The UK's Exam Results have got to be a joke...

[p_p_man]

Later today (most of you will see it as tomorrow) students in the UK will be receiving their exam result for entry into University and other Higher Education.

The radio has just come on that it's a time for celebration because for the "18th year in a row more students have passed and overall the marks have increased."

Despite contradictions issued by Employees Organisations that they see nothing of the kind our Government have been trotting out these doctored figures on a yearly basis.

Most people realise it's just not true. But year after year new records are broken.

At this rate we will soon be in the position of the old Soviet Union where the number of votes far exceeded the number of voters but in our case it will be the number of passes will exceed the number of possible passes.

Sheesh...Governments...why do they fucking bother!

 

[Cherry]

Yup ... and I noticed

the kids in Northern Ireland did better than those in Wales and Britain.

 

[p_p_man]

You've just got to feel sorry for the kids in the whole of the UK.

They're getting these highly suspect exam results, go on to other things and find they're struggling big time.

Universities have complained, employers have complained, parents have questioned and the media have voiced their suspicions. But still these results are trotted out.

And yesterday our unemployment figures have dropped yet again for the 18th straight month to a figure less than 1,000,000 with the service industries getting the credit for offsetting their boom against heavy industry's slump.

And in some Job Centres for the first time in decades there are more jobs than people to fill them.

I mean, I knew things were good, but not that good.

The only thing I can think of is that the Government don't want new people joining the labour force just yet, and prefer to produce artificial exam results to keep as many youngsters in education for as long as possible.

 

[p_p_man]

The First Editions are now out...

and they're calling it "rampant grade inflation", so the cycle starts again.

Oh well....

 

[Young Knave]

Kind of makes me wonder about all those test results that are supposed to be telling is how stupid we americans are. Especially when you consider the amount of scientific and technological innovation that comes out of the US.

 

[Closet Desire]

Nobody is suggesting...

...that the US is stupid...at least I haven't. The UK does indeed have a ridiculously over rigid qualification regimen for university. So much so that now many universities are ignoring the tests. (We are leaving in a few minutes to collect my middle son's AS results).

At the same time the UK is very pragmatic about who makes good university material and who doesn't. Some folks are not going to be rocket scientists or doctors--they are going to work in sales, services, food, etc (my oldest son included)--and the system is geared up to better qualify them for those jobs.

On the flip side a report came out yesterday noting that the dropout rate among US university students is 58%. Analysts attribute this to the expectation that every student in America should have access to a university education. This flies in the face of logic because, frankly, not everyone has the particular skills necessary to succeed at university. The UK system is intended to prevent sending somebody who is not qualified to attend university because somebody who drops out is a bad investment in resources. (Although the current system is cluster fuck)

The US has a huge population. It is a well-known fact that countries with large populations have a greater chance of cultivating excellence in academia, sports, drama, whatever.

 

[tmuyo]

no, apparently we're dumber than dogshit no matter how high our gpa is, but once we get to college/university, we're fucking geniuses (except for those that get so drunk they kill themselves...another friend bit the dust today... )

 

[Closet Desire]

dumb?

I did two university degrees in the US. I didn't think any of my fellows were dumb and there were a few geniuses, but it was clear that many would never finish for a number of reasons:

1) They were doing what mommy and daddy thought was "right" for them. It wasn't. (You can't earn a living in drama--we'll only pay for school if you study to be a doctor, lawyer, et al)

2) Apathy--they had enough of school and wanted to be doing something else. (I'm young, the women/men are gorgeous and I want to travel and party)

3) They were pursuing education to get a good job in a field they weren't very good at. (Medicore lawyers don't get good jobs--I know too many of them)

4) They didn't have the money or grants to finish.

5) They wanted jobs or careers that you don't learn in school (environmental activist, river guide on the Colorado, etc.)

 

[p_p_man]

I belong to the school of thought...

where a decent education instils a discipline in students. A discipline of being able to express themselves clearly without resorting to slang.

Anyone can, and does, loosen up at times when putting things down on paper or onto the VDU but when slipshod grammar, bad spelling and disregard for capitalisation becomes commonplace the written word ceases to become less a means of communication, but more of an advesory to combat in order to understand the content.

Young Knave I haven't come across too often but tmuyo and I have even crossed swords!...so I'm beginning to get to know him slightly, but looking at their respective styles and general low standard of grammar and punctuation shown in the above posts, I would not have placed either of them in the University category. They don't appear to have the disciipline required to communicate what they mean concisely and in a way that others can comprehend.

As I said Young Knave I don't know and his postings may be just an act, and tmuyo?, well the jury's still out as to exactly who he is. I have read quite a few of his posts now and although some are entirely incomprensible to me others I can read without sweating buckets over them...

 

[Cherry]

Not neccessarily ....

I bet it's more of a situation where even though they spell, punctuate and write beautifully offline, some people have come to believe that it's acceptable online to write carelessly, without thinking too hard. *smiles*

I've heard it said that this is "chat talk" ... it might be in some chats. Usually in Lit, people are discouraged from conversing that way with either a THWAPPP! in the back of the head or a question like "Are you a martian or a twelve year old?"

"so r u horny" ... "nice shoes wanna fuck" ... "u like phone" causes me to visualize a character like those portrayed by Steve Martin and Dan Akroyd on the old Saturday Night Live ("two wild and crazy guys") ... someone trying too hard to fit in, without a clue of their real personality.

Of course, the use of shortcuts (acronyms) is tolerated more. These can deteriorate our writing style after a while, as well. I've found myself using them in business correspondance all too often!

I guess it's all a matter of perception, or level of acceptance in various online arenas, where locals or regs determine style ... when you step into another culture online, often times you stick out like a sore thumb (case in point: uploaded). Live and learn.

 

[Closet Desire]

I think...

...that's a good point too. How somebody writes, either on or off line, is only a tiny measure of who that person is. It doesn't necessarily reflect what's going on in their mind or their life. The ideas they express can be brilliant or rubbish whether they are grammatically correct or not. I tend not to worry about how somebody writes online. If it annoys me then I just don't bother.

Sometimes I do try to share what I have learned from my academic side in English literature. I have had the good fortune, living here in England, to have read the original manuscripts of a number of now classical writers including the Brontes, Shelley, Byron, and others. In many cases they were not terribly concerned about grammar, punctuation, or spelling--leaving that up to the editor/publisher to sort out. What was important and valued then was their talent to commit the imagination to paper. The message being that you can probably teach almost anybody to spell and punctuate correctly (witness computer programs that will do it for you), but writing something worthwhile--that's a gift.

I've read some brilliant stuff on here that would flunk an English class and some absolute crap that was perfect in every other way.

Just my thoughts...

 

[p_p_man]

LOL...

I liked the reference to Steve Martin and Dan Akroyd.

I use chat talk myself. Over here we tend to call it "text talk" and its used extensively when sending text messages via your mobile phone. In fact it's essential to know what most of it means just to understand what yiu're reading. But the main reason for its use of course is that you can get more in a message and save time and money.

I can see the reason for chat talk to be used in chat rooms where speed is essential. After all we're not all touch typists at 150 wpm or whatever. But as I don't bring text talk into any other sphere then I see no reason why chat talkers should.

What I actually think is that the those who use chat talk constantly are gradually losing the ability to communicate properly unless it's in slang, in chat talk and interspersed with swear words that bear no relation to their emotional mood.

They are in fact dumbing down the language!