Poor PISA results for Scotland

The decline continues:

======================

"Scotland's performance in maths and science among 15-year-old school pupils is at a record low according to new statistics. Reading levels - students' ability to understand and evaluate texts - have improved, but are still significantly lower than they were at the start of the millennium..."

"However, the PISA scores were described as proof the government was `failing schools and children`. Scottish Labour’s education spokesperson Iain Gray said: “While Nicola Sturgeon tours the TV studios and election debates boasting of her supposed achievements, the reality is that her so-called priority of education continues a slow decline."

"The small improvement in reading is welcome, but further falls in maths and science are alarming. John Swinney and Nicola Sturgeon have been warned again and again that we have a problem with STEM subjects being squeezed out of the curriculum but they refuse to listen. These are the critical skills our next generation need for the jobs of the future..."

"`The SNP have abolished most measures of performance in our schools, but they cannot hide from these figures which show they have failed our schools and our children`."

"And Liz Smith, Scottish Conservative education spokesperson, said: `This is damning evidence revealing the full extent of the SNP’s shameful 12 years running down Scotland’s schools`."

"`After the last set of poor PISA results, the SNP said that the curriculum had to change. Yet these results are a new low and we know there have been many failings within the delivery of the Curriculum for Excellence. It is not just time to change the curriculum but also to change the government in Scotland`."

"Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie added: `John Swinney can't hide from these appalling results. Scotland used to have one of the best education systems in the world, but under the SNP its now just average`."

https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/pisa-performance-of-scottish-pupils-in-maths-and-science-at-record-low-1-5056025

Given these concerns the response seems a little skewed:

"The Scottish Government has pledged to invest more than £60 ­million to create 350 counsellors, ensuring that every high school has counselling services by September. It has also pledged to enhance support and professional learning for teachers on good ­mental health."

"Professor Harris said: `The focus on health and well-being of young people is critically important so it's not just about academic achievement. That's an area the Scottish Government are focusing on [?] but more can be done. The challenges for young people are acute and extensive so we can always improve things."

https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/too-many-hours-on-social-media-is-impacting-learning-of-scottish-children-claims-education-expert-1-5093616

Calls for full review of Curriculum for Excellence

"The implementation of Scotland's Curriculum for Excellence has left educators facing myriad unintended consequences, says Barry Black."

"On Wednesday evening, the Scottish government suffered a rare defeat in Holyrood when MSPs called for a full review of Curriculum for Excellence (CfE). First minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed that the government will take this forward, `whether or not [they] consider that, that is necessary`."

"The emerging evidence, however, points to a range of unresolved and unintended consequences which exist as a result of CfE’s implementation."

"Issues within the senior phase are well-documented. Whether it is the narrowing number of subject choices, particularly in poorer areas, the progression and structure of new qualifications or the prevalence of multi-qualification teaching in classrooms, there are numerous issues which clearly impact upon young people’s choices and chances."

https://www.tes.com/news/why-parliament-was-right-want-curriculum-review

Children`s reading for cultural change

From UK Column News 31st May 2018

 

"So let`s have a look at what the BBC is up to here. If you go into it, this is highly animated. I find it particularly annoying because the screen scrolls in a particular way as you`re trying to read the text but it`s the story of some boys in the 1800s. They stow away on a vessel. They`re treated very cruelly. Eventually they`re put onto the ice and I think it`s two of them survive and the rest die. It`s quite a harrowing story. You`d say it`s very dark. At the moment it`s of historical interest up in Scotland and they`ve followed through on the story. So it`s got some serious historical basis to it but of course it`s now being presented as a cartoon on the mainstream news."

"Now if you get into this article and start to pay attention you come to the Magic Torch Comics organisation because they are mentioned in the creation of this whole feature of `The Boys on the Ice` and as we normally do we follow the evidence trail through. So here we are having a look at Magic Torch Comics and I`m going to say we`ve got a particularly unpleasant image with the caption: `There`s more to life than books y`know, but not much more...` Magic Torch comics is a social enterprise. By purchasing our publications and merchandise you will help to support our work and projects while demonstrating your general excellence in good taste." 

 

Mike Robinson: "So is that a rabbit hanging by its neck?"

Brian Gerrish: "Yeah, it is a rabbit hanging by its neck and as we`re going to see, sort of death and matters unpleasant, seem to be of great interest to this Magic Torch Comics."

"But this is the first thing that caught my eye: [It] is that when you try to establish who these people are it`s not possible. So if you`re going to contact them you have to fill in one of the email boxes. You`re not talking to a person; there are no names; it`s just you contact us over the internet and we`ll respond...."

 

"This is some more of their imagery. And we`re now on the subject of witches. This is the Rowan Tree Legion, Witches at War, October 2016.  And there seems to be a preoccupation with witches because this is them tweeting out Cracking#Paisley witchcraft comics created in our team-up folk comic workshops. So they`re very big on witches; they`re big on hanging rabbits; there`s an under element of nastiness and death."

"BBC thinks a lot of them. So we get to the end of the BBC article. It says: `The Stowaways` graphic novel was originally created by Magic Torch Comics and Ardowan Primary School, Greenock. It was created as part of the Heritage Inverclyde, A Quest for Learning programme - an Inverclyde Council project delivered by Inverclyde Community Development Trust and funded by Heritage Lottery Fund Scotland`."

"And then certain people are given acknowledgement, including for some of the images; and because the story goes from Scotland over to Newfoundland you`ve got people there identified as having an input from Newfoundland. But what is this all about?"

