Cafe Einstein - LPTPW 17 - animal, vegetable, and/or a minerally type chemically thing, and maybe some other things as well, yes :)
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RE: If you research the web
Nasty ..... the original idea of university-ifying everything some 20 or so years ago ( Victoria, Australia is the context for my comments ) was to remove any element of contrast, apparent or real, between institutions. This was based upon social theory ie. every child will win the same prize regardless of any factors ( whether relevant to academic merit or not ). In less than a generation it has achieved that end marvelously. The result is utterly bland and indistinguishable outcomes across graduates. Whom then become job candidates.
Most employers ( assuming it's their actual own money they're risking, so ignore government departments here ) will thus test a prospective long term employee by an on-the-job trial, say three to six months. Typically they will run three graduates per long term position here, as alas they know from experience that at most one will be capable of in fact performing the work. So they have to factor that rate in. This is incredibly devastating for the two that don't make the cut, because they discover they've been truly had by the educational institution who took their money. They have either paid or owe quite a bit and have no sensible prospect of earning to regain that, based upon their studies at least. Sadly not enough universities prepare you for burger flipping either. Many realise during such a job trial period that in no way were they prepared for that by whom-so-ever 'taught' them.
There's rumblings of a move to source and publish detailed statistics here eg. a crucial question being : what is the true career success rate ( in the area that you were studying, short/medium/long term ) for attending Institution X ? This idea was roundly attacked by certain faculty deans etc for being 'potentially negatively inferential'. Really ? You think so ? In an interesting twist some clever wag used such responses as an indicator of those institutions - by the vigor of their rejection of the suggestion, they have inadvertently disclosed/rated their own nervousness about what might be revealed ie. "The lady doth protest too much, methinks" ! :-)
Cheers, Mike.
I have made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to make it shorter ...
... and my other CPU is a Ryzen 5950X :-) Blaise Pascal
Oh my word, a man singing
Oh my word, a man singing from the same hymnsheet, and at the top of his voice!
+1000 with knobs on!
We had that in the 1960's, and it ruined UK education. Prior to that we had the 11+ exam. Gifted pupils went on to Grammar School, others went on to Secondary Moderns. It was how it was, it was accepted, nobody was fussed about it. Then step in the Educational Psychologists. Oh no we can't have that they said, we can't have kids being treated as second class for the rest of their school days, they'll never achieve anything if they think that they are useless (even if they are).
So meddled they did, and brought in the Comprehensives. Same kids in the same schools, same friends, but different classes, and all it achieved was dumbing down everybody to the same level. But these Educational Psychologists had more tricks up their sleeves! Hey guess what they said? We reckon that kids can learn to communicate effectively a lot quicker if they don't worry about grammar and spelling, we can fill that in later. Result, they didn't, and the UK has a whole generation in their 50's who can't spell for toffee and never ever will do. I have three in my family.
I would take every past and present Educational Psychologist and put them up against a wall in front of a firing squad. They have done more harm to the fabric of Britain, than any politician could ever dream of. Let Teachers teach!!!
Too many kids are falling out of school at age 16 not just unemployed, but unemployable. I know a number of Company Managers that won't employ under 25's, on the basis that at that age they might, with some FE College education, be able to sign their name in joined up writing.
Uni graduates are quite another thing. It is hard to get a good degree in Maths, Science or Engineering, as it should be! So much easier to go for the soft subjects such as Leisure Management (Running a travel agency) or Social Studies (Educational Psychologists of the future).
Result? Can't get a job with a soft degree, employers don't want to know. What they want is degrees in Maths, Science, and Engineering. Next result? Aged early 20's, they go into burger flipping or stacking shelves in Asda, plus a big debt, which won't be paid off because they don't earn enough.
Oooh can't have the drains up, too many Deans will be found wanting and lose their jobs! At least we have OFSTED in the UK, but again they themselves cause more trouble than they are worth most of the time. The latest fad? Academies. They are supposed to be places where Army cadets go to be trained to be Officers. But it is just the latest excuse to duck out of the national curriculum, and run your own soft courses that guarantees every kid a pass regardless of ability. The ststs look good so more funding on the merry go round.
Meanwhile the queues at the Job centres get ever longer ......
Waiting for Godot & salvation :-)
Why do doctors have to practice?
You'd think they'd have got it right by now
RE: I would take every
Allow me to add to your list of "extinguished" wall sentries Dr. Spock. Enough said.
He would be second in line!
He would be second in line!
Waiting for Godot & salvation :-)
Why do doctors have to practice?
