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Showing posts with label Education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Education. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Name that thing! Things you might not know that have a name



There are some quizzes at the Merriam-Webster site that are very interesting. How do you name the part of the hammer used to take the spike out? There is a name for that.

Take the quizzes here: Name that thing; True or False and Vocabulary quiz are the three types of questions.

Enjoy!


Answer of the images above: Corinthian Column; Bugle; Tasmanian Devil and Cumulus Cloud.




Saturday, June 9, 2012

21th Century Most Dangerous People: those who dare to mix



Mixing: The crime of the century.


"In 1845, Ralph Waldo Emerson, alluding to the development of European civilization out of the medieval Dark Ages, wrote in his private journal of America as the Utopian product of a culturally and racially mixed "smelting pot", but only in 1912 were his remarks first published. In his writing, Emerson explicitly welcomed the racial intermixing of whites and non-whites, a highly controversial view during his lifetime."


"In The Melting Pot (1905), Zangwill combined a romantic denouement with a utopian celebration of complete cultural intermixing. The play was an adaptation of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, set in New York City.

2012: Xenophobia and hate in the utmost degree. What a setback! We are going backwards.




MIX IT UP


Friday, June 1, 2012

Time to research...















I'm not publishing lately cause I'm researching some stuffs that I know by intuition.

But we need to search for the facts.

I'm constantly seeking for the truth and it requires a lot of time. But we have to do it or we'll dangerously believe that what we know is enough. It is never enough...

The image is beautiful but I did choose it because it's not in the comfort of the sun that enlightenment is achieved. It is in the rain.

And sometimes... Enlightenment can be brutal.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

NPTEL E-Learning,Video Lecturers nptel.iitm.ac.in For Engineering Students


NPTEL ( National Programme On Technology Enhanced Learning ):

NPTELIs A Joint Initiative By IIT's & IISC,Which Is A Government Of India Sponsored Programme.NPTEL Provides E-Learning Through Online Video Courses.These Videos Offers Lecturers By The Professors Of IIT's & IISC.The Main Aim To Start This NPTEL Programme Is To Enhance Quality Of The Engineering Education Among The Students.This Is Free And Can Be Accessible Anywhere.

Institutions Participating In NPTEL:

  • IISC,Banglore.
  • IIT,Chennai.
  • IIT,Delhi.
  • IIT,Bombay.
  • IIT,Kharagpur.
  • IIT,Roorkee.
  • IIT,Gauhathi.
  • IIT,Kanpur.
Among These Indian Institute Of Technology Chennai Is The Coordinating Institution.

The Video Lecturers Which Are Available Can Be Downloaded By The Students And Can Watch Them Whenever They Want By Saving Them On Their Computers.They Are Working To Provide Downloads In PDF Format Also.

At Present There Are 125 Web Courses And 136 Videos Available Which Covers All The Major Engineering Disciplines Such As:

  • Basic Courses
  • Electronics Engineering.
  • Electrical Engineering.
  • Civil Engineering.
  • Computer Science Engineering.
  • Information Technology.
  • Mechanical Engineering.
  • Bio Technology.
  • Ocean Engineering.
  • Mining.
  • Metallurgy.
This Programme Helps The Students Who Wants To Join In Distance Education Courses.The Students Need Different Teaching Methodology To Understand The Concept Behind Every Topic & Even Subject.There Will Be Videos Which Cover Each And Every Topic Deeply In Every Subject.

There Is Another Online Course Called OCW (Open Course Ware) Which Is Being Developed By The MIT.It Is Important To Know That The Objective Of These Two Programmes Is Same Which Is To Impart Quality Technical Education To The Students Making Them Not Only Dependent On The Textbooks & Teachers In The Classrooms.

So,The Students Who Are Interested In This Type Of E-Learning Can Visit The Website Of NPTEL An Download The Videos Of Your Interest And You Can Learn A Lot.

