Coronavirus Thread (Off Topic, Politics) (19 Viewers)

Brighton Sky Blue · Jul 10, 2020

Walsgrave said:
Haha!
I am mostly referring to the small but sizeable minority of schools where there is such a dearth of talent that there are Heads of Department who are trained in PE or other subjects. A school is considered lucky if it has a qualified teacher of Physics, for instance, else some joker from PE has to step in to deliver the lessons. With all due respect to the PE teacher, it saddens me that this is the norm for many schools, and it gives me little hope that this kind of attitude trickles its way up to the very top of government - rather than scientific understanding being promoted, it's made exclusive to a few individuals, thereby allowing people to delegate responsibility to 'the scientists'.

You are right there, which is why I moved to a school where I could just teach my specialist science. Even so it does annoy me a bit when colleagues joke about only knowing what’s on the spec and not much else. In my research group just under half of us were British, though both the prof and the rest were European and mostly on European research grants. The new A levels are a big improvement in terms of rigour mind you, particularly with the way practical work is assessed and also with exams that include more stuff that I only did at uni.

shmmeee · Jul 10, 2020

Brighton Sky Blue said:
You are right there, which is why I moved to a school where I could just teach my specialist science. Even so it does annoy me a bit when colleagues joke about only knowing what’s on the spec and not much else. In my research group just under half of us were British, though both the prof and the rest were European and mostly on European research grants. The new A levels are a big improvement in terms of rigour mind you, particularly with the way practical work is assessed and also with exams that include more stuff that I only did at uni.

Try it with Computing and a bunch of ex Art and Maths teachers whining “do I really have to teach programming?”

I taught a Y7 Science Class for a year and was well out of my depth and I’m hardly a scientific dunce.

Brighton Sky Blue · Jul 10, 2020

shmmeee said:
Try it with Computing and a bunch of ex Art and Maths teachers whining “do I really have to teach programming?”

I taught a Y7 Science Class for a year and was well out of my depth and I’m hardly a scientific dunce.

I’m much happier just taking my own specialism now but the higher ups are discussing merging it all into ‘science’. If they do that I’ll jump ship again as I think it does a disservice to each of the 3. Same with history and geography being merged into ‘humanities’.

shmmeee · Jul 10, 2020

Brighton Sky Blue said:
I’m much happier just taking my own specialism now but the higher ups are discussing merging it all into ‘science’. If they do that I’ll jump ship again as I think it does a disservice to each of the 3. Same with history and geography being merged into ‘humanities’.

Yeah the equivalent in computing is “Business and IT”

I think triple science is definitely the way to go. I grew up thinking “I’m good a physics, OK at Chemistry and suck at Biology” which IMO is much healthier than “I’m OK at science” which is probably what I’d have thought with single science. They’re such different disciplines.

Ian1779 · Jul 10, 2020

Sky_Blue_Dreamer said:
On the whole I agree with you, but to suggest Northern Labour voters feel they're too London-centric (which they may well do with the Islington socialists like Corbyn) but why then would they move to Tory, who're even more London centric, but focused on the wealthy bits like the City, Chelsea, Kensington etc and then the leafy commuter suburbs of Surrey and Kent.

Why do people keep on falling for the guff about Midlands Engine and Northern Powerhouse. I mean if you just look at those policies it's nothing more than playing to lazy stereotypes of the regions based on their golden periods. Manufacturing/factories etc when those days are gone. Never suggest those plans for the South do they? It's nothing more than lip service. Are people really that stupid that they'll just vote for something that helps them reminisce about the 'good old days'?

The Tories are good at creating an alternative narrative. The last election was easy for them with Brexit but also they managed to convince Northern voters that their underinvestment and decimation in their region was the fault of the incumbent Lab MP’s and not the Tory government that had been in charge for last 10 years.

Brighton Sky Blue · Jul 10, 2020

shmmeee said:
Yeah the equivalent in computing is “Business and IT”

I think triple science is definitely the way to go. I grew up thinking “I’m good a physics, OK at Chemistry and suck at Biology” which IMO is much healthier than “I’m OK at science” which is probably what I’d have thought with single science. They’re such different disciplines.

It also then clouds people’s view of what a ‘scientist’ actually is, as we’ve seen on here in the past. An epidemiologist is not the same as a virologist, who is also not the same as a chemist synthesising an anti viral.

