Posts by Rich Lock

Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First

  • Random Play: He's just an excitable boy…,

    did anyone ever figure out what "come home to the feeling" actually meant?

    We're stil talking about fake dog testicles, right...?

    back in the mother countr… • Since Feb 2007 • 2728 posts Report

  • Cracker: Sole Man,

    I still don't see what's actually been achieved

    Not much.

    Although he appears to have rather neatly summarised, in an eaily digestible less than 10 second clip, the feelings of a good portion of the world outside the borders of the US towards the last 8 years of US foreign policy.

    And its possibly an interesting illustration of the depth of feeling and antipathy towards Bush in the Arab world. The US president is probably the most protected person in the entre world. All the people in that room, including that reporter, were no doubt extensively screened before being allowed in the green zone, let alone in that room. So that guy was considered 'safe'. And yet he still blew his lid.

    back in the mother countr… • Since Feb 2007 • 2728 posts Report

  • Hard News: From soundbite to policy,

    I think what most people are arguing is that another test will not provide any more information than what we already have. However, it will tie up many resources (time, money, skill) finding out what we already know. These resources could be more effectively used to address the students further development in literacy and numeracy

    Nail, meet head.

    back in the mother countr… • Since Feb 2007 • 2728 posts Report

  • Hard News: From soundbite to policy,

    After my earlier comments, I did a 3-second google search on UK google using the key words 'school' and 'testing'.

    The very first hit is this article from the Daily Telegraph (that well known bastion of anarcho-communist thought....)

    I'd recommend that anyone who thinks that school testing is A Good Thing And The Solution To All Our Ills do the same search and read a few of the results.

    back in the mother countr… • Since Feb 2007 • 2728 posts Report

  • Hard News: From soundbite to policy,

    I could be pumping out art, at within 0.02 mm of accuracy.

    That comment should sound so wrong, but just sounds so right. context is everything.

    back in the mother countr… • Since Feb 2007 • 2728 posts Report

  • Hard News: From soundbite to policy,

    oh, FFS! Let me be quite clear here. LITERACY and NUMERACY is what I'm talking about. Are you saying that after around TEN YEARS of compulsory education, it is fine to have kids coming out that CANNOT READ OR WRITE??

    I'm NOT TALKING ABOUT BEING ABLE TO DO CALCULUS, OR WRITE A PLAY, OR BE BUDDING PHYSICISTS, OR BE THE NEXT JONAH LOMU. I'm talking having an expectation (and an exceedingly low expectation at that) that after TEN OR MORE YEARS OF COMPULSORY EDUCATION a majority of kids will BE ABLE TO READ and WRITE to a level sufficient to allow them to function in society.

    Can any of you genuinely say you object to an expectation that on leaving school, most kids should be at least functionally literate?!

    OK, so just to be quite clear, what you're saying is: that everyone/anyone who is opposed to the proposed mandatory testing thinks this is an acceptable situation?

    Is that correct? You seriously think that?

    Becase you don't seem to have considered the possibility that people might be deeply troubled about it for reasons other than what I can only really characterise as your straw man.

    I have problems with it, because something broadly similar was introduced by NuLab in the UK. When I say 'broadly similar', all the buzzwords are the same, and therefore my expectation is that the end result with be not entirely dissimilar.

    The result of introducing all that standardised testing and 'teaching for the tests' was, according to accounts/feedback I have read, to massively increase the workload (i.e. paper shuffling) on teachers. Massively. And consequently seriously, seriously reduce the amount of face-to-face teacher/pupil interaction they were able to achieve on a day-to-day basis, either one-one or teacher-class.

    As Kerry has pointed out:

    3) not expecting the classroom teacher who has to deal with the vast array of abilities & potentials of 30 kids to successfully manage all of the variables, all of the time and keep them all on task.

    A typical teacher is already somewhat overworked.

    I don't expect all teachers and all classes to be as god as Tim Kong's. There aren't enough good teachers, there aren't enough rescources, and there isn't enough interest shown by parents. None of which is going to change any time soon, and all of which are arguments for another day.

    What I am interested in is moving in the right direction. I think introducing this testing is going to be a huge step in the wrong direction.

    back in the mother countr… • Since Feb 2007 • 2728 posts Report

  • Hard News: From soundbite to policy,

    I can't imagine why I've got Pink Floyd stuck in my head now...

    Really glad someone else mentioned Pink Floyd.

    I can't see the youtube clip (lousy firewall....), but I've had this scenethis scene from 'The Wall' running through my head all afternoon.

    back in the mother countr… • Since Feb 2007 • 2728 posts Report

  • Random Play: The movie that cried out to…,

    I was considering going to TDtheESS tomorrow but I am relieved now that I have avoided ruining my weekend.

    A rating of 15% on 'rotten tomatoes'....That translates roughly as 'appallingly bad. Avoid at all costs'.

    back in the mother countr… • Since Feb 2007 • 2728 posts Report

  • Random Play: The movie that cried out to…,

    the symbolism.......the symbolism..........

    Otherwise, thanks for that Graham. I do like to see truly bad films get the treatment they deserve.

    back in the mother countr… • Since Feb 2007 • 2728 posts Report

  • Up Front: And a Pony. A Sparkly One.,

    Chris Illingworth, a 60 year old from from QLD, has been charged with using the internet to access and publish child-abuse material after he republished a controversial viral video of a man twirling a baby around...

    So that 'how we're drinking' ad, shown repeatedly on NZ TV, where the uncle spins his nephew into a cupboard while giving him an aeroplane ride....?

    Does that make us all filthy child-abusers?

    back in the mother countr… • Since Feb 2007 • 2728 posts Report

Last ←Newer Page 1 254 255 256 257 258 273 Older→ First