 

"Well it just gets more interesting because if we have a look at two of the individuals mentioned there, we`ve got this gentleman, Stephen Mulvey. He was the editor of the project; and the other gentleman here is Paul Kerley... he was involved in production. So Stephen Mulvey assistant editor of BBC Digital Current Affairs `where I run the writer`s desk. Russian-speaker trying to learn Spanish`, and the other gentleman is BBC journo - `being creative with photos and sound on the BBC News website`."

"My comment on this is: `Is this news Mike or is this the creation of stories?`  I`m not quite sure what`s going on."

"But we followed some of the tweets through. So this is Magic Torch Comics retweeting #trustelder, whoever that is. `A picture`s worth a thousand words. true #dementia care stories come to life through cartoons`. So now we`ve got into a particularly mucky area I think. We`ve got people in serious places in their lives, medical conditions, but we`re now going to support that with cartoons. And we`ll bring in this one as well. They`re retweeting the History Press; and we`ve got another hanging. `Notorious pirate William Kidd was hanged for murder and five counts of piracy`. So we`ve got anonymous comics dealing in dementia and death and mental health buried into the BBC as if it was news."

"Try this one. `Bringing rebellion into the classroom`. So here`s Magic Torch Comics retweeting the Scottish Book Trust. It says: `On the most rebellious day of the year, we`re launching our Rebel writing campaign for schools. Here`s how to inspire your pupils to start sharing their rebellious tales`. Now we could take the light hearted view this is just children playing with rebellious stories, but I think there`s many teachers out there who would say they`ve got big enough problems keeping order in class without encouraging the children to be rebellious. But we`ll leave it to our viewers and listeners to make their mind up on that one. "

"This is a bit more of the detail of that Book Trust because it`s got Mental Health Benefits. `Scotland is facing a mental health and wellbeing crisis. One in three people suffer from mental illness each year and the number of people with dementia is set to double in the next 25 years`. And they say here for example that reading can reduce stress. OK that`s fine. But then we`ve got: `Reading fiction can model ways of coping with alienation or problems at school, work or in relationships`. So now it`s not just reading; this is reading in order to reframe people, Mike.  I`m going to bring that word in. But they`re working for a Scotland where everyone has an equal opportunity to thrive, no matter what their background. And then who are they working with? Alzheimer Scotland, Millennium Cohort Study [Joseph Rowntree Foundation], the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Reading for Change. So we`re getting a bit of a clue here as to what`s going on, Save the Children, University of Sussex Mindlab research."

"So this is not just about bringing books to children. This has got a highly political undertone I`m going to say, Mike, where clearly they are looking at bringing change into society via the reading habits of children."

Mike Robinson: "Yeah, but if we`re talking about University of Sussex Mindlab research, we`re also looking at how that change is implemented; what types of books provide the right type of change; what types of books don`t provide the right kind of change. So this is an academic research project as well."

Brian Gerrish: "Indeed. So let`s have a look in a bit more detail here. Here`s the Scottish Book Trust; lots of information; I encourage people to look at it, of course."

"Let`s bring in some of the people. We`ve got here Keir Bloomer, the chair, former Director of Education for Clackmannanshire Council, Chair of the Tapestry Partnership, a leading organisation in the field of teachers` professional development. Convener of the Education Committee of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. [Member of the review group which wrote `A Curriculum for Excellence` (Scotland`s national curriculum)] So OK, this man seems to have an education background.  I`d like to know a little bit more."

"But let`s bring in this one. We`ve got Andy Marchant. He works with financial services companies, management consultants and charities on their business plans; previously Managing Director and Marketing Director, Aegon, Directo Line and Royal Bank of Scotland; experience in innovation and strategy. So how does this link in with children`s books?"

Mike Robinson: "It`s not quite so clear is it?"

"Not quite so clear."

"Well what about this man? We`ve got James Saville, Director of People, Operations and Systems, UK Government Department for International Development. So he`s been DFID for the past five years. His team were the 2015 Scottish HR Network team for their response to the Ebola crisis. So he jumps from that to books. But he`s also worked for HBOS plc, financial services and oil and gas sectors. So this man is a sort of international corporatist, now apparently helping children with their reading."

"Or we`ve got Catherine Smith, former head of marketing at RBS, consultant with KPMG. But she`s a member of the Executive Board, BBC Scotland. So a bit of a coincidence."

"And we`ll bring in the last one here. I think this lady is Norwegian. She`s had a Master`s Degree in Comparative Literature but she started her marketing career in Google EMEA headquaters in Dublin."

"When I look at these people, they`re not just there to help young children with their reading skills. This is bringing in a whole layer of political and cultural change. This is the sort of stuff that George Soros would back...."


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glSsc_zSg0A

Emotional Intelligence for educators and intelligence officers

Mike Robinson is talking to David Scott on UK Column News about the MI6 television advertisement . "So this is the first time MI6 has put an advertisement on British TV and it`s quite interesting."



MI6 AD HERE

"So MI6 is now openly advertising for candidates, David, and what I found interesting about this is that they have relaxed the selection criteria.... So you must still be a British citizen but you`re not required to have one parent who has been a UK citizen, or at least has substantial ties to the UK; so they seem to be relaxing that quite a bit. And many of the mainstream media articles on this have been highlighting the fact that they seem to be particularly targeting people with immigrant status.... I`m not quite sure what MI6 is playing at here. First of all they`re supposed to be a foreign intelligence agency, not operating within the UK; so it looks like they are, perhaps, looking for people that they can send back to their home countries."

David Scott: "Well that would be rational.  I don`t know that rational is the thing to mind when you see the advert. What was that saying? It`s all about some sort of emotional intelligence and if you care enough you`re really empathetic; you`re in fact an intelligence officer...."