NPTEL Website: http://nptel.iitm.ac.in


NPTEL E-Learning,Video Lecturers nptel.iitm.ac.in For Engineering Students


NPTEL ( National Programme On Technology Enhanced Learning ):

NPTELIs A Joint Initiative By IIT's & IISC,Which Is A Government Of India Sponsored Programme.NPTEL Provides E-Learning Through Online Video Courses.These Videos Offers Lecturers By The Professors Of IIT's & IISC.The Main Aim To Start This NPTEL Programme Is To Enhance Quality Of The Engineering Education Among The Students.This Is Free And Can Be Accessible Anywhere.

Institutions Participating In NPTEL:

  • IISC,Banglore.
  • IIT,Chennai.
  • IIT,Delhi.
  • IIT,Bombay.
  • IIT,Kharagpur.
  • IIT,Roorkee.
  • IIT,Gauhathi.
  • IIT,Kanpur.
Among These Indian Institute Of Technology Chennai Is The Coordinating Institution.

The Video Lecturers Which Are Available Can Be Downloaded By The Students And Can Watch Them Whenever They Want By Saving Them On Their Computers.They Are Working To Provide Downloads In PDF Format Also.

At Present There Are 125 Web Courses And 136 Videos Available Which Covers All The Major Engineering Disciplines Such As:

  • Basic Courses
  • Electronics Engineering.
  • Electrical Engineering.
  • Civil Engineering.
  • Computer Science Engineering.
  • Information Technology.
  • Mechanical Engineering.
  • Bio Technology.
  • Ocean Engineering.
  • Mining.
  • Metallurgy.
This Programme Helps The Students Who Wants To Join In Distance Education Courses.The Students Need Different Teaching Methodology To Understand The Concept Behind Every Topic & Even Subject.There Will Be Videos Which Cover Each And Every Topic Deeply In Every Subject.

There Is Another Online Course Called OCW (Open Course Ware) Which Is Being Developed By The MIT.It Is Important To Know That The Objective Of These Two Programmes Is Same Which Is To Impart Quality Technical Education To The Students Making Them Not Only Dependent On The Textbooks & Teachers In The Classrooms.

So,The Students Who Are Interested In This Type Of E-Learning Can Visit The Website Of NPTEL An Download The Videos Of Your Interest And You Can Learn A Lot.

NPTEL Website: http://nptel.iitm.ac.in


Friday, May 11, 2012

Which is English? "sick as a cat" / "sick as a dog"? "duopoly" / "biopoly"?



















































I found this game "Which is English" and it became  a  funny way to get in touch with some expressions.



Real words are mixed with fake words and expressions that are better learnt when we are among a culture where English is spoken.



Why do we say "wife and husband" instead of "husband and wife"?

I have no idea.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

History lover





And if you don't know about the Library of Alexandria blame it on the educational system.




Thursday, January 5, 2012

Jane Elliott: How does it feel to be treated like a "nigga" for a lifetime?



"When am I gonna quit? When racism quits. Do I have a job for a lifetime?

I'm afraid so
."

Jane Elliott




Last month I published this post about Daryl Davis, the black musician man that persuaded twelve members of Ku Klux Klan to leave the organization. He wrote a book about it "Klan-destine relationships: a black man's odyssey in the Ku Klux Klan”.



I was amazed when I did read about Daryl achievement and the same happened when I watched at the TV Jane Elliott doing one of her workshops.

She exposes the weapons of racism by making people feel in their skin how discrimination, segregation, being stereotyped and mistreated have a terrible impact on the minds of the individuals who are part of a minority group and for this reason are mistreated in this case having a black skin.



I always asked myself why behavior experiments always aims evil. Stanford Prison and Stanley Milgram experiments were both done by psychologists trying to verify how people can be controlled or behave according to what they are told individually or in a group as a whole.

The ethical aspects of both experiments were questioned and the scientific methodology, especially in Stanford Prison, is questionable.