Ring Of Steel · Jul 10, 2020

Brighton Sky Blue said:
I’m much happier just taking my own specialism now but the higher ups are discussing merging it all into ‘science’. If they do that I’ll jump ship again as I think it does a disservice to each of the 3. Same with history and geography being merged into ‘humanities’.

Is that genuinely something they are talking about doing- merging history and geography?

Ring Of Steel · Jul 10, 2020

shmmeee said:
Yeah the equivalent in computing is “Business and IT”

I think triple science is definitely the way to go. I grew up thinking “I’m good a physics, OK at Chemistry and suck at Biology” which IMO is much healthier than “I’m OK at science” which is probably what I’d have thought with single science. They’re such different disciplines.

When I was at school you knew who the really clever/ masochistic people were as they were the ones who did 'Triple Science' at A Level.

Brighton Sky Blue · Jul 10, 2020

Ring Of Steel said:
Is that genuinely something they are talking about doing- merging history and geography?

It is something that has already happened in quite a few comps. Sometimes RE is also thrown in.

Ian1779 · Jul 10, 2020

Brighton Sky Blue said:
I’m much happier just taking my own specialism now but the higher ups are discussing merging it all into ‘science’. If they do that I’ll jump ship again as I think it does a disservice to each of the 3. Same with history and geography being merged into ‘humanities’.

All about saving money.... lump stuff together, maximise teaching allocations and lose a teacher here and there. At least thats what they are doing in our school.

Brighton Sky Blue · Jul 10, 2020

Ian1779 said:
All about saving money.... lump stuff together, maximise teaching allocations and lose a teacher here and there. At least thats what they are doing in our school.

It has also crossed my mind to try and get back into research but I think even now I’ve been out of the industry for too long.

Ring Of Steel · Jul 10, 2020

Brighton Sky Blue said:
It is something that has already happened in quite a few comps. Sometimes RE is also thrown in.

thats abysmal tbh

Brighton Sky Blue · Jul 10, 2020

Ring Of Steel said:
thats abysmal tbh

I always much preferred history at school as all we tended to do in geography was draw and colour in.

Sky_Blue_Dreamer · Jul 10, 2020

shmmeee said:
Yeah the equivalent in computing is “Business and IT”

I think triple science is definitely the way to go. I grew up thinking “I’m good a physics, OK at Chemistry and suck at Biology” which IMO is much healthier than “I’m OK at science” which is probably what I’d have thought with single science. They’re such different disciplines.

I was the same, but at a school which had combined science. I was good at biology, alright at physics and rubbish at chemistry. Ended up with a B overall and individually would've probably got A,B and C respectively. Trouble is the chemistry part really put me off 'science' as a whole. I was never going to be a scientist - I've got better skills and more interest elsewhere - but having it all together didn't help. It'd be like marketing people being made to do accounting and finance exams.

Sky_Blue_Dreamer · Jul 10, 2020

Ian1779 said:
The Tories are good at creating an alternative narrative. The last election was easy for them with Brexit but also they managed to convince Northern voters that their underinvestment and decimation in their region was the fault of the incumbent Lab MP’s and not the Tory government that had been in charge for last 10 years.

I agree, but WHY are they so good at getting away with it? Is it the plum accents? Is it support from media pushing that narrative?

Some people make honest mistakes with the best of intentions and get hauled over the coals for it. Yet others who never intended to do the best for people blame others and get away with it constantly?

How many times have I seen the narrative of 'creating jobs', 'higher wages', 'less tax' etc lapped up when in reality it's nothing to do with that and everything to do with more for the rich? Get away with it every time yet what they're doing is putting a massive joint of meat at the top table and throwing the gristle on the floor for everyone else and claiming how generous they are.

How many times have we seen right-wing economics result in periods of stagnation and depression due to greed yet there is still this notion that they're the only people that can sensibly manage an economy?

I genuinely don't understand why we never seem to learn and keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again.

Sky_Blue_Dreamer · Jul 10, 2020

Brighton Sky Blue said:
I always much preferred history at school as all we tended to do in geography was draw and colour in.

I remember the first section of the Geography exam being 'colour in the map'. Last section though was basically doing a simplified planning application without filling in the forms. Choosing a site based on economics, logisitics, geology, topography. What to build and with what methods/materials. Really involved and enjoyable.