"Right, right. That`s right, David. And emotional intelligence is of course pure Common Purpose speak. This is part of Common Purpose agenda that you have intelligence IQ; you have cultural intelligence; that`s CQ, which is an awareness of other cultures, and you have emotional intelligence which, of course, most people of a psychopathic or sociopathic bent don`t really understand which is why they need training on the issue."

David Scott:  "Yes, and in terms of the foreign recruitment again, what are we trying to do ? What are the strategic goals? What`s the oversight? Are we actually seeing an organisation that`s following, albeit in a secret way, well understood national objectives, security and safety? Or are we seeing something with an entirely different agenda? ... The level to which it is now beyond the ken of the public as to what is being done in their name, and beyond the control of politicians, is just astounding."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcnd3usdNxo

Another look at `Emotional Intelligence`

Emotional intelligence is being used in schools to dumb children down, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds:

"Gardner (1985) explains that multiple intelligences are needed to define the complex human abilities and refers to how intelligence is measured scientifically. He states that a child who is capable of completing mathematic sums is not overall more intelligent that the next child who can express his feelings or empathise with others in his peer group. It is this reason that emotional intelligence is highlighted in education as Gardner states that there are different kinds of intelligence and none more important than the other..."

http://workforcesolutions.sssc.uk.com/new/docs/research/Emotional_Intelligence_Final.pdf

Emotional intelligence is also being used in schools as a sly means to monitor families:

 "In its linguistic and behavioural manifestations, emotional intelligence is synonymous with ‘emotional literacy’ (Goleman, 1996). This concept is now given increasing prominence in education, where curriculum advice for three to seven year olds (Foundation and Key Stage 1) specifies personal and social development as one of the six key curriculum areas (DfEE/QCA, 2000). The expectation is that, in routine teaching practice as well as special group times (‘Circle Time’) children in primary schools will be encouraged to talk to teachers and to one another and about personal and interpersonal difficulties and positive behavioural changes are to be conspicuously rewarded (Mortimer, 2003)."

http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1445055/1/U592368.pdf

See also Emotional Intelligence and Curriculum for Excellence 
http://workforcesolutions.sssc.uk.com/new/docs/research/Emotional_Intelligence_Final.pdf

The consensus for constructivism

"Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence might not, at first sight, appear to be controversial. An outsider might notice the remarkable consensus that has accompanied its development at the heart of policy for school education. The report which launched it in 2004 is still endorsed by all five political parties in the Scottish Parliament..."

"The consensus extends also to every vested interest in Scottish education. The teacher trade unions have signed up to it so enthusiastically that they have been represented on its management board. The local authorities, responsible for managing public-sector schools, offered no dissent. The universities officially accepted the ideas uncritically, with their teacher-education faculties notably enthusiastic. Even critically supportive assessments were very unusual (but see that from Professor Mark Priestley)."

"Yet the curriculum has recently been the centre of widespread disquiet. The arguments are of a uniquely Scottish kind because they pit the entire leadership class in policy against maverick outsiders. So these critiques are partly invisible. But they reflect a sense that a once-admired education system is now mediocre..."

"But the reason why the new curriculum is a plausible culprit for the decline lies in what it gets children to learn. It belongs to that strand of curricular thinking sometimes known as constructivism. The essence of this view is that studying bodies of knowledge is pedagogically ineffective. Knowledge goes quickly out of date, and learning it is dull. Children emerge allegedly unable to think for themselves, unskilled for work in the new economy, and unprepared to act as democratic citizens. Instead, children should be enabled to construct knowledge for themselves."

"The defenders of the curriculum deny that knowledge is being neglected, but the survey results and the details of the voluminous curricular documents belie that..."

"The argument against Curriculum for Excellence is ... that subject disciplines are not merely arbitrary. They are the refinement of knowledge that has been gradually built up over centuries. In relation to that knowledge, each new generation of children are no more than humble apprentices. Knowledge can therefore be emancipating, and knowledge acquired through schools provides that opportunity to people who would not get it from home. If schools stop teaching structured knowledge, then inequality of access to knowledge will widen, because the children of the well-educated and the wealthy will get it in other ways..."

http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/curriculum-for-excellence/

Discovery learning

"What individual teachers do in class is pivotal for student learning, with teaching variables – including the teaching models used – accounting for 30% of the differential in student achievement. Research has found that teaching variables are more influential on student achievement than background measures such as socio-economic status."

"In Australia, it was found that differences between classrooms within schools were greater than differences between schools. Students in classes with very effective teachers for three years in a row achieved 50% more learning than those in classes with ineffective teachers over the same period."

"There are essentially two approaches to teaching. The first is ‘explicit’ or ‘direct’ — I tell you — and the second is ‘discovery’ or ‘inquiry’ — you find out for yourself..."

"There is a strong body of research supporting a systematic, explicit approach generally, particularly when it involves learning new concepts and operations, and for students who struggle with learning. By contrast, approaches that are student-led, unsystematic, and rely largely on personal discovery have not been supported by evidence."

http://www.fivefromfive.org.au/explicit-instruction/

John Hattie on inquiry-based learning

Petition to Scottish parliament about teacher training

[Anne Glennie 2015: Scottish teachers are not being trained to teach reading according to evidence based practice]

 

[Debbie Hepplewhite: June 29 2017]

"Regardless of the country in which you reside, please do support Anne Glennie’s parliamentary petition to bring about an official enquiry in Scotland regarding teacher-education in evidence informed reading instruction:"

See here: http://www.parliament.scot/GettingInvol ... nstruction

"It is an absolute travesty that England has made good strides towards the need for systematic synthetic phonics and yet to all intents and purposes, Scotland has made a back-slide. Worryingly, this is the case in Wales too."

