More thoughts than usual for a change

[cheekbones3]

Excellent weekend last weekend in Crinan, which is "near" Lochgilphead, and if you don't know where that is, I don't think you're missing much. Was in the company of bunnyphone and dee_ and neriedes amongst other hippy types, and we did ritual and drank and talked and ate and relaxed.


As reminded by this article, I complained to Radio 1 the other week regarding their selective playlisting on the Chart Show (or should that be the blatant ignorance of anything that falls outwith their core musical obsession, to wit, anything with an electronic beat, MOR vocal whining and, erm, that's it), especially prompted by the complete failure of the hosts to play Iron Maiden's latest single, even though it was the highest new entry at number three. I got quite a well written reply actually, which I unfortunately didn't keep. It didn't really say much, but at least they've registered my comment, which is something, and as far as I can tell actually will have a little influence, although possibly not enough.


The teaching of history has been on my mind too today. I heard a proposal (on the news or something probably) that history should focus more on British stuff. I think if this is done right, it would be a positive thing, especially if the purpose is to "integrate" people from ethnic minorities. If everyone understands the history of this country, then they can get a handle on the British mindset, or at least some of the threads of it, and if we all get this understanding, then surely this would remove some of the, erm, interdermachromal (yes I'm making words up) problems that seem to flare up, especially given the government's current feckless floundering on such issues. As long as there is also a clear illustration of this country's relations with other nations, and the differences found in the mindsets of other nations and races for similar reasons.

Mind you, such thinking is reasonably flawed too (you can point them out if you wish), and essential before a decent history syllabus I think would be the teaching of thought, or more specifically, how to think. Philosophy! Then the wee mites could actually know that sometimes working things out for themselves and forming sensible opinions by referring to more than the most seductive (or the first) viewpoint they hear. If they have opinions at all at the moment about anything more than the activities of fictional or pseudo-fictional characters that is.


Had a pretty pointless training course today, talking about things I could have learnt during my A-levels. Ho hum, at least I got out of the office and fed. Then I won both games of our monthly poker session this evening to come home with £60. All buys more biccies!

Right, thank you and good night.

And yes, I know my sentence structure is garbled, but I'm pouring this off my brain, so lump it.

Comments

[tribeca-tom.livejournal.com]

That Radio 1's farkin' useless. In 1993, they wouldn't even play the Mr blobby song and it went on to be Christmas number 1!

What was the subject of the training course?

[maleficent.livejournal.com]

Don't get me started on the history syllabus! I advocate binning the whole thing & starting again. They've also been proposing abandoning coursework & making it all exam-based because obviously that's going to prepare kids really well if they want to go on & do history at uni or beyond since it's all about research and, effectively, coursework. Morons!

[imagesandwords.livejournal.com]

Crinan, which is "near" Lochgilphead, and if you don't know where that is, I don't think you're missing much.

Have to agree with you there!

[dryriser.livejournal.com]

'Interdermachromal' - fantastic word :0) Could we add 'pigmentationally dissimilar' to the vocabulary too?

Far as history goes - remember that a lot of British history involves invasion and wholesale slaughter. I'm wondering if it's a wise idea to point out to people that 100 or so years ago, we stuck a flag on their beach, stole their country and then hunted the locals...

[cheekbones3.livejournal.com]

It was on sampling. Very dull.

[cheekbones3.livejournal.com]

Short-termism and muddled thinking as per usual it seems...

[cheekbones3.livejournal.com]

I somehow think neither phrase will catch on...

Teaching kids that may at least explain what sort of morons we have the potential to be given the right (wrong?) conditions, and they may work for the opposite! Then again...

[margeryk.livejournal.com]

I missed this rant on History teaching, and you must remember that if something comes from Westminster on the educational front, it only applies to England (and Wales perhaps).

In my six months of Secondary History teacher training at Moray House I learned more about nationalism than pedagogy. British history? Fuck off! It's John Balliol or nothing!

The Battle of Hastings, Magna Carta, Tolpuddle Martyrs, Peasants Revolt and the Spanish Armada, don't bother: Representation of the People Act, forget it- the achievements of the Sassanachs are all centred round Edward I and the Battle of Culloden and the Union of Scotland and England is taught with Burns' words never far away "bought and sold for English gold".

Scots have to wait until university to learn about these obscure irrelevant events that affected their southern neighbours.

Now, I'm not against learning about the region/nation that you come from, but the way it is taught to teachers is scary and exacerbates the English/Scottish divide rather than inculcating a sense of Britishness.

*I step down from my soapbox*

[cheekbones3.livejournal.com]

I never even considered the English/Scottish aspects of this, which do indeed complicate things greatly, although given that we've got centuries of common history, you'd think some common British aspects would be able to be found somewhere...