I never saw any of these psychologists doing experiments and, once again, I ask myself why they are done behind closed doors since they have to do with human beings emotions and behavior what is of interest of everybody.

It became an unquestionable fact that psychological experiments have to be done away from the public and one explanation is that it is necessary so that interferences from the outside don’t jeopardize the results. I’ll pretend it is true.



Jane Elliott’s workshops received some critics but what she does is not related to a scientific experiment and Jane payed a high price for her activism, fighting racism, and all her family was affected.

The workshops last two hours and I would love to be part of one of them especially to be at the blue side, the minority group.

Two groups are divided: blue eyes and brown eyes and this is the explanation that is at her site:



About

“Jane Elliott is an internationally renowned teacher, lecturer, and diversity trainer who presented this Seminar in the City Campus Union. She is famous for her classroom experiment, “Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes.”



In response to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. over thirty years ago, Jane Elliott devised the controversial and startling, "Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes" exercise. This, now famous, exercise labels participants as inferior or superior based solely upon the color of their eyes and exposes them to the experience of being a minority. Everyone who is exposed to Jane Elliott's work, be it through a lecture, workshop, or video, is dramatically affected by it.”
I watched twice one of her workshops at the TV and it is true that people are highly affected because Jane is really good in creating the “prejudice arena” that some people are confined because... exactly. Why?



There are some good learning materials at Jane’s site. In a very simple and easy way she puts in evidence what is hidden in some of the phrases and statements we use. I truly believe that in same cases we only learn when we face the problem ourselves and Jane’s work is perfect to make us see how dis-empowering being part of a minority is.



Visit Jane’s site to meet a great woman and learn more on how the dungeons of prejudice work and understand what the blue eyes/brown eyes workshop purpose is.
This is the work of a lifetime.


Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Reading experience: e-books, reading glasses and pencils



























When reading the mind is in a different state than in the oral register.
The words are combined according to other rules, instigate the imagination in many different levels and make abstractions a little more tangible.

How will e-books and other gadgets affect reading is still in debate but I hope that the capacity of almost touching the unthinkable while capturing a paragraph remains even if other medias are added to the reading experience. I wonder if the young generation will have another relation with silent words once they know that a video is about to come or photos and other visual resources that are still in project.

As know how the invention of the printing press caused a change not only in literary genres but in education, how information is acquired just to name a few. For the e-books I can only be sure that reading glasses will no longer be necessary and it is quite an achievement, better, no more pencil at the right hand to highlight.




Pictures: I found them in a site without attribution.



Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Dirty Fucking Hippies were Right! transcription and song

This video appeared and nobody knows who did the rant, the edition, the melody... nothing. Still it tells some truth. Worthy listening since...
"Peace is never discussed. Peace has somehow become a pejorative..." The Big Pharma and their fake concern wit health selling medicines that kill...

Update:
I just found the transcription at Daily Kos:
But something puzzles me. How can a revolution forgets to manifest culturally? Is it possible to revolutionize talking about economy, politics and ranting but without creating not even a tiny symbol that communicates what is the desire of people?
This song(?) is the result of the lack of a anti-establishment culture in US and in the whole world.
A song that raises the issues enumerating them but incapable of reaching hearts and minds and with no cultural print.
Appealing to the hippies was the way out but I doubt that people is willing not to wash their hair or behave the old hippie way and it is sad that this soapbox song refers to them the way they are called by those who hate their message.
Again it seems that creativity is way out of reach and without it, without art, literature, music, and all the "humanities" a crucial part of human beings vanishes.
When the imagination is not exercised, exited, and capable of creating, analyzing, and criticizing it is easier to control the thoughts and desires of the population, not people because they don't see people, they see numbers.
Fighting for education that is not financed and dictate by the corporations is also part of this revolution.
The alleged counter-establishment group "Anonymous" took a mask from a movie.
Have you noticed that in this movie, "V de Vendetta", there are books, paintings, sculptures, a whole iconography of the weapons that revolutionaries use to express their ideas?
"Bullets don't kill an ideal."
Take a good look at the black and white photography above and tell us what you see.
________________________________
The Dirty Fucking Hippies were Right!