"How ironic that the parliamentary inquiry in England – leading to Sir Jim Rose’s exceptionally important independent review – was highly influenced by the Clackmannanshire studies in Scotland (Johnston and Watson) – and yet in Scotland itself, promotion of systematic synthetic phonics is not universal and a leading academic, Sue Ellis, (and others) works actively through official auspices to undermine the need for systematic synthetic phonics."

"Scotland also appears to be moving increasingly towards discovery learning and the official guidance, Curriculum for Excellence, is nothing short of a nightmare in its complexity and unhelpfulness for teachers in Scotland..."

http://www.iferi.org/iferi_forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=821#p1533

Fake consultations and fixed agendas

 

Speaking of Nicola Sturgeon`s answers to the crisis in Scottish education - each and every answer being a failed Tory policy - Kezia Dugdale says, "She has even flirted with opt out schools."

Well actually the Scottish government is still flirting with opt out schools with governance arrangements by head teachers as a first step.

Kezia Dugdale goes on to say: "Doesn`t this prove First Minister that if you vote SNP you get Tory?"

At this point the building erupts. It`s true, and Kezia should know since she represents the party who invented that scam.

=====================

Brian Wilson in the Scotsman draws attention to the fact that the Scottish Government is big on consultations but not so big on listening to consultees. This is most apparent after the recent consultation about governance of Scotland`s schools.

"While headlines focused on John Swinney’s prescription for the problems – giving more power to head teachers – almost no attention has been paid to the conclusions of the consultation process, published on the same day as Swinney’s statement in Holyrood. This is unfortunate since the contrast is dramatic."

"Reading the Scottish Government’s own Analysis of the Consultation Responses, it is impossible to escape the conclusion that Swinney has rejected every area of consensus to follow his own dubious path."

"More than 350 organisations and 700 individuals took the trouble to make submissions. Hundreds more attended meetings. Their conclusions appear to have been remarkably uniform – remember this is the Scottish Government’s own summary of what they said. Fundamentally, it told Swinney there was `widespread support for the current governance system and an apprehension towards further change within the existing system – there is ‘no need to fix something that is not broken’.` In case the point was missed, it stressed: `Current governance arrangements were not seen as a barrier for improvement and changing them should not be expected to address the deep-seated issues that get in the way of achieving excellence and equality for all`."

"That was not a cry of complacency but simply recognition that the whole discussion around improving performance and narrowing attainment gaps is based on the false premise that the primary issue to be addressed involves structures rather than other critical factors. Helpfully, the (Scottish Government’s own) Analysis of the Consultation Responses went on to define them. `Specifically,` it stated bluntly, `respondents thought that budget cuts and staffing issues were the two keys to barriers for improvement`."

"Which part of that does Swinney find difficulty in understanding? Or did he understand it all too well but felt, at a very personal level, he had no option other than to ignore it?"

==================================

Paul Holywood who comments reminds readers of the consultation about the Named Person legislation. This is not unrelated to the education debate since head teachers, as well as taking on new governance responsibilities, will also have Named Person duties.

"After the Supreme Court defeat, Mr Swinney pledged a three-month period of `intense engagement` – including parents and those with 'concerns' – in a consultation process designed to come up with alternative proposals which might meet the approval of the court. But he ruled out meeting with NO2NP, whose members warned more than two years ago of the problems with the scheme, and brought the legal action which resulted in the Named Person law being struck down. It has now emerged that Mr Swinney's office has failed to properly respond to parents, including some of his own constituents, seeking to become involved in the consultation process." http://no2np.org/swinney-accused-snubbing-concerned-parents-constituents/

Read more at: http://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/brian-wilson-the-snp-are-great-at-asking-for-your-views-but-nobody-s-listening-1-4483778

Breaking down society

 

Domestic Violence

"This is a very troubling situation" says David Scott on UK Column News [12 May 2017] "and it`s come from some poorly thought out legislative proposals. The sort of things they`re talking about...here are putting some sort of listening or tracking device in a toy to monitor a child who is away from one parent ... presumably to gain evidence on the other parent`s inappropriate behaviour... "

"They`re also talking about criminalising controlling behaviour and this has no definition. So it falls down to almost any sort of behaviour which could be painted as unwanted by one party. It is to be criminalised and it comes from an extension of domestic violence legislation to cover non-violent conduct. So if ... one partner is dominating another psychologically that is to be handled by domestic violence legislation and the people who ... put this idea forward are now saying well this latest proposal which comes from a fathers` organisation - Families Need Fathers I think it`s called - this is going too far. This is taking the concept of coercive behaviour as domestic violence and applying it where it shouldn`t be.  But of course the difficulty here is there are no definitions for any of these things. It is all extremely subjective and it criminalises normal behaviour and introduces the state - which is failing to prevent fraud, murder, child rape and indeed covering up all of the above - into families so that they can police families as well.

Mike Robinson: "And take more children perhaps?"

"That`s likely to be one of the end points, yes... As the state`s grip on family life gets ever more firm and the parents disappear more into the background then it`s going to be more and more children will be taken by the state ..."

 

Mike. Robinson:  "And smacking`s to become a form of domestic violence? "

"Well according to the Green Party in Scotland it should be. So this is also criminalising normal parenting... and putting the state here crucially between the child and its parent. So you`re a child. You`re told off and you don`t like the way it went down. So you phone the police ... because a child is not going to realise the horrible implications that has for the child itself and for the whole wider family ..."

"So is this because the Named Person scheme has more or less failed. Is it an attempt by the Scottish government to find other ways to sidle their way into family life?"

"I don`t know if this is exactly cause and effect because of the resistance to the Named Person but it`s certainly coming from the same stable of ideas where the family is seen as dangerous and toxic and the state is seen as all good, all knowing and the saviour of the innocent."

The gender unicorn

"OK, then tell us about gender then."

