The snow falls and the circus starts.
A bit of snow in the South East, the odd minor celeb gets stuck in their car for an hour, this will keep the meejah going for ever.
We got buried in February and it didn't warrant a aplash all over the telly.
That's the media world focused on London for you.
Rhys
Friday, 18 December 2009
Wednesday, 16 December 2009
Education and learning.
I think I sort of hit on something that has been bugging me last night.
It seems to me that education is becoming exactly that, education and not about learning to live or gaining useful skills.
The kids from our valley school were introduced to a range of things and skills from an early age.
The school was an organic part of the community, the community would throw in money that larger schools found incredible.
12 years ago the school barbecue raised 1500 pounds or put another way about 30 pounds for every pupil on the roll.
But that was the school as part of community and community engaged with school.
Education to me has started to feel like a production line, the targets that should indicate good performance but set within a broader framework of learning have become the sole aim of the school.
Children are components moving along the line with the ones that the system will not engage defined as: dyslexic, autistic, ADHD,ODD.
Problems individualised and externalized.
The system is fine, the boxes are all ticked.
In social work too; did the stat r happen? Was it inside the time framework?
Tick Tick, that's fine.
Did it address the issues robustly? Was it properly recorded? Did everyone concerned turn up?
The important questions do not generate simple boxes for ticking.
So important things are not measured, because they do not generate simplistic boxes for ticks.
You can run a service that does not even get to worst practice, do all the process badly but on time and you come up with a gold star.
A few years back everyone talked about how the introduction of MINIMUM standards in foster care would drive up practice, how wrong they were. They defined the minimum you could get away with and that's what everyone now aims for.
Small wonder Social Work is a mess.
R
It seems to me that education is becoming exactly that, education and not about learning to live or gaining useful skills.
The kids from our valley school were introduced to a range of things and skills from an early age.
The school was an organic part of the community, the community would throw in money that larger schools found incredible.
12 years ago the school barbecue raised 1500 pounds or put another way about 30 pounds for every pupil on the roll.
But that was the school as part of community and community engaged with school.
Education to me has started to feel like a production line, the targets that should indicate good performance but set within a broader framework of learning have become the sole aim of the school.
Children are components moving along the line with the ones that the system will not engage defined as: dyslexic, autistic, ADHD,ODD.
Problems individualised and externalized.
The system is fine, the boxes are all ticked.
In social work too; did the stat r happen? Was it inside the time framework?
Tick Tick, that's fine.
Did it address the issues robustly? Was it properly recorded? Did everyone concerned turn up?
The important questions do not generate simple boxes for ticking.
So important things are not measured, because they do not generate simplistic boxes for ticks.
You can run a service that does not even get to worst practice, do all the process badly but on time and you come up with a gold star.
A few years back everyone talked about how the introduction of MINIMUM standards in foster care would drive up practice, how wrong they were. They defined the minimum you could get away with and that's what everyone now aims for.
Small wonder Social Work is a mess.
R
Tuesday, 15 December 2009
Fin de siecle...
Every year for, well it's either 14 or 15 years around this time of the year I have been dealt an evening of torture.
This is the annual primary school Xmas concert.
This starts with the percussion band, bashing away on things to music.
Then things escalate, out come the recorders and the violins, the horrendous caterwauling din grates the ear till the point where the will to live has left.
Finally you get the two plays, one by the infants and the other by the juniors.
And here, this year, we went out on a high.
When we first started, the school was very firmly located in community. Teachers were alumni, who lived in the valley, the annual concert was scripted by the teachers and it was a collection of pieces with a firm local focus on local issues.
In short, it was hilarious.
Some few years back the staff changed and they commuted in.
Far easier than writing a play was buying one in.
You felt the disengagement.
But not this year, the play was not written by the staff it was another bought in item, it had been twisted to make the theme local though.
The performances very polished, young people displaying quite astonishing talent, like an X factor without the hype.
One of the great things about a little school is that in the Xmas concert there is a part for everyone and everyone does their part.
A 250 pupil school has a limited role for a few in the Xmas concert.
A 25 pupil school has a cast of 25.
It shows, in secondary school this primary school's children stand out, they have a certain something. A confidence in front of people that is inculcated by being part of the school concert from the age of three.
But enough of this ramble, tonight was the last school concert I have to go to, next year we will have no children at this school, the one that at times we have as a family represented 20 percent of the roll.
