I hate the 'League Table'.  I blame it directly for the mess.

This idea that 'good results' is everything, rather than individuals'  
qualitative transformation and progress - not just academic but  
ontological security, self-esteem and happiness, feeling happy with  
oneself and one's progress and life, has been making me ill for years.  
  It is the root of all evil.  I was told by teachers how they are  
made to choose the examiners' board and what they do to get 'good  
results' and how frustrated they are by this.  I see how it affects  
their fulfilment and practice.

Hence the results are 'better'.  More As.   But the education is far  
worse.  And the so-called weaker students/pupils are abandoned in  
adavanceand given no chance.  With the whole focus on the stronger  
potential A students.

My personal solution is to abandon the 'League Tables' and for the  
performance of educators to be assesssed in  terms of how much an  
individual has progressed in terms of ontological security, happiness,  
joy, academic and personal progress, relationships and interactions  
with other human beings and oneself.

I believe educators will feel greater fulfilment, will enjoy their  
practice more and better their performance without a big stick woven  
at them constantly.

Quoting ka <[log in to unmask]>:

>
> Dear Alon
> Thank you for your comments.You are right - If we continue to give   
> young people the wrong messages, they will continue to behave in   
> this manner.
>
> Apologies for signing 2005 for a 2007 work . It was quite simply, a   
> typing error.
> Karen
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Alon Serper <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Sent: Sun, 14 Aug 2011 9:42
> Subject: Re: Young peoples' voice
>
>
> Thank you for this Karen,
>
> I would certainly send this to the politicians for I, myself, blame   
> the cuts and sheer stupidity and lack of respect forv public   
> intelligence and common sense for this mess.
>
> We have superb youth workers here in England that have formed   
> excellent relationships with the youth. I have always been   
> incredibly impressed by this.
>
> Those politicians tried to save a few millions, not even. And will   
> now have to pay many billions for their poor choices. We all know   
> who will have to pick up the bill for this.
>
> I am amazed at the level of sheer idiocy of the 'solutions' and   
> 'slogans' mentioned and asserted.
>
> Apparently the solution to poverty, frustration, despair and lack of  
>  hope, future, respect and dignity is putting people in the street   
> and cutting off the meagre benefits they receive. Making them steal   
> bread and rob to survive.
>
> Apparently, the way not to alienate local advisers is to take/hire   
> advisers from the worst possible place to offer advice who will give  
>  the sought advice.
>
> It is very easy to balame young people and their parents and   
> communities. What is disturbing is how the blaming 'et al' lost all   
> respect and account for the public basic intelligence and common   
> sense and think the public is stupid with no common sense   
> whatsoever. But the public is not stupid. It may take some time. But  
>  those 'et al' will soon realise that we are not as stupid as they   
> think we are.
>
> How come you sign 2007 in a 2005 work?
>
> Quoting ka <[log in to unmask]>:
>
>>
>>
>> In view of the current UK situation and the media et al blaming >   
>> young people for many problems I thought I would share this short >  
>>  extract from some of my MA work from 2005. Last two paragraphs are  
>>  > pertinent
>> Karen
>>
>>
>> Childrens Voice in the Community with specific reference to >   
>> participation in and organisation of Community Arts projects and   
>> the > benefits thereof.
>> Dominic Strinati writes, in his introduction to Theories of Popular  
>>  > Culture, that
>> ??.democracy means that not only is everyone entitled to full >   
>> political citizenship, but potentially everyone?s cultural >   
>> preferences are as valuable and as worthy of being respected and >   
>> fulfilled as those of traditional elites. Furthermore, education,   
>> as > part of this process of democratisation, means that the   
>> capacity to > be able to engage more fully in cultural activities ?  
>>  the abilities > to read, write, discriminate, demand, know,   
>> understand ? become > more available, formally at least, to more   
>> and more people.?
>> He goes on to discuss the differences between elite culture and   
>> art, > and popular folk culture, and mass culture. The theory of   
>> mass > culture and mass society, he states is usually based on a   
>> division > between past and present. He proposes that,
>> ?The division is normally taken to refer to a process of social >   