"This is a gender unicorn. I was quite surprised by this. This is coming from a gender fluid, transgender activist group in America who are now operating in the field of educational resources. That is what the `er` in the title stands for and the gender unicorn is a concept - and there is a colouring book - and a lesson being given to schoolchildren and they`re asked to plot their own gender identity in these various ways ... So you can be a certain gender: male, female, other. I`m not quite sure what `other` is ... and then how that expresses itself. The gender expression is largely how you dress - so we`re one step away from the fashion police here - who you`re physically attracted to and who you`re emotionally attracted to ... I think that`s what you used to call friendship ... and what this will of course do is promote confusion..."

"David, is sex assigned at birth?"

"Apparently so. .. It`s not real, right. The fallacy, the nonsense they`re trying to get across is that your gender is a social construct. It`s fluid. It`s whatever you want it to be. There`s no underlying scientific basis to say whether you`re male or female which is of course garbage and this is being taught to our children. It`s worrying. It`s completely nonsensical. It`s going to be exploited for a whole lot of ill I suspect because on one level it`s confusion and on another level it could easily be termed child abuse because what are you doing here? Who`s grooming people? Who`s introducing ideas into children that will blight their lives? There is a requirement for people to be a bit more responsible I would have thought."

Brian Gerrish: "David, I`ll just come in on this one. I`ll just say.... my personal opinion, I`ve pushed most strongly, that these agendas are certainly not nonsense. The agenda is calculated, it`s constructed in order to do a job which is to attack the minds of young children. It`s certainly there to help break down traditional heterosexual families. This is very very sinister applied behavioural psychology in order to destroy. This is not there to help create happy, loving family environments and people who are comfortable with their gender ... This is a calculated political agenda that has been created. The resources have been created through organisations like this particular one and of course if you go into it a little bit further somebody is funding this stuff. So ... yes many of us regard it as nonsense but the reality is this is a calculated political agenda designed to break down society as we know it. It`s very dangerous."

"Would you like to hear ... TSER`s mission?"

"Trans Student Educational Resources is a youth-led organisation dedicated to transforming the educational environment for trans and gender nonconforming students through advocacy and empowerment. In addition to our focus on creating a more trans-friendly education system, our mission is to educate the public and teach trans activists how to be effective organisers. We believe that justice for trans and gender non-conforming youth is contingent on an intersectional framework of activism. Ending oppression is a long-term process that can only be achieved through collaborative action."

"Is this Soros funded?" asks Brian Gerrish. "I mean that language to me is Open Society. This is change agent material."

"It is, it`s change agent and it`s also saying there is no end . It`s a long term process. So it never ends... There`s never any end to human differences. When there`s differences there`s some form of oppression going on, and we must get in there and we must fight that oppression and break down society until the oppression goes but the oppression never goes. So it`s a never ending attack on society. It`s extremely nihilistic when you get right down to it."

Curriculum for Excellence

 

"The school attainment levels in numeracy and literacy are plummeting and Scotland is plummeting down the educational scale at the international level."

Mike Robinson: "That`s a pretty impressive thing to have happened because of course Scotland and Northern Ireland had traditionally  better education systems than the rest of the UK."

"This was true. It is no longer true. The degree of decline, the steepness of the decline is really quite striking. So you`re not talking about a generational change. You`re not talking about having a completely new group of teachers coming through and being educated in a different way... it`s much more rapid than that. So you`re talking about things which have changed in the organisation of the existing resources. So this is .... Curriculum for Excellence. You can always tell a government programme and what it`s actually going to do by simply reversing the words ... and Girfec, Getting it Right for Every Child. When the Minister responsible, John Swinney, was standing in the Scottish parliament this week trying to explain why the levels of illiteracy in Scotland had doubled he was saying that we are going to remove bureaucracy. This is the bureaucracy the government applied and forced into the school. We`re going to remove it and concentrate on reading, on literacy, on numeracy and on health and wellbeing. So those are the three things. ... Do you notice anything strange about that list?"

"Well literacy and numeracy, we all got when we were at school... Health and wellbeing is up there with the other two in that the number of objectives that schools have to satisfy in health and wellbeing is more ... numerous than the numeracy requirements...  Now health and wellbeing sounds quite benign but it`s not because health and wellbeing is GIRFEC, which is happiness, which is how you think and how you behave. It`s reframing how you act. It`s essentially doing the parents` jobs for them, or seeking to. It`s changing how people think. You then get into sex ed, death ed and all of these things and that reframes how people approach these parts of life. It`s to change society. So the three things we`re trying to do is numeracy, literacy and change society. And because one of those things is actually harmful and taking up a lot of time - even if not harmful - the other two are, not surprisingly, suffering."

Update: Melanie Shaw

Melanie has been transferred to New Hall prison where she is being treated much better than at Foston Hall. She is able to take part in activities and mix with other prisoners. Melanie believes she will be released in July and thanks everyone who has continued to support her.

Brian and Janice Docherty

David Scott informs viewers and listeners that the situation for the Dochertys has improved and they are in contact with support and practical help. Having to go short of food and sleeping rough sometimes  had major health impacts but they are now recovering. "We hope this is the start of the turn around."

 

Mike Robinson. "So last week on Friday you mentioned that you had met Brian and Janice and we knew that they were not missing. But all of a sudden on Wednesday I think it was a whole flurry of articles appeared in the Londonderry Donegal area on various local news websites They all had the same headline. They all had the same text. And it said: Appeal issued over missing couple Brian and Janice Docherty. The PSNI in Derry are appealing for anyone who has seen or knows the whereabouts of Brian and Janice Docherty. They`ve been residing in the city. Brian and Janice Docherty were reported as missing to police last Thursday May 4. A PSNI spokesperson said: Police have received ... information that they may be in the republic of Ireland close to Letterkenny. If you have any information that may help locate Brian and Janice Docherty missing since Thursday 4th May please contact PSNI on 101 or Gardai ... and the number is given. Now this is very interesting for a number of reasons, David. First of all because we knew that they weren`t missing and second of all because every single one of these news outlets had used a copyrighted image which you took of Brian and Janice the first time you met them and this was used without permission."

