School or place of learning?

[marty]

Greetings everyone and Happy New Year and all that. Thought I'd kick off 2009 with some more political correctness gone mad:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_a ... 435175.ece

What does everyone think? It's the final nail in the coffin as far as I'm concerned.

[J.R.]

Nice one, Marty !

[jhopgood]

I find it difficult to comment as this is another "Lost in Translation" matters as far as I am concerned.
I have googled away and still have no idea what the negative connotations of the word "school" might be.
My children went to the "Advanced Learning Centre" in Guatemala, when I pulled them out of the local US college for wasting a year of their education. The ALC was run by Mormons, which only meant no alcohol on the premises, and the classes were really based on self teaching, using a text book and a class tutor, to help out when the going got difficult. Both my son's caught up the "Lost" year and were well on schedule when they went to their next school.
I never asked, but assumed that the ALC was so called because it could not call itself a school, being outside the definitions allowed by the Guatemalan government.
In many countries educational progress is school, college, university, all Learning establishments, so can we expect them all to change their names. What happens to pre-schools, not allowed to learn anything so renamed " play centre"?
It would be good to see the argument for the change, which seems to be to help out the sign writers union.
John Dunford, who is mentioned in the article, was Sherwood Hall president before being Student Union President at Nottingham when I was there. Nice enough guy, very political animal, but didn't actually do anything except get up late, as far as I could see. My friend had a beddy studroom next to Dunford's.

[J.R.]

Needless to say, I voted for Fiona.

She can 'educate' me anytime !!!

[englishangel]

Needless to say, I voted for Fiona.

She can 'educate' me anytime !!!

Typical, get your mind out of the liquid refuse removal pipe.

[midget]

I saw the original article, and had to check the date. Surely it isn't April Fool's day already.

[Vièr Bliu]

I'm in favour of deschooling society, and as someone who has worked in adult education for a number of years I have worked with people for whom "school" is absolutely a negative and with whom one has to desuggest psychological barriers to learning before they feel comfortable in an educational environment.

These days we are supposedly signed up to "lifelong learning" and this absolutely must not mean "lifelong schooling". Since I moved into working in the state system, the only thing that really salves my conscience at collaborating with the system is the crumb-sized comfort that I am in some way helping to undermine it from within (a former chief officer of police once described me in print as a left-wing subversive - I took objection to the "left-wing" bit). We need fewer schools, but more education.

We have spent large sums of money making schools into closed institutions of surveillance and suspicion and moulded societies in which we are to assume that any adult who willingly hangs around schools is a menace and a threat.

So when one tries to create a welcoming place of genuine lifelong learning from the youngest citizens to the oldest, is "school" the best label to put on it? And frankly a little bit of rebranding may be quite cost-effective in getting more adult learners through the doors (especially if the media generate free publicity for the adult courses amid the fake shock-horror and pseudo-concern).

Of course the most sensible thing to have done would have been never to have thrown the community out of the school buildings that they own, nor to have excluded adults from the premises.

Down, as they say, with skool (hello trees... hello sky...)

[CHAZ]

As an undergrad and post grad of an American university, it always boggled me that over there, they refer to their universities as schools!

But how should we deal with "Institutes of Higher Education?"!

[englishangel]

YOu must have been out of the country too long Chaz, they are all Universities now.

[CHAZ]

Reassuingly good news!!

[dinahcat]

Well 'as eny fule kno' there won't be many mums shouting 'Kyle, Dwaine and Chantelle , hurry up you'll be late for your place of learning..... Not in my street any way I suspect...

[J.R.]

I can't honestly imagine Kyle, Dwaine or Chantelle's mother being remotely bothered wether their 'little cherubs' even bother to attend a school or place of learning !

[NEILL THE NOTORIOUS]

I see that the number of parents being imprisoned, for not ensuring that their offspring attend school, has increased, almost exponentially --- and so have the number of Truants -- this obviously doesn't work !
Could the reason, possibly, be connected to the fact that a "Clip in the ear" or" Slapped legs" or other euphemisms for parental correction, are now regarded as Criminal ? I, of course, deplore and detest Child Abuse, but I do believe, that in "The Old Days", we respected our Parents. My Father never struck me --- but even when I was 40 he had only to give me the LOOK.
I adored him !
I suppose we are back to the Topic of " Corporal Punishment at Housey"
I was Chairman of Governors of a school in this country, and also a Governor of two schools in South Africa, The schools had a population which was over 50% Jewish, so on Yom Kippur and other Jewish Festivals we closed. --- My two sons thought this was wonderful, getting the State Holidays -- and also the Jewish ! I believe that we all benefited from that education--- if only from the Jewish Jokes which were hilarious !
In this country the Head and I despaired of the constant additions to the Curriculum, which resulted, for example in stopping Swimming Lessons. If ever I hear of one of the ex-pupils drowning, it will,forever, haunt me !
It appears that every new Minister for Education has to have an INITIATIVE !

[midget]

I see that the number of parents being imprisoned, for not ensuring that their offspring attend school, has increased, almost exponentially --- and so have the number of Truants -- this obviously doesn't work !
Could the reason, possibly, be connected to the fact that a "Clip in the ear" or" Slapped legs" or other euphemisms for parental correction, are now regarded as Criminal ? I, of course, deplore and detest Child Abuse, but I do believe, that in "The Old Days", we respected our Parents. My Father never struck me --- but even when I was 40 he had only to give me the LOOK.
I adored him !
I suppose we are back to the Topic of " Corporal Punishment at Housey"
I was Chairman of Governors of a school in this country, and also a Governor of two schools in South Africa, The schools had a population which was over 50% Jewish, so on Yom Kippur and other Jewish Festivals we closed. --- My two sons thought this was wonderful, getting the State Holidays -- and also the Jewish ! I believe that we all benefited from that education--- if only from the Jewish Jokes which were hilarious !
In this country the Head and I despaired of the constant additions to the Curriculum, which resulted, for example in stopping Swimming Lessons. If ever I hear of one of the ex-pupils drowning, it will,forever, haunt me !
It appears that every new Minister for Education has to have an INITIATIVE !

I thought a bee in the bonnet was the important thing, as well as getting rid of the few Grammar schools that have managed to survive.

[Fjgrogan]

I was interested in Neill's comments onJewish holidays. I left CH in the LVI and spent the next year commuting (a totally new experience) to a college in Red Lion Square, Holborn for a modern language course. We had a high percentage of Jewish students on the course, and the Head of Department was also Jewish, so although it was not official we Gentiles knew that there was not much point in turning up on High Holidays. I have always assumed that the history of Jewish persecution has made them particularly keen to study languages - throughout history they were liable to be shunted around the world.