Brighton Sky Blue · Jul 10, 2020

Sky_Blue_Dreamer said:
I remember the first section of the Geography exam being 'colour in the map'. Last section though was basically doing a simplified planning application without filling in the forms. Choosing a site based on economics, logisitics, geology, topography. What to build and with what methods/materials. Really involved and enjoyable.

I gave it up before GCSE. Loved History though and still do

Sky Blue Pete · Jul 10, 2020

This will be covered in history geography and science in future generations

Ian1779 · Jul 10, 2020

Sky_Blue_Dreamer said:
I agree, but WHY are they so good at getting away with it? Is it the plum accents? Is it support from media pushing that narrative?

Some people make honest mistakes with the best of intentions and get hauled over the coals for it. Yet others who never intended to do the best for people blame others and get away with it constantly?

How many times have I seen the narrative of 'creating jobs', 'higher wages', 'less tax' etc lapped up when in reality it's nothing to do with that and everything to do with more for the rich? Get away with it every time yet what they're doing is putting a massive joint of meat at the top table and throwing the gristle on the floor for everyone else and claiming how generous they are.

How many times have we seen right-wing economics result in periods of stagnation and depression due to greed yet there is still this notion that they're the only people that can sensibly manage an economy?

I genuinely don't understand why we never seem to learn and keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again.

I just don’t know how they manage it. A supportive narrative from the media coupled with some incredibly effective use of Facebook and other social media - especially since 2017. Brexit was also a gold coated gift for them, but the Tories have always tried to hang the ills of the country on someone (immigrants, those on benefits, the EU) and people have bought it.

Sky_Blue_Dreamer · Jul 10, 2020

Brighton Sky Blue said:
I gave it up before GCSE. Loved History though and still do

Should've done history instead of maths at A level. Found it much more interesting and was better at it too. But felt I needed to do at least one 'hard' subject and test myself.

shmmeee · Jul 10, 2020

Ian1779 said:
I just don’t know how they manage it. A supportive narrative from the media coupled with some incredibly effective use of Facebook and other social media - especially since 2017. Brexit was also a gold coated gift for them, but the Tories have always tried to hang the ills of the country on someone (immigrants, those on benefits, the EU) and people have bought it.

The right are just better at politics. From courting the media to messaging to campaigning. It’s bloody annoying but it’s what comes from putting winning first and everything else second.

Have a look at those anti-Trump Lincoln Project ads. I wish the left could produce a stuff as effective as that, I really don’t know why we can’t. Too concerned with morals? Trying to win minds rather than hearts? Don’t know.

Brighton Sky Blue · Jul 10, 2020

shmmeee said:
The right are just better at politics. From courting the media to messaging to campaigning. It’s bloody annoying but it’s what comes from putting winning first and everything else second.

Have a look at those anti-Trump Lincoln Project ads. I wish the left could produce a stuff as effective as that, I really don’t know why we can’t. Too concerned with morals? Trying to win minds rather than hearts? Don’t know.

There were some great fan made videos for Bernie’s campaign, the talent for it is there. But the man himself like many others still believe in policy as the way to win. Too many times we’ve lost to know that isn’t true

Brighton Sky Blue · Jul 10, 2020

Sky_Blue_Dreamer said:
Should've done history instead of maths at A level. Found it much more interesting and was better at it too. But felt I needed to do at least one 'hard' subject and test myself.

I did a mix of languages and sciences. The language A level still comes in very handy but MFL overall is dying a painful death in schools at the moment

Brighton Sky Blue · Jul 10, 2020

Sky Blue Pete said:
This will be covered in history geography and science in future generations

I want to know how many years it’ll take for Harry Potter to appear on the GCSE

shmmeee · Jul 10, 2020

Brighton Sky Blue said:
There were some great fan made videos for Bernie’s campaign, the talent for it is there. But the man himself like many others still believe in policy as the way to win. Too many times we’ve lost to know that isn’t true

That’s the fundamental mistake the left makes IMO. The right get it’s more about “mood” and “gut feel” than reasoned debate on policy. TBF to Bernie I think he’s one on the left that managed to get that a bit and reach across the aisle. Not seen the Bernie fan made ads I’ll take a look.

It’s definitely not a talent issue, the media industry is full of lefties! I think it’s an empathy issue and as I say the belief that everyone votes on policy.