"Flag planting on Iwo Jima. Tug-of-war with dollar sign. Headline: U.S. economy worsens. Chart heading sharply down “Class Is Now in Recession”.

“There’s a black granite wall in Washington DC that bears 58,260 names on it. All of those whose names that are carved on that wall are dead. For what? Freedom?.

“If this country had listened when kids were screaming to stop that slaughter, that wall would have been one hell of a lot shorter.

“Yet we as a nation still wage wars of choice. Wars encouraged by plutocrats who never have to fight them.

“Peace is never discussed. Peace has somehow become a perjorative.

“Peace is no perjorative. Peace is essential to the survival of the human race. And those who advocate for war are a dangerous and fearful group who should be marginalized and disavowed.

“War is always the last choice. The dirty fucking hippies … were right.

“Now the oceans have been rising. The polar ice is melting at alarming rates. The climate is changing in irreversible ways. Our survival as a species on this planet is on a precipice.

“The science on this is clear. Humans are now in trouble. Because of our reckless stewardship of what we dominated, we have polluted this fragile jewel that hangs in space – our only home.

“We’ve elected sociopath after sociopath for the last 30 years, to every level of government. – many of them slaves to corporate parasites that gorge themselves at the public trough, while the most vulnerable people in our society – the sick, the young, and the elderly – go wanting.

“The food we buy is contaminated. The toys we give our children as presents for Christmas are tainted with poisons. The water we drink is rife with carcinogens. The fish in our seas, lakes and rivers are so full of mercury that it’s only recommended that we eat them once per week.
“We have now come face to face with our own extinction.

“I hate to say ‘I told you so,’ but the dirty fucking hippies … were right.

“Billions of dollars of profits are being snitched up at the expense and suffering of our neighbors by the jackals that comprise our pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies. Both of which pipe their diagnostic wisdom and their fake concern right into our homes via TV and radio commercials.
“These legal drug dealers now sell their wares with impunity. And the insurance gamblers perform a slick game of three-card monte right in our living rooms.

“Most of these drugs have a list of caveats that would make even the most dishonest used car salesman blush. And the insurance hustlers change the rules of the game just when it’s time to pay up – profiting from the suffering and pain and others, profiting from human frailty.

“Universal healthcare? ‘It’s too expensive,’ we’re told. Gasbags talking heads on TV and radio have been complicit in this deception, while being handsomely compensated for their assistance.

“I’ll say it again: the dirty fucking hippies … were right.

“Big box discount stores descend upon small towns in America like alien ships, filled with cheap products bought at low prices from countries that pay their workers slave wages. Plutocrats love this business model!
“Mom and Pop shops can’t compete with prices set by these huge corporate parasites and, to no one’s surprise, many small businesses in these tiny hamlets fail, leaving small towns filled with empty storefronts and even, in some cases, forcing these same small business operators to go to work for the very people that ruined their livelihoods.

“Small-town America is subsequently decimated by this invasion. Often helpless in stopping it.

“Wall Street has cannibalized itself. Still hungry, feeling the pangs of their greed, they’ve now come to the government for their daily meal. And still, without a hint of irony, a spokesman for this ravenous tribe mounts his soapbox and has the temerity to rail against the ‘evils of Socialism’.
“Turns out the Socialism is for them. The Capitalism is for us.

“Abbie Hoffman once baited these banksters by throwing cash onto the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. To no one’s astonishment, they demonstrated their insatiable greed. The gluttons couldn’t help themselves – they stopped trading, got on their knees, and swept up the free loot.

“Wall Street should have been reined in long ago.

“I’ll say it again: The dirty fucking hippies … were right!”


Monday, November 7, 2011

Who said that?








Give it a try. Guess who will be next Saturday, 11/11/2011, at the picture. She is the woman who said:

"A career is born in public, talent in privacy."

"I've always felt those articles somehow reveal more about the writers than they do about me."

"I am good, but not an angel. I do sin, but I am not the devil. I am pretty, but not beautiful. I have friends, but I am not the peacemaker. I am just a small girl in a big world trying to find someone to love."

"I don't forgive people because I'm weak, I forgive them because I am strong enough to know people make mistakes."

"If I play a stupid girl, and ask a stupid question, I've got to follow it through. What am I supposed to do, look intelligent?"

"Hollywood is a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul."

"Imperfection is beauty. Madness is genius and it is better to be absolutely ridiculous then absolutly boring."

"Some people have been unkind. If I say I want to grow as an actress, they look at my figure. If I say I want to develop, to learn my craft, they laugh. Somehow they don't expect me to be serious about my work."

"It takes a smart brunette to play a dumb blonde."

"I've often stood silent at a party for hours listening to my movie idols turn into dull and little people."

"They think I'm crazy, ... But trust me, I'm 100 percent there."

"Gee, I never thought I had an effect on people until I was in Korea."

"My illusions didn't have anything to do with being a fine actress. I knew how third rate I was. I could actually feel my lack of talent, as if it were cheap clothes I was wearing inside. But, my God, how I wanted to learn, to change, to improve!"

If you want you can play this funny BBC's "Who said that?".

Update: November, 14
Nobody is curious to know the woman so I'll leave it till someone asks: Who said that?
Maybe a prize?

Saturday, November 5, 2011

I need a real acoustic guitar

Doll play guitar

I asked for encouragement
here to keep playing the guitar. Thanks to all of those who encouraged me.
It is amazing but it is already part of my day practicing the chords and try playing songs. I came across with the F chord and I didn't give up.
Now I need to have a real acoustic guitar because the one I'm using, a Brazilian terrible brand "Tonante", must not be used by anyone because it does not tune. Yes. It was given to me by a friend and I just wanted to see if I was going to succeed in the "will" department. I did.
I'm determined to learn and I have a eight years plan: I will be playing what I like in 2020. You will see. Even if I stop blogging, I don't know what is going to happen, in November, 5, 2020, if this blog is still online, I'll post a video playing.
Learning a musical instrument should be part of the official education but the power of music is underestimated by educators and governments.
A person with Alzheimer disease who knows how to play an instrument can forget the name of their family members but will keep playing.
Learning an instrument when one is young helps some cognitive functions that is developed only by practicing and studying and it helps creativity which is necessary in all fields of human life. Even in science. It last forever if studied till a certain level even if the practice is interrupted, and, it feels soooooo goooood!

Sunday, October 9, 2011

I need encouragement



I'm trying to learn to play acoustic guitar again. This is the third time in my life I try and I don't wanna quit.
I'm just writing this post to commit myself not to stop again. They say the exercise above must be practice everyday for a while.
I need support! Help! It is so boring at the beginning!

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

"Fuck the draft!" led Paul Cohen to court 40 years ago


































June, 7 1971: 

1. Facts of Case Cohen v. California 403 (1971)

This case came about when Paul Robert Cohen 19 was arrested after he wore a jacket with the words “Fuck the Draft” expressing his opinion of the draft for the Vietnam war while exiting out of a Los Angeles court room on April 26, 1968.


2. Legal Issue


The legal issues at hand was that even though Cohen did not wear the jacket while in the court room he still in fact wore it while existing the Los Angeles court room which put him in violation of section 415 of the California Penal Code, which prohibited maliciously and willfully disturbing the peace or quiet of any neighborhood or person by offensive conduct. The case was brought before the courts to determine if his actions fell within his right to the 1st and 14th amendment or was he in fact in violation of the California Penal code


3. Rule of Law


While the Court of Appeal thought that Cohen was in violation of the Penal code sentencing him to thirty days of imprisonment.