>> change which is conceived of as a transition from a ?better? or >   
>> preferable past to a degenerating and uninviting present and future.?
>>
>> It would seem from recent media reports that the general public are  
>>  > afraid of ?youth?; they are reluctant to approach young people,  
>> >  fearing that they may be mugged or assaulted by large gangs of >  
>>  teenagers. This myth has been affirmed by the mass media, thus >   
>> making it very difficult for groups such as Youthtastic in >   
>> Workington, who want to provide facilities and resources for young   
>> > people, and to give them a proper voice within the social and >   
>> political community, to get a ?fair hearing?. This is perhaps why >  
>>  the proposals for a Youth centre in the Cumbria ballroom was  
>> turned  > down by Allerdale Borough Council, due to petition  
>> presented by >  local residents of the area stating that the Youth  
>> Centre would  lead > to an increase in crime, drug taking and  
>> anti-social  behaviour in > the area, and that Youth Centres should  
>> be located  nearer to the > main housing areas and estates . The  
>> idea from  Strinati that social > change which is ?conceived to be  
>> ? a  degenerating and uninviting > present and future? is  
>> demonstrated  through the irony that over 40 > years ago, in 1964,  
>> proposals were  presented to Workington Town > Council for a Youth  
>> Centre in the  town; the proposal was turned down > on the grounds  
>> that the town  was an unsuitable place for youth to > congregate,  
>> and that the  centres should be located in the housing > areas to  
>> serve the youth  in the immediate local community.
>>
>> In a letter to Joseph Bloch in 1890, Frederick Engels wrote that,
>> ?According to the materialistic conception of history, the >   
>> ultimately determining element in history is the production and >   
>> reproduction of real life?..history is made in such a way that the   
>> > final result always arises from conflicts between individual   
>> wills, > of which each in turn has been made what it is by a   
>> variety of > particular conditions of life?..For that which each   
>> individual wills > is obstructed by everyone else, and what emerges  
>>  is something that > no-one wanted.?
>> Engels has summed up here the very reasons why Community Arts >   
>> Projects and giving young people ?A Voice? through this medium is,   
>> > at times, fraught with problems. There are huge compromises to be  
>>  > made at all levels; and indeed sometimes what is achieved is, >   
>> ?something that no-one wanted?. Politics and the immediate agenda,   
>> > including pleasing the electorate, has great influence over >   
>> community projects.
>> In his description of how we make our own history, Engels also >   
>> states that there are specific conditions under which we make that   
>> > history. He states that, ?Among these the economic ones are >   
>> ultimately decisive. But the political ones, etc., and indeed even   
>> > the traditions which haunt human minds also play a part, though   
>> not > a decisive one.?
>>
>> According to John Holden, Central Government in the UK still have >  
>>  issues to address at local levels, and need to provide additional  
>> >  funding to support the Arts and Culture so that it is not,  
>> ?treated  > as marginal rather than being seen as central to the  
>> lives of >  citizens and to the achievement of local authority  
>> aims??.Building  > bridges between the local and the global ?  
>> connecting our young >  people to the worldwide creative economy  
>> for example- is a key task  > for local authorities, and one where  
>> culture has a vital role to  > play.?
>> John Holden, Head of Culture, DEMOS
>>
>>
>> These theories and ideologies have potential for application in >   
>> terms of researching the value of a voice for young people, and >   
>> using Community Arts projects as a medium for this. The value of >   
>> Arts Projects for young people themselves has been demonstrated and  
>>  > well documented in research, as has the benefits of involving   
>> young > people in their community in a more inclusive and less   
>> tokenistic > manner. (Magic Moments; Room 13) Research and Pilot   
>> Studies need to > be carried out into what young people actually   
>> think themselves, and > what their proposals are for addressing the  
>>  current problems as > seen from their perspective.
>>
>> Once this is completed, the next concern to address will be how to   
>> > get young people?s message across to local authorities and those   
>> who > fund projects (currently largely instigated and managed by   
>> adults), > in a way which has impact and gravitas.
>>
>> Karen Thompson
>> January 5th, 2007
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>