"And so I approached each of these outlets and asked what they thought they were doing breaking copyright law in this way? And they all came back saying `Oh my goodness. We put this up in good faith. It was sent to us as a press release by Police Service Northern Ireland. And so I have been in contact with Police Service Northern Ireland and I`m waiting for a proper response from them at the moment to explain why they have used an image which they had no right to use in this appeal that they`ve issued. And of course they may just try to justify this by saying well it`s a missing persons issue so we chose an image, the best image we could find, which would help people locate Brian and Janice. But the fact is David that we had announced our knowledge of where they were - at least our knowledge that they were safe and well - five days prior to this press release going out. So to my mind this ... can be nothing other than intent by PSNI to intimidate Brian and Janice, to let them know that PSNI is watching them and I can`t see any other explanation."

David Scott. "There`s no good explanation for it. Let`s remember that Brian and Janice Docherty have broken no law ever. They`re not wanted for anything. ... And yet, and this is not the first time this has happened., they have consistently said they`re under surveillance. Whenever they get to a position where the authorities do not know their whereabouts they`re reported missing. Reported missing by whom I wonder? Not by their friends and relatives. They haven`t been in contact with friends and relatives. So who`s reporting them missing constantly, and why ? What`s the agenda here? Because if you go on holiday to Ireland you wouldn`t expect within five days the Gardai to track you down saying you`ve been reported missing. That wouldn`t be your normal expectation....but that is what happened when they first went to Ireland."

Brian Gerrish: "David I think I can assist a bit here because I`d like to take our audience today back to 1997-98."

He talks about the Bonnie Lewis case (not her real name) which involved Neath Port Talbot social services who falsely reported Bonnie missing in order to snatch her away from the US hospital where she had been successfully diagnosed for her medical condition which up to that point had been mismanaged in the UK.

David Scott. "And mental health services are so often the way these tracks are covered... As people fight what they clearly see as being things which are wrong and fight for truth and fight for justice they find ever more branches of the state reigned against them and they find their situation gets steadily worse rather than the justice they seek provided."

Tim Farron and unaccompanied Syrian children

Mike Robinson asks viewers to share his video which can be found on his Facebook page where he talks about Tim Farron who has made bringing unaccompanied Syrian children into the UK an election issue. Yet according to Mike Robinson in over a year he has never answered his questions about how he intends to ensure the safety of the children brought into the UK. It is important to recall that thousands of children living in the UK go missing from the care system every year. This is a matter that all MPs have known about since 2012 and all need to be pressed for answers. What are they going to do to help protect children in the care system?"

 

Dr Saleyha Ahsan, Dundee University

 

"The Dundee years and their lasting impact on a life that took the road less travelled - Dr Saleyha Ahsan."

"Saleyha is a medicine graduate of the University of Dundee, class of 2006. Before her time here, she was the first British Muslim woman to graduate from the royal military academy Sandhurst as an army officer and went on to serve in the royal army medical corps with an operational tour of Bosnia. While studying medicine, after leaving the army she was awarded an award for her care of the elderly attachment and developed her career as a filmmaker."

"As well as her work as an A&E doctor, Saleyha has had an impactful career as a television presenter, journalist, filmmaker, screenplay writer and has made documentaries focusing on the devastating impact on access to healthcare during war and has spent extended periods of time embedded with frontline medics."

For those in the area who are interested, Dr Saleyha Ahsan will be giving a talk on Saturday 13 May 2017 at Dundee University. Please ask her about the part she played in the BBC Panorama documentary `Saving Syria`s Children.`

See Saleyha Ahsan`s contradictory accounts of the alleged chemical incident in Robert Stuart`s blog below:

https://bbcpanoramasavingsyriaschildren.wordpress.com/2016/03/26/dr-saleyha-ahsan-contradictions-in-accounts-of-alleged-incendiary-bomb-attack/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z72jIbvY900&t=505s　

Standardised testing criticised by international adviser

"Standardised testing is due to be rolled out across Scotland this August in reading, writing and maths in P1, P4, P7 and S3, with the Scottish Government insisting the move will not lead to ‘high stakes’ tests and league tables."

"But speaking to a conference of teachers in Rotterdam this morning, Professor Andy Hargreaves of the Lynch School of Education in Boston, who is one of the Scottish Government’s international education advisers, called standardised testing an `attack on decisional capital`.

http://www.holyrood.com/articles/news/top-adviser-john-swinney-attack-standardised-testing

The fake curriculum

"Learning and teaching are at the heart of an effective curriculum. We now know much more about how children and young people learn and it’s imperative that we all understand that how we teach is as important as what we teach."

"Establishments will have an increased focus on the science of learning, including  multiple intelligences, how the brain works,
critical thinking skills, gender in education and different learning styles."

http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=12231

So says Gasgow City Council Education Services [2009] and time is proving them wrong.

"Teaching children according to their individual `learning style` does not achieve better results and should be ditched by schools in favour of evidence-based practice, according to leading scientists."

"Thirty eminent academics from the worlds of neuroscience, education and psychology have signed a letter to the Guardian voicing their concern about the popularity of the learning style approach among some teachers."

"They say it is ineffective, a waste of resources and potentially even damaging as it can lead to a fixed approach that could impair pupils’ potential to apply or adapt themselves to different ways of learning."

"The group opposes the theory that learning is more effective if pupils are taught using an individual approach identified as their personal `learning style`. Some pupils, for example, are identified as having a `listening` style and could therefore be taught with storytelling and discussion rather than written exercises."

"The letter describes that approach as `one of a number of common neuromyths that do nothing to enhance education`. It is signed by Steven Pinker, Johnstone family professor of psychology at Harvard University; Dorothy Bishop, professor of developmental neuropsychology at the University of Oxford; and leading neuroscientist Prof Uta Frith of University College London among others." 

Read more https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/mar/12/no-evidence-to-back-idea-of-learning-styles

Pupils are finding it harder to pass maths courses

"Students are drifting towards 'easier' subjects, government and qualifications body are warned." [Particularly those from more disadvantaged backgrounds thus widening the attainment gap.]

"Maths teachers have issued a stark warning to the Scottish government that changes to qualifications are making it harder for pupils to pass courses and have left staff feeling `demoralised`."

"The concerns are set out in a letter to education secretary John Swinney from the Mathematics Advisory Group Scotland (MAGS), seen by TESS."

Teachers feel that there is `too big a gap` between National 4 and National 5 maths, compared with their equivalent levels in the now-defunct Standard Grade qualification, the letter says. This `excludes hard-working candidates` who want to improve their maths skills but struggle with N5; only about two-thirds of the number completing N5 English gain an N5 in maths."

"In many cases, pupils `cannot achieve [N5] mathematics while they can achieve [N5] in many other subjects`, says the letter, which has also been sent to unions and the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA)."

"The removal of unit assessments across all subjects at N5 from 2017-18 – a move announced by Mr Swinney last year in response to teaching unions’ concerns about workload – will only make matters worse, warns the letter."

https://www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-news/maths-teachers-demoralised-their-subject-slides-popularity

School inspections have halved in last ten years

"THE number of Scottish school inspections has halved over the last decade. Just one in 18 schools are inspected in Scotland, compared to one in four in England, according to a Sunday Post Freedom of Information request. Education Scotland has 2627 schools within its remit, but just 5% – 22 secondary, 102 primary and 19 special schools – were subject to spot checks last year."

"Bosses at the under-fire inspectorate have now pledged to step up the number of inspections. They said Education Scotland has focused on helping teachers implement the Curriculum for Excellence." What an excuse !

"But Scottish Labour’s education spokesman Iain Gray described the figures as `worrying`. The MSP added: `We need much more regular inspections, especially to monitor the impact of SNP cuts to our schools. Instead it looks like the SNP is happy to turn a blind eye, despite slashing £1.5 billion from the budgets of local councils since 2011`."

https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/worrying-fall-in-scots-school-inspector-visits/

UN indoctrination programme gets a green flag

Eco-Schools:

"We are also celebrating Scotland becoming the first country worldwide to award 2,000 Eco-Schools Green Flags in the largest global sustainable schools programme."

"For more than two decades we have managed the international Eco-Schools programme in Scotland, engaging with 98.5% of our schools. And Scotland has achieved a number of firsts under the sustainability programme, being the first country to include fully integrated Learning for Sustainability into the curriculum and linking the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to the Eco-Schools programme."

^{http://www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/news/sustainable-development-education/eco-schools/world-first-for-eco-schools-scotland/}

Perthshire school asks parents to help teach maths

As each day goes by it becomes more of a mystery how deputy first minister John Swinney is going to close the educational attainment gap:

"A Perthshire school struck by a chronic staff shortage is asking parents to help teach maths just weeks before the start of exams key to the children’s future."

"In a letter seen by The Courier, Blairgowrie High School head teacher Bev Leslie said the combination of one teacher leaving for a new job in Fife and another being `absent from work` has led to the extreme solution being sought."

"The revelation will cause discomfort for Perthshire North MSP John Swinney, the education secretary, particularly as it is his local high school."

"The Deputy First Minister has come under fire for nationwide shortages and last month announced £3 million to train an extra 371 teachers next year."

"During a recent Holyrood vote, where MSPs declared the SNP administration is `failing` pupils, Labour claimed that teacher numbers have fallen by 4,000 since the SNP came to power in 2007."

"Mrs Leslie wrote that interviews will take place to hire one teacher later this month, while another recruit is expected to arrive in August."

https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/politics/scottish-politics/385408/exclusive-plea-for-parents-to-teach-maths-amid-staff-shortage-at-john-swinneys-local-school/

Why subject choice matters

Professor Emer Smyth, from the Economic and Social Research Institute, Dublin, delivered a talk: Why and How National Institutional Factors Matter as part of the AQMeN event 'Social Inequalities in Education`.

She compared the Irish and Scottish system of selecting pupils for the transition to higher education which at upper secondary level has key differences.

She believes there is much more flexibility in the Scottish system, not only in the type of subjects that students study but also in the number of subjects they study. It is also the case that there are no compulsory subjects. Ireland has three: mathematics, English and Irish. Yet in Scotland subjects play a role in selection to higher education especially for the more prestigious universities. In Ireland subject choice plays a relatively minor role. It is the grades which students obtain in their six best subjects which are much more important for selection.

These differences in the two education systems have consequences.

In Scotland there is a clear social class gradient which shows that students from middle class backgrounds are more likely to take the facilitating subjects. Facilitating subjects are the ones that universities are looking for. Pupils from more disadvantaged backgrounds tend to opt for more quasi-vocational classes.

Inequality is explained by the subjects that the social classes take and the grades they achieve. Subject choice is a bigger factor in class differences.

 

At upper secondary level, subject choice explains more of the social gap with regard to entry to higher education in Scotland than in Ireland.