Brighton Sky Blue · Jul 10, 2020

shmmeee said:
That’s the fundamental mistake the left makes IMO. The right get it’s more about “mood” and “gut feel” than reasoned debate on policy. TBF to Bernie I think he’s one on the left that managed to get that a bit and reach across the aisle. Not seen the Bernie fan made ads I’ll take a look.

It’s definitely not a talent issue, the media industry is full of lefties! I think it’s an empathy issue and as I say the belief that everyone votes on policy.

This one did the rounds quite a lot-a bit long for TV but snippets could easily be used

Deleted member 5849 · Jul 10, 2020

It's easier to give a negative message of what's wrong then the positive message of how to fix it.

It's also easier to sell lower taxes partly because there's an innate distrust of 'the state' and also partly because of the immediate bonus of getting more money in your pocket.

So a lefty negative message of Tories Hate the Middle Class is a hard sell, when they see more cash in their pocket, and that damned inefficient state isn;t worth thinking about anyway, and nor is how we pay for things. The last bits also make a positive message hard to sell, as well.

Overall, the country *is* more lefty oriented than righty, but it really needs a Lib/Lab coalition to agree to stand aside in certain seats for that to bear fruit, and that'll never happen.

skybluetony176 · Jul 10, 2020

More jobs for the boys Firm with links to Gove and Cummings given Covid-19 contract without open tender | Michael Gove | The Guardian
Still, I’m sure they’ll deliver world beating research in line with all the other world beating things the Tories have delivered.

Sky_Blue_Dreamer · Jul 10, 2020

Deleted member 5849 said:
It's easier to give a negative message of what's wrong then the positive message of how to fix it.

It's also easier to sell lower taxes partly because there's an innate distrust of 'the state' and also partly because of the immediate bonus of getting more money in your pocket.

So a lefty negative message of Tories Hate the Middle Class is a hard sell, when they see more cash in their pocket, and that damned inefficient state isn;t worth thinking about anyway, and nor is how we pay for things. The last bits also make a positive message hard to sell, as well.

Overall, the country *is* more lefty oriented than righty, but it really needs a Lib/Lab coalition to agree to stand aside in certain seats for that to bear fruit, and that'll never happen.

But when they try and do the positive "this can be fixed" it just gets "totally unworkable", "pie in the sky" responses.

Whereas the right say "we're largely going to do more of the same" and it's fine. Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome. Don't act surprised when doing the same things result in the same problems again and again and again. If you want a different outcome you're going to have to choose a different way of things being done.

Sky_Blue_Dreamer · Jul 10, 2020

It's almost a banana republic level now with the amount of corruption. Evena tiny amount of this much scandal would set Labour back years and finish people like the Libs off entirely. Tories and it's 'meh'.

People should end up in prison for some of the shit that's gone on during this crisis.

SkyBlueDom26 · Jul 10, 2020

low amount of deaths for a Friday compared to the previous weeks

Ian1779 · Jul 10, 2020

The fact that Starmer doesn’t appear to give a shit about the government scrapping free parking for NHS staff tells me a lot about the ‘electable’ face of Labour... I know he raised it in PMQ’s but it’s an easy win for Labour to champion against it.

clint van damme · Jul 10, 2020

Ian1779 said:
The fact that Starmer doesn’t appear to give a shit about the government scrapping free parking for NHS staff tells me a lot about the ‘electable’ face of Labour... I know he raised it in PMQ’s but it’s an easy win for Labour to champion against it.

I can't believe how hes let Jenrick off the hook, appalling.

fernandopartridge · Jul 10, 2020

Reopening is going to end up as ruinous for restaurants as being closed. I'm in a local Chinese to pick up a takeaway, prime time and there are 2 tables occupied. All down to the utter fuck up of a govt and their herd immunity desires, the party of business allegedly.

covmark · Jul 10, 2020

fernandopartridge said:
Reopening is going to end up as ruinous for restaurants as being closed. I'm in a local Chinese to pick up a takeaway, prime time and there are 2 tables occupied. All down to the utter fuck up of a govt and their herd immunity desires, the party of business allegedly.

We had the opposite experience. Went to our local Italian on Thursday. Not usually the busiest of nights, but there wasn't one table free at 6.30pm.
We know the fella that owns our local Indian restaurant, and he's fully booked this weekend.
Admittedly both places have taken some tables away for social distancing reasons, but still, they seem to have reopened ok.

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Coronavirus Thread (Off Topic, Politics) (19 Viewers)

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