UK Quarantine for those arriving from France

[mint]

Deleted.  Superfluous to my previous post.

[Weegie]

Presumably the whip on his desk is to whip everyone else into shape?[blink]

[woolybanana]

Let us, slowly, look at the list of sins that Bercow, the taxi driver comes up with. Hang on, Bercow, the Corbynite anti Brexit,ex speaker of the House who slurped public money up like a thirsty camel and who is sore because he did not get a peerage that he did not deserve.

Reducing money spenton foreign aid: probably a very good idea as it was being handed out to all and sundry and pocketed to all and sundry, including the Indians and Chinese, corrupt governments in various parts of the world. Top slicing was rife and generous all round. And what the heck was aid money being spent on dance troops for, for eg.

Tightening spending is an excellent idea.

[woolybanana]

Now, my take on this algorithm: it worked too well in many ways because it has shown up huge problems in the assessment and grading of A levels. And huge problems of teacher expectations and raising of hopes through mocks and assessment.

Of course teachers boosted grades and mocks. I used to at Uni because I considered that the overall system was unfair as it was racked with prejudice, amongst other things. Maybe the extra point of two I was able to give got a student through their year.

Where it failed clearly is that it discriminated against underperforming schools though how and why I do not understand - surely a year or two of slightly dodgy success would encourage genuine success later.

But, that some students should not get their “expected” grades is entirely normal. In one case I saw, a student expected 5 A* A levels but dropped one to a B, and was whinging. Nonsense, too many subjects is the cause.

The solution of trusting the experts as in Covid and in exam algorithms seems to be nonviable, particularly when weighed against public opinion and expectations. Better to get dodgy grades or a tan in Spain than face the real world.

[Alan Zoff]

OK. Pick a couple of subjective points and express an opinion - which you are fully entitled to have. But just like a politician, draw attention away from the facts you are unable to refute. For example, did the government, or did it not, waste a billion on making contracts for PPE that was never supplied by people who were, it seems, never in a position to supply it?

[woolybanana]

Fair point, AZ. The answer to that one is that I have no idea what happened or where the money went and to whom, which is why I didnt comment.

What is clear too is that PHE was not able to order kit or delayed it substantially, just as they ruined the testing programme by insisting on using their own lab exclusively.

And the scientific advice on which the govt made decisions seems to have been all over the place, hence the two week delay, with one recommending herd immunity, like Sweden and others recommending total shut down, keep old folks locked up until the end of time.

[NormanH]

There are certainly other things to be said about the A level results.

The Guardian a paper you might well consider 'silly' printed this which looks at things from another side:

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/aug/17/u-turn-exams-may-create-new-set-problems-england

[woolybanana]

Yes, Norman, I read that. Back to the old exam boards then for A level and grading on the curve which is how we were supposed to mark.

Seems like the government acted in good faith though.

[NormanH]

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/aug/19/ofqual-exam-results-algorithm-was-unlawful-says-labour

[NormanH]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8643669/Gavin-Williamson-U-turns-offer-support-exam-regulator-Ofqual.html

[cajal]

[quote user="NormanH"]free photos upload website[/quote]

Always be careful uploading photographs onto an internet site. If they are not 'your' property, both yourself and the site owner/s, could be in breach of copyright. Always do a background check.

To circumvent a possible breach of copyright, a link to the photo source should suffice.

[woolybanana]

Lord Falconer ... hmmm, another superannuated old furt trying to get publicity.

If he is such a genius why not suggest alternatives,But he couldnt do that.

Maybe they should simply have given the best grades to the worst schools, a la Corbyn!

[NormanH]

NormanH wrote:

free photos upload website

Always be careful uploading photographs onto an internet site. If they are not 'your' property, both yourself and the site owner/s, could be in breach of copyright. Always do a background check.

To circumvent a possible breach of copyright, a link to the photo source should suffice.

Changed it  thanks

[Judith-aka-Judith]

My sister, who was a teacher, told me last night that schools used to do their own testing on pupils' abilities in various ways, and very rarely did they find a pupil who did not perform as expected. Good teachers, as I know from own school experience know what each pupil can do, and will soon know if it is outside their norm.  It's easy, just ask and trust teachers to know their pupils. 

[woolybanana]

The very very high GCSE results would suggest otherwise.

[Un autre Gallois]

There have always been (and always will be) good, bad and indifferent teachers, as is the case in any profession. Presumably that's why OFSTED was created. Additionally there's the teachers' pets to assess realistically!

Just saying.

UaG

[BritinBretagne]

Not a fan of Bercow wooly one? How predictable you are.

[woolybanana]

Given the record of, say, Betty Boothroyd, I think’ even you must agree that Bercow fell well below the standard required.