4. Analysis

After the retrial the court decided that by displaying a four letter word he was not in fact inciting negative behavior with the public. The court ruled declared that a court could not censor speech in order to peace. The courts relied on decisions made with Stromberg v. California and the United States v. O’Brien saying that he wanted to be expressive conveying only his opinion making notion to incite a disturbance of any sort.

5. Conclusion

“The defendant did not engage in, nor threaten to engage in, nor did anyone as the result of his conduct” The court reversed the Court of Appeals decision by 5-4

Source: The First Amendment Rocks!


Michelangelo's contrast of colors revealed

The site WebExhibits is dedicated to the study of colors in a very easy and stimulating way. This is the way they explained how Michelangelo exaggerated the contrasts of color:



"Just a few years after Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) achieved tonal unity, Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) tried a different approach. His colors are brilliant and contrasted, whereas da Vinci’s are subdued and unified. Michelangelo’s contours are crisp and set off against a contrasting background, whereas da Vinci’s blend and avoid silhouette.
Doni Holy Family, Michelangelo Buonarroti, c. 1503.






Michelangelo mixes his colors with both black and white to maximize the contrast range for all the colors he uses. This means the lighter parts of each color (even the black of Joseph’s tunic) are almost white and unrealistically de-saturated."
The only color that has a high enough luminance in pure form is the yellow of Joseph’s cloak; Michelangelo does not have to de-saturate the yellow to get a high value. Therefore, the yellow robe has a different quality from all the others, the hues of which vary substantially in saturation and therefore look somewhat metallic. By using such a wide range of luminances, Michelangelo achieves vivid depth from shading. Still, both contemporaries and present day critics were surprised by his use of color. Why?
Michelangelo was the undisputed master of drawing in 16th century Italy. The cleaning of the Sistine Chapel ceiling and the Doni Tondo have revealed him to be a colorist of great originality, working with a fully-saturated palette.
Keep reading here. Browse the site if you're interested in studying colors. They have interactive tools.

Friday, June 3, 2011

My homage to Degas














In the center, the Little Dancer, is a sculpture by Edgar Degas I saw at the Louvre.
I did this still life. Painting? Nope. At this National Gallery site you create your own still life. There are apples, oranges, books, vases, and everything you need for a still life. It's very interesting because you can change light, shadow and add what you want. I loved the mirror showing the front image of the dancer instead of the back. It is a Magritte touch I guess.
There are other activities at the site The Art Zone and children can have fun.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

The Big Dumb Society



David Cameron’s Big Idea conquered up in something of a hurry before the last election is a somewhat nebulous concept called “The Big Society.” Now as far as can be told this is in line with the Tory led Coalitions attack on the State and those who depend on it. Whereas Margaret Thatcher infamously said there is no such thing as Society, her ideological love child David Cameron” has used his PR skills to rebadge this as “The Big Society.” New name, same difference. Under the guise of volunteerism and greater private sector involvement the attack on Society has begun with vigour. So the Armed Forces are being ritually disembowelled on parade grounds around the world. The Flagship of the Royal Navy Carrier Ark Royal and the entire Harrier Jet Force are being scrapped, £4 Bn of Nimrod Spy Planes (ordered by Conservative, Michael Portillo when they were in last time) will never fly and are being cut up. University fees have been tripled and the privatisation of Education has begun with wholesale approval of “Independent Schools.” As for the NHS which the ConDem Coalition said was safe its budget is being drastically cut in real terms whilst being subject to wholly unproven and untested changes which were never in ANY Election Manifesto.



