Teraknor

Amused, reading a letter from an employer (not one of mine), full of poor grammar and paragraphs which form literary cul-de-sacs in the highway of the communiqué. No good, when they are trying to manage the training and education of their subordinate. Did chuckle.

Just seen a tweet, 1:4 of GCSE results are A grades, this is not the same as 1:4 of all 16 year olds having an a grade GCSE. With the range of vocational qualifications on the increase, having GCSE equivalence, there is actually a skew in what is being lauded. The vocational results tend to be returned quicker, and are seldom counted in this media fest. Now with around 40% of study at level 2 (GCSE is a level 2) in vocational subjects, with many students having a mixture of both. It could be said that 25% of 60% have A grades, which is around 15% of students, that is a more realistic reflection of the grade profile. But i am sure the media machine selects the data it likes to present. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad, spelling mistakes for free

Today in a town not too far drinking coffee in a café, whilst Shirley was shopping, an incident kicked off between an irate male and two of the young female serving staff. No, it is not what you think. Having intervened, as the other customers gawped, as it was a Autistic man (to how I know, it didn’t take much to work out), probably older than myself very upset that the chairs and tables outside the café were ‘an obstruction’ and was an offence under the ‘highways act’. Inconsolable, he ranted and stomped for about five minutes whilst the onlookers became increasingly more threatening to him, before he wandered off into town. Now for the thought ... Who needed protecting, society from him, or him from society. As the situation worsened, I could see that no one else could see, what I was seeing, someone with a high functioning disability, inept at social interaction, seeing a wrong but reacting badly. Everyone else, could see a nui...

Listening to the news on more than one occasion today as I mark students work, answer emails etc. I do feel for the youngsters who collected their results. At a stressful time, where their perception of their collective futures is at its most vulnerable, you have: The constant commentary on the fact that A level results have improved for 28 years in a row Hype on this new A* grade The disappointment facing many who don’t get the grades The challenge of clearing in a university system having to face a reduction in numbers The additional burden of this being a ‘3rd generation’ baby boomer population (post war copulation, work it out). A shortage of alternatives The perceived need for higher education Worse is the way the media seem to pitch this as a panic, with August being a generally dead time in the news, they have a new week franchise to pick this to pieces. My views on the UK education system has a tone of cynical experience, but lets be fair, no matter wha...

Maybe as part of a national citizenship programme everyone, including the aged should go on a "walking in crowds" primer. Being a bit of a curmudgeon i have a healthy dislike of crowds, especially the shopping centre variety, with particular distaste for the saturday experience. On the seldom occasion i am encouraged out of my troll like existence to venture into the madding crowd, i return with a sense of exasperation. There are is in society an unerring subgroup of souls who stop dead in their tracks in a crowd, without indicating or signalling their intentions and pulling over to the side. Oblivious to the amassed chaos, they create an island, causing, sudden manoeuvres redirections and additional chaos in the throng. If you are one who likes to wander aimlessly in crowd, stop/start and wonder why everyone seems so pushy and rude. Maybe you need some crowd training, it's not difficult. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

After 18 months of transitioning through the slow bureaucratic treadmill at the Open University, I am soon to be a student again, for my PHd. Such are the processes involved, for a member of staff. Such is life. So, from the 1st of October 2010 until September 2016 I promise to consider : Being a sponger and lay about Skipping lectures Drinking lots of coffee Acquiring a traffic cone Ahhh student days again, it has been twenty years, do you think I will manage.

Sitting in the White Lion (was chalk hill) in the chalk cut just north of Dunstable, now that was a very good coffee. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Had to do something today that did not personally cause me any problems, but did make me stop, think and become a little sadder for those trapped in the environment in question. Because of the attitude of the organisational culture involved, all references will be vague, not any sense of self preservation (as one is long shot of this environment) but out of respect for those who are still locked into a contractual bondage. Around six years ago, probably at a peak of innovative zeal and educational activity, I was privileged to be part of a four strong team teaching Networking and Telecommunications. Splitting infinitives where none previously existed and gaining recognition for our students as well as the college I worked at. During this time the team created a conceptual complex network infrastructure, Widgets R Us, a massive physical case study that spanned across five labs and had a direct route via the corporate DMZ into the Internet. (so papers published this year by another a...

Ok, maybe this is an odd blog entry, not that i am particularly worried. In the microcosm of human culture that is the south east of England. Where i have spent more time now than my childhood home. I am beginning to notice frequent iterations of the same facial characteristics. To the point where it is becoming increasingly rare to note any unique experiences. Is this what the spices is like. Do we only have a fixed set of faces? Moreover whilst hair styles come and go, many facial sets also sport common hair styles. I am sure i am no different. So, where is that different face, who has it? - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad