Grrrr. Got to offload my rage & frustration. (sorry)

swannee7


Joined: 21/08/2009
Posts: 394

Message Posted:
27/10/2010 20:27

This has nothing to do with TRNC but thought some of you might be interested to hear about the abysmal lack of knowledge and awareness of the wider world among many of today's English university students. Remember, these are the people we tax payers have supported throughout their educational years but all they seem to have achieved is the ability to read textbooks on their chosen subject(s) and somehow manage to obtain a Degree! Today on a quiz show this university student was asked: " In May of this year a new coalition government was formed in the UK between the Liberal Democrats and.. ? " You've guessed it. "Sorry, I don't know." This from a 20-year old Brit, and she's not alone. What planet did she emigrate to? You don't have to be interested in politics but how on earth can they (students) not be AWARE of what's been happening all around them over this past year ? If she'd said Lib-Dems & 'Labour' I could almost have forgiven her! Bring back the 3 R's sez I .

Brinsley


Joined: 04/04/2009
Posts: 6858

Message Posted:
27/10/2010 20:29

University Challenge?!



Richard

Quarmby


Joined: 15/09/2008
Posts: 975

Message Posted:
27/10/2010 20:31

Perhaps she could not bring herself to say it!

gooligan


Joined: 30/01/2007
Posts: 1591

Message Posted:
27/10/2010 20:31

20 year old students live in pubs,if the pubs dont have a TV then they are knackered on current affairs

yenibob


Joined: 13/10/2010
Posts: 1203

Message Posted:
27/10/2010 20:37

Was Corrie not on then Swannee?

Sayit


Joined: 15/10/2010
Posts: 47

Message Posted:
27/10/2010 20:38

Is it Liberals and National Front?

proger1



Joined: 18/04/2009
Posts: 2919

Message Posted:
27/10/2010 20:44

I would still rather be 20 and unaware of things and not just because it was a great time in my life.

Tiggy


Joined: 25/07/2007
Posts: 1994

Message Posted:
27/10/2010 20:45

She was to ashamed to admit to knowing!





Students = work dodgers

LaptaMike


Joined: 07/10/2009
Posts: 1679

Message Posted:
27/10/2010 20:48

gooligan, never seen Al Murray - The Pub Landlord? ;-)

Harold2555



Joined: 19/04/2008
Posts: 1139

Message Posted:
27/10/2010 20:51

Statistically in the UK Students drink less than equvzalent young people who have jobs at that age.



Still soap dodgeing workshy parasites though!



(I have seen Al Murray)





Harold

mahdel


Joined: 28/05/2009
Posts: 255

Message Posted:
27/10/2010 21:20

Heh, when I was a university student I could tell you all about socio-linguistic patterns in eastern europe and other such essential knowledge but rarely knew what happened in politics, unless there was a vote on a vital local issue such as beer licenses. They're too busy learning what they're told to and hanging out in pubs or hooking up to care about things like national elections. Remember, they don't pay taxes (or much else, if they've got nice parents) yet so elections don't effect them much.

Blackbird



Joined: 11/08/2009
Posts: 1432

Message Posted:
27/10/2010 21:24

Re message 1. For difficult questions like that one, students ought to have a choice of three possible answers???

Geoff1131MK11


Joined: 04/04/2009
Posts: 396

Message Posted:
27/10/2010 21:42

Well dont keep us all in suspence, whats the answer??????????????????????????????????????????????????

LaptaMike


Joined: 07/10/2009
Posts: 1679

Message Posted:
27/10/2010 22:09

When I was a student I used to read the papers every day so was up to date with current affairs. Back then I was so on the ball that I had a bet with one of my lecturers about who would win the then upcoming general election. I won. He was the shop steward for all the lecturers/professors etc so couldn't see the trees from the forest or however the saying goes. (I only tend to remember things I find relevant)

No1Doyen


Joined: 04/07/2008
Posts: 16617

Message Posted:
27/10/2010 22:10

Quarmby- message 3. That's funny. )

Tootie


Joined: 28/08/2008
Posts: 2037

Message Posted:
27/10/2010 22:23

Msg 14. Mike. "not see the forest for the trees" as the saying goes. (I only tend to remember things I find relevant)

LaptaMike


Joined: 07/10/2009
Posts: 1679

Message Posted:
27/10/2010 22:27

thank you Tootie for setting me right on the saying.

Hector


Joined: 26/08/2008
Posts: 2352

Message Posted:
27/10/2010 22:38

How about a question at one of the beloved TRNC quiz nights?



'Name a current TRNC politician other than the President'

Tootie


Joined: 28/08/2008
Posts: 2037

Message Posted:
27/10/2010 22:43

Not a problem Michael

Now you any idea about my Yucca?

mahdel


Joined: 28/05/2009
Posts: 255

Message Posted:
27/10/2010 22:44

@msg 18



ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm.... Does "that guy, you know the one. Lives round the corner, with the glasses!" count?

Ailletoo


Joined: 24/01/2009
Posts: 1003

Message Posted:
27/10/2010 22:50

Oh, come on... at that age I was more interested in who was running the buttery bar rather than the country. Let the young enjoy themselves.. I certainly did!

shrimp


Joined: 01/09/2010
Posts: 939

Message Posted:
27/10/2010 22:53

heehee..........message 13 is funnier..................

LaptaMike


Joined: 07/10/2009
Posts: 1679

Message Posted:
27/10/2010 22:58

not reallt Tootie, never read the thread. Are they watered enough but not overwatered either? They can actually stand getting very dry to an extent. One of ours was in the house in a pot for 6 months without being watered. Looked like it was on it's last legs but a little water brought it round. Now got 4 plants off it by splitting it.

swannee7


Joined: 21/08/2009
Posts: 394

Message Posted:
27/10/2010 23:26

Thanks, everyone! Feel a load better now after reading your responses, especially after the comments in msges. 12 (well she was given a head start with one of the names!) & 13 (no easy answers, might make it too hard!) which were funny.



Don't remember any contestant on that show coming up with the right answer to ' how much water does the average yucca need ?' but LaptaMike had a fair idea.

LaptaMike


Joined: 07/10/2009
Posts: 1679

Message Posted:
27/10/2010 23:48

swannee, sorry for going off topic, it was Tooties fault ;-)

jimchris09


Joined: 13/02/2009
Posts: 547

Message Posted:
28/10/2010 07:51

I once read somewhere that 65% of UK 16 year-olds couldn't hold a world map (without labels) the right way round!

Panchocat


Joined: 29/11/2009
Posts: 1333

Message Posted:
28/10/2010 09:26

The labour government over the last ten years has taken a sledge hammer to school curriculum and subjects such as the humanities, history, geography, R.E. etc. were seriously downgraded.

Latterly cross curricular teaching has come back into favour to link learning across the board.

I was constantly amazed at the lack of general knowledge of many, not all, new young teachers. Cross curricular teaching is great but is made even better by the teacher adding extra snippets of general knowledge. Sadly in a lot of classes I have observed if it wasn't in the notes it wasn't taught!

In the pub though, so my young colleagues told me, there was the Who Wants to be a Millionaire quiz machine so at least some of the youngsters are getting some general knowledge whilst enjoying themselves!!

mistress


Joined: 29/08/2009
Posts: 57

Message Posted:
28/10/2010 10:42

Here we go again! Any problem, let's blame the teachers let's not talk about parents who send their little darlings to school with limited if any social skills, the same little darlings that can not eat with a knife and fork, toilet themselves or have a basic grasp of appropriate behaviour. If teachers could spend more time teaching instead of spending time making sure the basic needs of a children are being met then I'm sure we would all be happy. Maybe we should be aware that children spend 17% of their time in the care of eduational professionals the rest in the care of thir parents, parents are first teachers and should take their role seriously.

swannee7


Joined: 21/08/2009
Posts: 394

Message Posted:
28/10/2010 14:13

Panchochat (msg. 27) 0 completely agree with your comments. Youngsters today have been taught to read & write (just about!) but have been denied a generalised form of proper education in the way that most of us 'oldies' experienced. What we learned was drummed into us and even with the onset of occasional memory loss syndrome, we can still remember so many facts across a broad spectrum of subjects. In the 'old days' teachers were knowledgeable, good disciplinarians, and quite a few of them were also inspirational. None of that applies today. Not their fault but that of governments over the years, especially Labour. In other posts I've often quoted a wonderful old saying: what Johnny doesn't learn, John will never know. There are so many 20-25 year old Johnnies out there....... What a legacy.

jimchris09


Joined: 13/02/2009
Posts: 547

Message Posted:
28/10/2010 14:21

Dumb Britain.... (All true -amazingly- and taken from radio & TV quiz shows)



Q: Which 1996 Leonardo di Caprio film was an adaptation of a famous Shakespeare play?



A: Errr......Titanic?



Q: Which musical, written in 1953 by robert Wright and George Forrest, was set in medieval Baghdad?



A: South Pacific.





Q: Which flower, found in a pond, rhymes with "willy"?



A: Won't he.





Q: Give me a word beginning with the letter N that's associated with winter.



A: Moustache!

LaptaMike


Joined: 07/10/2009
Posts: 1679

Message Posted:
28/10/2010 14:39

I remember a geography teacher of mine (he was actually the teacher of one of my teachers the previous year). Instead of pinning a map of the world to the wall he would draw it intricately, to scale on the blackboard at the start of each lesson. I had some very good teachers (some exceptionally so) but probably just as many useless ones. I just had to pull my finger out and get down to learning (mostly by myself)

bimbo


Joined: 31/03/2007
Posts: 112

Message Posted:
28/10/2010 17:03

All I can say s don't judge the many by the few.

jimchris09


Joined: 13/02/2009
Posts: 547

Message Posted:
29/10/2010 20:37

There are millions of "the few" though, aren't there?