And in a continuing attack on communities and learning, libraries which account for less than 5% of Local Authority budgets are being closed wholesale. Education Secretary Michael Gove attempted to say his ‘reforms’ in education would favour poorer working class families, but now watches working class kids have their local library closed without a squeak of protest. There is little more sickening than watching well heeled public school and Oxbridge graduates like Cameron and Clegg, who had endless access to books and computers, telling workers that it is necessary to close libraries, while bankers and businessmen give themselves tax free bonuses after precipitating the crisis we are in.




Marsh's Library Dublin - A public library since 1701

Protesters have held "read-ins" and storytelling sessions at dozens of libraries across the UK to campaign against planned branch closures. At one library in south London the event has turned into an all-night sit-in involving about 35 protesters. Authors Philip Pullman and Mark Haddon were among those who took part in events elsewhere. Some councils have said keeping libraries open would put services for vulnerable and elderly people at risk. More than 450 libraries and mobile services across the country are currently threatened with closure.



New Cross Library

At New Cross Library, in south-east London, protesters taking part in an earlier "read-in" resolved to occupy the library overnight. Three security guards have been brought in to stay in the library with the group. Protester James Holland, of Save New Cross Library, told the BBC people had brought meals for the protesters, who were "sitting around playing Monopoly and Connect 4 and doing plenty of reading." I think with this occupation we are going to take the libraries campaign - and the anti-cuts campaign in general - to a whole new level. We are just not going to put up with these cuts," he said.

Other events during Saturday included a rally outside Bolton's central library and a flashmob book reading at Cambridge Central Library. Musician Billy Bragg sang and delivered a speech in Dorset, where library users attempted to take out the maximum number of books to empty shelves.


New Cross Library Occupation

Comic writer Gervase Phinn sent a statement to Bawtry library in South Yorkshire, describing books as "the architecture of a civilised society". He added: "Reading is the very protein of growth in learning. We must preserve our libraries. Have they thought through the impact of their messianic message about literature on the most vulnerable in our society?”

His Dark Materials author Philip Pullman has been particularly vocal over proposals to close 20 of Oxfordshire County Council's 43 libraries. He said the impact would not be easily measured. He said: "It's a kind of inward loss, a darkening of things, a narrowing of horizons that will gradually make us a less informed, less intelligent, less aware, less useful, less imaginative, less kindly people than we might have been."


Great Smith Street Library - Closed as it was too good for the common people

We have seen libraries being easy targets before. I remember when I was first living in London going to the wonderful Library in Great Smith St. Westminster, just beside the Department for Education and nearest public library to Parliament. Part of a complex which included public baths designed to improve the lot of working people it was a “proper” library with a cavernous and comfortable reading room. The Conservative Council sold it off, replaced it with a pokey (and now little used) library shop in its own offices in Victoria and it is now The Cinnamon Club, an upmarket restaurant of the type beloved by MP’s and Bureaucrats spending somebody else’s money.






My second home when I was at school - Drumcondra Library, Dublin

In my home town of Dublin our oldest public library, Marsh’s, which opened in 1701 is still going strong including the “cages” where readers of rare books were locked in! After school I used to cycle down to Drumcondra Library where the world awaited and real human librarians could always point a young student in the right direction. Built by the City Council to a distinctive design I was delighted to see on a recent trip home it has been refurbished and modernised. Libraries are centres of adult learning, of computer access for those who can't afford their own, of vital services and support in areas of severe deprivation.

Isaac Asimov summed it up;

"My real education, the superstructure, the details, the true architecture, I got out of the public library. For an impoverished child whose family could not afford to buy books, the library was the open door to wonder and achievement, and I can never be sufficiently grateful that I had the wit to charge through that door and make the most of it. Now, when I read constantly about the way in which library funds are being cut and cut, I can only think that the door is closing and that society has found one more way to destroy itself."