Greater flexibility in Scotland has had an unintended consequence for HE in the number and type of subjects taken. Early subject choice in Scotland has had very significant long term implications for the pathways that are open to, or closed to, certain groups of young people.

-------------------------------

There is a further complexity. Although personalised pathways are put forward as part of Curriculum for Excellence in Scotland, it is easier to discard academic subjects for some pupils than it is to take the academic subjects that they wish to study. Places are restricted by the school. Some pupils are reduced to tears because even when they are allowed to study a subject they are told they cannot sit the examination. In the latter stages of their education some children have to travel to hubs because their school does not offer the subject at all. All of this is a disincentive to some students. These problems do not occur to the same extent in middle class areas. After all, the adults would be up in arms if they did.

So what the Scottish government is saying about closing the attainment gap is not matched by what they are doing through Curriculum for Excellence.

It means the idea of homing in on two and three-year-olds as a way to deal with social class differences is complete nonsense and will never solve the problems they have created.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEboxut6-7I

Changing demands are taking their toll

 

Pupils at St Roch`s secondary school in Glasgow enjoyed taking part in the project to mark the 100 years since the start of the First World War. They partnered with schools across seven European countries where they had the opportunity to make new penpals.

There was also a logo competition, powerpoints, posters, trips around memorials and photographs to post to their partners in Europe.

The project provided international collaboration, knowledge of other cultures, global citizenship - for some reason that seems to be very important - and a different way of doing things with pupils teaching pupils.

No doubt some pupils enjoyed it. It beats having to sit in a classroom listening to the teacher droning on about the First World War.

Unfortunately, this type of work will not prepare schoolchildren for a history exam. For that they would have to learn to write essays on history topics rather than colouring in a poster. I am not being facetious because I do know what happens when too much time is wasted in school.

In another secondary school in Glasgow, pupils preparing for exams have been asked to attend school on Saturday mornings and two evenings a week in addition to their usual timetable. Why? Because otherwise there is not enough time to catch up with everything they need to know for the exam. You can imagine the outcry.

===============================

"Expert says every school in Scotland should have a counsellor to help deal with teaching's unique demands."

"Nearly half of respondents to a poll on teacher wellbeing said their mental health was poor, fuelling fears that growing numbers are struggling to cope with the profession’s changing demands."

"A significant proportion also take medication because of their job. And the convener of a national mental health helpline has said that the demands of teaching are so exceptional that a counsellor should be stationed in every school..."

"The survey was started earlier this month by Jenny Harvey, a Fife special needs teacher, who was taken aback by the volume of responses – 778 at the last count..."

"Ms Harvey was surprised by some findings, such as almost every respondent having felt the "heavy burden" of guilt about the educational experience they offered pupils."

https://www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-news/nearly-half-teachers-struggling-mental-health-survey-suggests

Curriculum for Excellence it`s called. Not much teaching. Just changing demands. It`s been a disaster.

4-year-olds are to be taught about healthy relationships

"Children from the age of four are expected to be taught about healthy relationships in the classroom, the Government has announced."

"Education Secretary Justine Greening is to make sex and relationship education compulsory in all schools in England."

"There has been a concerted campaign by backbench MPs - including former cabinet secretaries Maria Miller and Nicky Morgan - to better protect children in an internet age."

"In a written statement, the Government has outlined its proposals for a new system for sex and relationship education from primary through to secondary school in a bid to see off a rebellion."

"It makes `age appropriate` sex and relationship education compulsory."

http://news.sky.com/story/four-year-olds-to-get-relationship-education-in-the-classroom-10785450

Catching up with Scotland eh?

This has been going on in Glasgow for a number of years and although it is acceptable to remove your child from sex education, you are warned that teaching about relationships occurs across the curriculum. In other words, it is impossible to remove your child in any realistic way from any of this.

I remember being in my father`s house a few years ago - he was in his nineties - and his house was like a museum with all sorts of interesting relics scattered about the place. My small grandson liked to explore and investigate.

One day he reached for a letter on the mantelpiece and I had to say: "Don`t touch that. That`s private."

Immediately he grabbed himself and said: "No, you don`t touch private parts."

I was so embarrassed and felt instantly on the defensive. I said to my father: "Oh they get that at school." Fortunately, he was also a bit deaf as well as being distracted and he did not understand the nature of the exchange.

But I don`t thank the school. The word `private` no longer means what it used to mean to young children and these ideas once planted can never be removed.

As for keeping young children safe, that is nonsense. At one time it was possible to say of any child speaking or acting inappropriately: `Oh a young child should not know about that.` It would raise suspicion that the child might have been abused.  But that cannot happen any more.　

Pupils undergo an early intervention programme in Glasgow

They might not get equal educational opportunities but pupils in deprived areas are proving to be a useful resource:

"A school in one of Glasgow's most deprived areas is training parents, pupils and staff in how to cope with stress."

"As part of the pilot, all S4 pupils at St Paul's High School in Pollok were assessed before the programme began."

"About 40% showed high levels of anxiety and depression, well above the national average."

"This dropped to about 20% by the end of the programme which aims to intervene early to prevent longer-term problems."

"Across Scotland, one in 10 adults is currently being prescribed an antidepressant."

"Almost half of all adults with mental health problems developed them before they left school."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-39067388

I`m always in two minds about this kind of thing because I wouldn`t want to deny anybody a stress-busting class. But I still think this is not the role for schoolteachers.

Schools themselves create an awful lot of the stress.

It looks like the focus on wellbeing, engagement and fun learning - the GIRFEC approach - is not working. The figures quoted in the article are quite shocking.

No, this is data mining, experimentation and mental health on the cheap. And not a thought about patient confidentiality.