:59.475+00:00Very well said Anon. While it has been amazing l...Very well said Anon. While it has been amazing listening to Iain on our airwaves lately parts of the dialogue have concerned me. For one thing the Party itching to introduce fees is not the SNP. <br /><br />I'd also like to know what he thinks of the many meaningless courses - and degrees - funded by universities and paid for by the taxpayer. For me THAT is where further education went completely off the tracks. We practically have degrees in flower arranging these days. We also have the absurd situation where someone with a Micky Mouse degree can then take shortcuts into teaching or even law! <br /><br />And another thing: no matter how many times I hear spouted tales of the amazing "achievements" of young people leaving secondary education today, in terms of Higher passes, there is something that bothers me deeply. How come so many of them fall so far short in terms of literacy and numeracy when they are allegedly so highly "qualified" according to their higher results, in both subjects?Jo Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08536467440869239587noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22403989.post-90519505199811558042010-12-19T11:27:02.798+00:002010-12-19T11:27:02.798+00:00As rector of Edinburgh University do you think it ...As rector of Edinburgh University do you think it is appropriate to be demonstrating and mouthing of about the SNP and encouraging students in the way you did outside Holyrood ? <br /><br />I recall you shouting "Don't trust the SNP" etc etc!<br /> <br />I think you're directing your anger at the wrong party and miss informing the students you were leading. Were you trying to instigate they same type of trouble here in Scotland as in London? <br /><br />Not the sort of behaviour I expect from a University rector!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com