(no subject)

[johnny9fingers]

I know I complain about the state education system in England.

Here's why:

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/afp/20080204/tod-britain-people-history-offbeat-6058bda_1.html

How fucking stupid. How dumb. How ignorant, cretinous, and imbecilic.

Time to start putting these folk into institutions for the deficient, and not allowing them out until they've passed the requisite exams deeming them educated to the basic standards required by a civilised society.

Either that or geld and cull them.

And as for the politicians that have allowed this state of affairs to happen....good job your fate isn't in my hands, m'dears: because it really would be a ride on the tumbrils to Madame la Guillotine.

Comments

Re: In which I call you a fascist, but I'll keep talking to you anyway

[johnny9fingers.livejournal.com]

I guessed it to be you, m'dear.
More of a Stalinist than fascist, but pretty damn totalitarian nevertheless.
Aut disce, aut discede, manet sors tertia caedi. Learn, leave, or be beaten. Thrash learnin' into the little blighters.
Perhaps I do protest too much, but still, given the average young male persons disinclination to learn (I remember being young too, in fact I had to do a little remedial work in my twenties for just that reason of laxity, as I'm sure you are aware) I'd chain 'em to their desks, excepting when out on forced marches.
I'm perfectly prepared to accept that the female of the species is somewhat more responsible: not being in quite the same hormonal induced frenzy - testosterone being what it is. But I think we must treat both sexes equally. Just for the protection of adults. Besides which, it's slightly more difficult to smuggle guns into prisons. So that would be another win.
I could go on like this for ages. But after a time it ceases to be amusing, and I'm perfectly accepting of the fact that I could well convince myself that it is the only road to take.
In which case I might just accept the fascist sobriquet.
Bah.
You are right about the redundancy in gelding and culling: put it down to an excess of spleen, m'dear.
But damn the willfully ignorant and stupid: or if not damn them, just make it so they can't interfere with my life in any way.

Good for Holls too.

Re: In which I call you a fascist, but I'll keep talking to you anyway

[(Anonymous)]

Unfortunately for your thesis, you can't even beat people into learning. If they refuse (and girls are just as capable of this as boys - Hazel will give you myriad examples) there's no way on earth to make them interested. What do you do then?

H is not an exception - she may not be one of the hordes of thousands, but she's definitely not an outstanding example of juvenile genius. She's much less scary bright than I was, for example - and look where being scary bright got me. Just because you know stuff doesn't mean you know everything (I married the ex-git, for example). Nick is the best example of someone I know who got where he is through sheer brains, but there aren't that many of them.

Blame the Quaker bit if you like (and I had tendencies before being sent to them for school, I'm sure. so it's not all their fault) but I don't see why people who have no interest in that sort of thing should be forced to conform to some arbitrary notion of what constitutes educated. What you actually want is for them to be able to run a life, and I don't recall the last time I heard of someone dying or irretrievably fucking up their children or whatever because they were unaware that Charles Dickens was a real chap.

You still haven't answered how it's the fault of the politicians that there are people who will not learn, or have no interest in learning.

Have to go to work, or I could carry on for ages. I do, however, agree with you that life would be much more pleasant if everyone knew at least a bit about everything - but I don't regard it as my business (or that of politicians) if they choose not to. Avoid them where possible, patronise in one's head if you can't. Try it - quite satisfying. I find running Idiot Wind on constant loop in the brain helps.

Re: In which I call you a fascist, but I'll keep talking to you anyway

[johnny9fingers.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately for your thesis, you can't even beat people into learning. If they refuse (and girls are just as capable of this as boys - Hazel will give you myriad examples) there's no way on earth to make them interested. What do you do then?

Prepare their prison cell?
Because if we don't get our young people to learn just what are they going to do? Manual work in non-existant industry? Poorly paid agricultural labouring?
Trying to think of other alternatives to criminality as it appears many of the young women Hazel teaches are already on that particular slope, but I end up with work that requires no qualifications or learning. A new underclass ready for service or criminality. After all, the upper classes need their whores and parlour maids and footmen: things you can't really turn the educated into.

And you can beat children into learning: it's just not nice. They did so for six hundred years at Winchester, and four hundred years at St Paul's.

None of Hazel's young ladies have ever known corporal punishment. And few have known any other sanction that makes them pause: asbos are a badge of honour. Being in care means they can absent themselves whenever they feel like it. The social workers can advise and recommend, but even in the case when that girl was 'happy-slapped' into hospital, no-one went to prison or borstal. I doubt the cat would be quite as easy to ignore.
If someone had 'happy slapped' me into hospital, I would be in prison by now, having taken my revenge.

Actually, I don't like the idea of ruling through fear: which is one reason I object to the young louts of poor education roaming the streets and making folk of my parents' generation too scared to go out. But the solution doesn't appear to be merely one of throwing resources at young folk. Banning telly would probably have a greater effect.

As with all these things, the pendulum will swing. Society will grow tired of indulging these young folk: what will happen then, who knows.

Re: In which I call you a fascist, but I'll keep talking to you anyway

[johnny9fingers.livejournal.com]

And actually, a lot of it is about funding. We don't pay enough tax to fund an education system as it should be funded. But that could just be my opinion.