You'd think they'd have got it right by now
Phil: Ah, hills, where you
Phil: Ah, hills, where you really have to think about your train. Good luck with that. I came within 15 minutes of outlawing Saturday night. Told the dispatcher I was NOT going out for another trip.
Chris: You either missed or ignored Annie chastising you for double posting, and then you DID IT AGAIN!
Education: Some universities here advertise on their job placement rates. Our teachers would love to be left alone to teach instead of teaching to the test, but politicians are always after them about our lousy abilities vs. the world, so we have to test. However, under No Child Left Behind, the system is rigged to measure and punish* failure and not even recognize the possibility that we are actually succeeding, so even an excellent school like the one where I work ends up on the watch list.
*Punishment usually means cutting funding, which of course only makes the situation worse. In extreme cases in Chicago, they've been known to replace the entire staff of a school, or just close it as though it was the building itself that was responsible for the underperforming kids in it. Then the building sits there, still costing money for maintenance and doing nothing useful at all.
David
Miserable old git
Patiently waiting for the asteroid with my name on it.
RE: Chris: You either
Yes - he did didn't he. So I've turned on the guideline interpreter. and the results are looking very, VERY interesting :)
And all that up there - I thoroughly agree with.
@Chris... your opinion piece on under 25's
:)
I could suggest: turning your binoculars the right way round, and perhaps removing the lens cap... :) just a thought :) Or if you'd prefer to cherish your current view - taking it over to seti politics to do so? :) Then I could tell you about a really lovely lady, who transformed the teaching approach that had been failing my youngest for five years.
*hazard warning blink to all oncoming Chris's*
She was an educational psychologist :) And any plans to line her up against a wall will require shooting me first. Okay? :) Okay :)
and this:
That we have politicians that DO dream that, and that then get up and actually live the dream is kind of the bulbous root of the problem I think :)
@Mike
Oh. Well I like them. You should have more of them :) Those ones with... well stuff about... stuff... they're very good - but I can't see myself graduating quite so effortlessly. Which is a shame.
Todays clue - due yesterday:
Aren't they cute!? :) They shuffle around quite amiably too... most of the time...
Hi Robl :)
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Triffids ? Managed by a black
Triffids ? Managed by a black cat with great pedicure skills ? Wiki calls them ( the Triffids that is ) "titular antagonists", which is remarkable because I remember them going for the eyes .... hmmmm. :-)
BTW* : This, I believe, may be my first post here that could legitimately be said to be actually appropriate to this thread .... heed my tale folks. This is what influenza type B combined with decongestant medication can do : induces a state of conversational relevance !
Now it may be necessary to connect Triffids to aubergines ( the naughty ones at least ) and thus to Che Guevara, jam donuts, 1000 knobs and funny natures. Sheesh. Not as hard as I first thought.
{ .... why is everyone cringing in corners, under seats and tables ? So what is with all this lathered ointment ? Have mere looks suddenly become lethal this week or what ? Am I missing something here ? }
Cheers, Mike.
* Beat Triffids Wantonly. At Scrabble or Monopoly for instance.
I have made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to make it shorter ...
... and my other CPU is a Ryzen 5950X :-) Blaise Pascal
RE: BTW* : This, I
Did the DOCTOR forget to get his flu shot this time around, or was it just a 'touch of the flu'? I went in for a routine appt the other day and my health care folks were giving out free flu shots, I got mine as usual.
RE: Todays clue - due
Hello my Queen. Is this plant a "desert rose"? I have two that have become quite large in their containers. I did not realize it until a year ago that the sap from a desert rose is quite poisonous. The way a desert rose can grow reminds me of a bonsai without all the effort.
RE: RE: Todays clue -
Oh yes - quite quite poisonous :) Sometimes referred to as a *blink at einsteinians* fish stupefying plant... useful for arrow tips too. Part of the dogbane family I believe.
They've obviously shuffled quite far from their indigenousitous starting place in Africa so I suppose tubs are a good way of stopping them from wandering any further. They're not known for their leaping. No they're not. Not at all.
Influenza Mike? Do hope you feel better soon :) Did you just grab the diagnosis from the top of your prepared pile for patients, or did you dig for something more accurate?
Perhaps you should have done what Mikey did ... and wander in on yourself for a routine appointment and generally jab yourself somewhere.
Where? Oh yes... there.
Well, actually, there's been a surprising amount of conversational relevance, it's just none of you realise it yet :)) I'll pop back with a unifying clue in a bit...
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