My little Bethan (first one at the school and 17) is doing a number at the high school talent show this week, Lovers Gold by Ella Fitzgerald. A really simple song, OK not at all, but she can do that in front of 1000 people because she did simple stuff in front of 100 people when she was 4. A skill as valuable as the A levels she does this year.
The challenge for the education establishment is to reinvent that as a target to be met and a box into which a tick can be put.
Ramble over.....
But, it will be very odd next year, no need to go and endure the torturous rasp of recorders.
I think I am glad...
R
This is the annual primary school Xmas concert.
This starts with the percussion band, bashing away on things to music.
Then things escalate, out come the recorders and the violins, the horrendous caterwauling din grates the ear till the point where the will to live has left.
Finally you get the two plays, one by the infants and the other by the juniors.
And here, this year, we went out on a high.
When we first started, the school was very firmly located in community. Teachers were alumni, who lived in the valley, the annual concert was scripted by the teachers and it was a collection of pieces with a firm local focus on local issues.
In short, it was hilarious.
Some few years back the staff changed and they commuted in.
Far easier than writing a play was buying one in.
You felt the disengagement.
But not this year, the play was not written by the staff it was another bought in item, it had been twisted to make the theme local though.
The performances very polished, young people displaying quite astonishing talent, like an X factor without the hype.
One of the great things about a little school is that in the Xmas concert there is a part for everyone and everyone does their part.
A 250 pupil school has a limited role for a few in the Xmas concert.
A 25 pupil school has a cast of 25.
It shows, in secondary school this primary school's children stand out, they have a certain something. A confidence in front of people that is inculcated by being part of the school concert from the age of three.
But enough of this ramble, tonight was the last school concert I have to go to, next year we will have no children at this school, the one that at times we have as a family represented 20 percent of the roll.
My little Bethan (first one at the school and 17) is doing a number at the high school talent show this week, Lovers Gold by Ella Fitzgerald. A really simple song, OK not at all, but she can do that in front of 1000 people because she did simple stuff in front of 100 people when she was 4. A skill as valuable as the A levels she does this year.
The challenge for the education establishment is to reinvent that as a target to be met and a box into which a tick can be put.
Ramble over.....
But, it will be very odd next year, no need to go and endure the torturous rasp of recorders.
I think I am glad...
R
Monday, 14 December 2009
It makes you sad
WE had sort of picked up on the odd bit of: atrmosphere, tension, niggle call it what you will.
Young D's SW was maybe too into good social work and unwilling to toe the party line.
Whatever the reason, he has now gone sick long term.
The case is to be re allocated, so we are told. Re alocated can mean all sorts of things.
Mum has a PHd in mayhem and given a quarter of a chance might well wreak everything for her children. It's not a willful thing she can't help being the person she is.
All it needs is to have a "nice" social worker allocated who will not put the child's needs over a desire to keep mum quiet and we are all doomed.
7 years work can unravel in weeks if you have a skill for doing it.
Could be interesting times ahead.
R
Young D's SW was maybe too into good social work and unwilling to toe the party line.
Whatever the reason, he has now gone sick long term.
The case is to be re allocated, so we are told. Re alocated can mean all sorts of things.
Mum has a PHd in mayhem and given a quarter of a chance might well wreak everything for her children. It's not a willful thing she can't help being the person she is.
All it needs is to have a "nice" social worker allocated who will not put the child's needs over a desire to keep mum quiet and we are all doomed.
7 years work can unravel in weeks if you have a skill for doing it.
Could be interesting times ahead.
R
Saturday, 12 December 2009
Attention
Tina, in her blog, recently wrote of the delights of getting two kittens for her children.
Wrong, she got: a whole family, kids, adults and human hutch to amuse two kittens .
There is no way you own a cat, a cat is far two wilfull, cunning and clever to be owned by anything.
Here you have DaMan.
Da man knows he is the boss, food human or cat? That's his. The fire? That's his, Our bed? His, Anything else? His.
Well OK maybe not the vet.
He is a role model for disability, not only does he not accept any limit to disability, he dosn't seem to think he is disabled at all.
You can't really see (he conceals it well) but he only has three legs and we are secretly glad, three legs gives us a fighting chance. Four and we could not keep any control on him at all.
I had to go and go and get him recently from the field next door where he was trying to steal some beef. Trouble was the beef concerned was still on the hoof. Da man was trying to bring down a cow by hanging on it's tail.