How dare the ConDems suggest that they are creating a "Big Society?" It's a complete con for public services like libraries which are not there for “profit”but for quality. Libraries are at the very heart of communities - lifelines for so many people. Asimov would turn in his grave if he knew what was happening. There is a vast list of writers who have educated themselves through using public libraries. Libraries offer so much to people- the best things in life are free- and we should preserve our marvellous heritage. British public libraries are admired worldwide, indeed The Brirish library describes itself as "The World's Library." So, if it ain't broke, why fix it?

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Examine the Examiner – Part 2


Dr. Ken Boston

Followers of the Celtic Sage will not be surprised that as he predicted last July, Ken Boston, head of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, has stepped down ahead of a report into this summer's test chaos. The only question is; why did it take so long for him to go when no doubt he is using his free business class flights to Australia, has no doubt lined up another lucrative position over the past 5 months and, heavens forbid, has negotiated a payoff for failure from the British Taxpayer who he has amply mugged already.

For, as I noted last July, Dr. Ken Boston was on an extraordinary package. He had the use of a £1 million Chelsea flat as part of his pay and perks package and was on a £328,000-a year deal as it emerged that half a million children could be forced to re-sit key tests.

Dr Boston is paid more than the Governor of the Bank of England in salary, which jumped 15 per cent from last year, and perks which include the flat and six business-class flights a year back to his home country of Australia. The flights, which typically cost between £3,700 and £7,700, can be claimed by either Dr Boston, his wife Yvonne or daughter Nathalie.

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/07/examine-examiner.html

Today (13/12/2008) the head of the exams watchdog in England has resigned over the SATS test fiasco. Dr Ken Boston, head of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, has stepped down ahead of what is expected to be a highly critical report into this summer's test chaos. Hundreds of thousands of pupils had delayed test results - and this year's league tables have been postponed. Dr Boston said his resignation follows the "delivery failure" for this year's tests. "I have always believed in public bodies and public officials taking responsibility when things go wrong," said Dr Boston, who has held the post since 2002.

On Tuesday, Lord Sutherland is due to publish the findings of his inquiry into what caused the delays and confusion with the tests taken by 11 and 14 year olds. The exam chief is the latest casualty of the administrative failures that affected primary and secondary school tests. ETS Europe, the private outsourcing company hired to administer the tests has seen its contract terminated. Half of the tests themselves are being scrapped - with the Children's Secretary Ed Balls having announced in October that there will be no more compulsory SATS tests for 14 year olds. If Lord Sutherland produces a damning report into what the government calls "severe problems" with the tests, then it could raise the prospect of further heads rolling.

The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority and its testing arm, the National Assessment Agency, were responsible for hiring the US-owned contractor. Head teachers, teachers and markers had been warning of problems with the organisation of this year's test from the spring.

In May, MPs in the House of Commons had said the tests had become a "shambles" - long before the scheduled results date in July. Following the missed deadlines, Dr Boston appeared before a committee of MPs in July and assured them that all the tests taken by 11 year olds had been marked. However a photograph sent soon after to the BBC News website showed boxes of unmarked test papers still lying uncollected in a Lancashire primary school - prompting accusations from opposition parties that the test authorities had lost control.


Six of the many boxes of unmarked SATS exams after Ken Boston assured MPs tha "100% of tests have been marked"

Australian-born Dr Boston had faced intense pressure in the wake of the test problems. But his decision to quit ahead of the inquiry report has been regretted by teachers' leaders.

The Education Minister has shown himself as unrelenting in following the discreditable “Sun” Newspaper in hounding out the Head of Haringey Social Services (Who his own QA agency OFSTED gave top marks to only a year ago) without notice or compensation and replacing her with somebody on twice the salary. But why has he let Ken Boston continue on his lucrative package and leave at a time of his own choosing despite the damming evidence of failure and the body blow occasioned to the English education system? Is he only a “Hard Man” when running after Rupert Murdoch’s tabloids and their Lynch Law campaigns? When we have the details of Ken Boston’s leaving package we will also have the answer to whether this Balls really has Cojhones!

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