Michael Gove has been on his high horse yet again. Trying to encourage the class divide between those who accidentally voted his party into power.
The dream of trying to get O Levels back is basically his way of saying 'there are idiots and there are their intelligent counterparts- the two must not be mixed.' Now I was by no means a clever kid. When I started secondary school the chances of me going to university looked slimmer than my physique, which at the time was alarmingly thin.
Now, at twenty, I'm a substantially brighter little button. Overall I'm not the same person I was then. I don't live in a constantly bemused state trying to make the best of pragmatic tasks that are beyond me. I'm heading for a 2:1, maybe a 1st at university, and my degree will come from the University of Leeds. It's not in doubt that I have changed academically since I was 11. It is for people like me, who are not common might I add, that show the possibilities offered by the GCSE scheme.
Granted, it isn't perfect, but if the old system was a vision of perfection then it certainly wouldn't have been changed.
Go forward, not back.
Sunday 24 June 2012
Saturday 23 June 2012
the national health
Sometimes an album comes along that is like someone placing your life in an audio-descriptive channel on TV.
It's not the first time Maximo Park have done it. Lyrically empathising is what they do best. They seem to have me on live pause and have followed me through school and college, then university, stopping at the times they deem fit and summarising what is going on. I'm not the only one, many have made a similar claim. 'I use the big words, but I just can't join up the dots' from 'Wolf Among Men.' This does have, however, it's alarming factors to boot. It shows just how similar we all are, and that a man I've never met can tell everyone how I feel better than I can.
Over the years they've hit me with songs like 'kiss you better' and 'russian literature,' songs that were never going to see the top ten but were just fantastic, particularly for the lyrics. Breaking up, making up, all the little in between moments, all covered by their frankly underrated discography.
I'm going to see them perform in Newcastle in November. Excited beyond belief.
It's not the first time Maximo Park have done it. Lyrically empathising is what they do best. They seem to have me on live pause and have followed me through school and college, then university, stopping at the times they deem fit and summarising what is going on. I'm not the only one, many have made a similar claim. 'I use the big words, but I just can't join up the dots' from 'Wolf Among Men.' This does have, however, it's alarming factors to boot. It shows just how similar we all are, and that a man I've never met can tell everyone how I feel better than I can.
Over the years they've hit me with songs like 'kiss you better' and 'russian literature,' songs that were never going to see the top ten but were just fantastic, particularly for the lyrics. Breaking up, making up, all the little in between moments, all covered by their frankly underrated discography.
I'm going to see them perform in Newcastle in November. Excited beyond belief.
Thursday 14 June 2012
gay marriage
I saw a site earlier called 'Coalition For Marriage' [http://c4m.org.uk/] and came to a realisation I hadn't previously made. I had thought I was against gay marriage in the Church. This was mainly down to the fact that the Church is against gay marriage and, to my knowledge, always has been. If you're the moral guidance centre for a lot of people, regularly changing your mind is a bad idea.
I read the contents of the site, however, and found it to be very, very aggressive. I am not allowed to quote it, but the basic jist is that the benefits of institution of marriage, as has been known for thousands of years, is the best institution and making changes to it would cause those benefits to be put into disrepute. Bollocks. Where is this evidence? Show it to us. Why not show us the benefits of equality? Why not show us the benefits of not hating someone for their beliefs? Why not teach us about the benefits of a loving family?
In fact, what I would say to any gay person is if that is what these people want marriage to be, then let them have it. Yes they can have their smiley faces on the day, but the only thing that you don't have is the blessing of the institution that dislikes your beliefs.
You don't need that. Nobody does.
I read the contents of the site, however, and found it to be very, very aggressive. I am not allowed to quote it, but the basic jist is that the benefits of institution of marriage, as has been known for thousands of years, is the best institution and making changes to it would cause those benefits to be put into disrepute. Bollocks. Where is this evidence? Show it to us. Why not show us the benefits of equality? Why not show us the benefits of not hating someone for their beliefs? Why not teach us about the benefits of a loving family?
In fact, what I would say to any gay person is if that is what these people want marriage to be, then let them have it. Yes they can have their smiley faces on the day, but the only thing that you don't have is the blessing of the institution that dislikes your beliefs.