Tonight, management has put her foot down, DaMan is a cat and cats live outside, so DaMan lives outside.
So he is outside, well maybe not quite outside, he is sat next to me, on one of "his" chairs.
At least he is not on the computer.
Da man on the computer does not mean the same thing as me being on the computer.
R
Friday, 11 December 2009
Starry starry night.
With the clouds gone the nights breathe crystal clear.
One of the truly great things about here is the low levels of light pollution.
Nothing helps you lose any idea that you are important, relevant or something in the scheme of things than standing outside in the light of countless stars, galaxies and invisible worlds.
Knowing that there were no humans when the light you see now left many of them.
That this world will probably end before the light that leaves them now arrives here.
Certainly I will be nothing, gone, not even a creature of living memory.
Makes you feel small.
But it also puts the things that bother you and take up your time into a proper perspective.
Today we were splitting wood, tomorrow we chop wood, tonight we are warm and know we are tiny and inconspicuous, just like all those people who think they are very very important and think their names will live forever....
Over my bed tonight the Velux window will pass a blanket of stars.
There are people out there who are wealthy, others live rich lives.
Poverty has many forms.....
For me, wealth is living with the management.
Please don't tell her...
R
One of the truly great things about here is the low levels of light pollution.
Nothing helps you lose any idea that you are important, relevant or something in the scheme of things than standing outside in the light of countless stars, galaxies and invisible worlds.
Knowing that there were no humans when the light you see now left many of them.
That this world will probably end before the light that leaves them now arrives here.
Certainly I will be nothing, gone, not even a creature of living memory.
Makes you feel small.
But it also puts the things that bother you and take up your time into a proper perspective.
Today we were splitting wood, tomorrow we chop wood, tonight we are warm and know we are tiny and inconspicuous, just like all those people who think they are very very important and think their names will live forever....
Over my bed tonight the Velux window will pass a blanket of stars.
There are people out there who are wealthy, others live rich lives.
Poverty has many forms.....
For me, wealth is living with the management.
Please don't tell her...
R
Thursday, 10 December 2009
A dry day!!!!!
Today has been that wonderful thing a dry day.
A couple of loads of firewood cut in the lovely crisp clear December sun.
Reached some serious hardwood in the pile though. This morning we were tearing the wood up. This afternoon progress was pitiful. My though, the hardwood burns wonderfully when it dries out a bit and that's one of those chicken and egg dilemmas.
Having brought it into the house we needed the fire raging to dry it. Which of course needed dry wood not the wet stuff we had in the house. A quick raid on the garage and we got things going. Now we have dry hardwood and my is is getting warm here and my is it cold outside. The oil central heating is OFF.
We still have a telephone line that sounds like several bowls of rice crispies and the promise of yet more BT engineers descending on the place. This time they intend to test everything from here to the exchange, I would swap test for a repair that works but there we are...
The weather is turning a lot colder, so tomorrow I need to make the Fire engines ready for winter by making sure there is not a drop of water anywhere in their tank and pump systems.
But there was good news, Big D has a social worker, well OK a name, the contact service got in touch to try and organise contact for him. Because of all the delays and messing about it might not be before Xmas, but at least it will now happen, well, it may happen...
And this is before the cuts start....
R
A couple of loads of firewood cut in the lovely crisp clear December sun.
Reached some serious hardwood in the pile though. This morning we were tearing the wood up. This afternoon progress was pitiful. My though, the hardwood burns wonderfully when it dries out a bit and that's one of those chicken and egg dilemmas.
Having brought it into the house we needed the fire raging to dry it. Which of course needed dry wood not the wet stuff we had in the house. A quick raid on the garage and we got things going. Now we have dry hardwood and my is is getting warm here and my is it cold outside. The oil central heating is OFF.
We still have a telephone line that sounds like several bowls of rice crispies and the promise of yet more BT engineers descending on the place. This time they intend to test everything from here to the exchange, I would swap test for a repair that works but there we are...
The weather is turning a lot colder, so tomorrow I need to make the Fire engines ready for winter by making sure there is not a drop of water anywhere in their tank and pump systems.
But there was good news, Big D has a social worker, well OK a name, the contact service got in touch to try and organise contact for him. Because of all the delays and messing about it might not be before Xmas, but at least it will now happen, well, it may happen...
And this is before the cuts start....
R
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