You don't need that. Nobody does.
Wednesday 13 June 2012
losing interest
I have no interest whatsoever in the exam that I am sitting tomorrow.
The main reason for this is that it is so late in the year, very much thanks to my placement, which, whilst I enjoyed it, has become a clear attack on anything resembling a social life. What it has done has caused issues in two periods of time. First of all the January return of all university-goers, and then the latter stages of the year, Facebook being overloaded with invitations from strangers to the 'END OF YEAR' events that I would genuinely love to attend, but alas cannot because of my exam revision, which I have become so disillusioned by that I genuinely have done a dangerously minimal amount.
This time tomorrow I'll be sitting outside an exam hall, nervous beyond belief about an exam that I can't see myself passing. I'll follow that up by getting blind drunk so that I can not be fussed about my academic lack of ability. I have academic ability but I also have fields of interest, which are not the fields that I'm being examined in this week.
Wish me luck!
The main reason for this is that it is so late in the year, very much thanks to my placement, which, whilst I enjoyed it, has become a clear attack on anything resembling a social life. What it has done has caused issues in two periods of time. First of all the January return of all university-goers, and then the latter stages of the year, Facebook being overloaded with invitations from strangers to the 'END OF YEAR' events that I would genuinely love to attend, but alas cannot because of my exam revision, which I have become so disillusioned by that I genuinely have done a dangerously minimal amount.
This time tomorrow I'll be sitting outside an exam hall, nervous beyond belief about an exam that I can't see myself passing. I'll follow that up by getting blind drunk so that I can not be fussed about my academic lack of ability. I have academic ability but I also have fields of interest, which are not the fields that I'm being examined in this week.
Wish me luck!
Tuesday 12 June 2012
so... england at the euros?
Unlike everyone else, I actually thought previous to the game against France that England had a chance of winning the tournament. Why is this? Well in all honesty the key to their success will be their organisation, their resolve, and potentially most importantly their ability to not care that the nation hates their 'boring' brand of football.
It was inevitable, was it not, that England would play boring football? That they wouldn't go out and chase the game but would, in fact, play counter-attacking football from our admittedly sturdy defence? We seem to neglect, as a nation, that England have arguably the best league in the world in the Premiership, their midfield (minus Henderson) is one that any club side would water-at-the-mouth over, and we have never done well at a tournament since 1966 so finally the pressure was off.
The minimal expectation can be a blessing, which renders this entire post redundant because of the intent held within it. I would like us to believe we could win it.
The problem is, that would be our downfall.
It was inevitable, was it not, that England would play boring football? That they wouldn't go out and chase the game but would, in fact, play counter-attacking football from our admittedly sturdy defence? We seem to neglect, as a nation, that England have arguably the best league in the world in the Premiership, their midfield (minus Henderson) is one that any club side would water-at-the-mouth over, and we have never done well at a tournament since 1966 so finally the pressure was off.
The minimal expectation can be a blessing, which renders this entire post redundant because of the intent held within it. I would like us to believe we could win it.
The problem is, that would be our downfall.
Sunday 3 June 2012
the strangeness of the jubilee
It's The Queen's sixtieth jubilee, congratulations, you have, by all accounts, been a very good queen.
However, the premise of a jubilee is one that confuses me. It's essentially the whole country joining together on what must be a difficult day for her majesty, the anniversary of the death of her father. We basically celebrate the death of a man we once sang for the safety of during a World War, and before the pub closed (a tradition that petered out over time, and would probably explain why the likes of Wayne Rooney don't know it).
I've never been much of a royalist, to be completely honest the whole idea of a democracy with royalty makes no sense whatsoever, they're essentially a family that go on a lot of holidays to visit people that we, as her loyal subjects, couldn't give less interest to as we work tirelessly to ensure that the places that we work do not suffer the death associated with a double-dip recession.
But hey, what an ambassador she is. Thanks Ma'am.
However, the premise of a jubilee is one that confuses me. It's essentially the whole country joining together on what must be a difficult day for her majesty, the anniversary of the death of her father. We basically celebrate the death of a man we once sang for the safety of during a World War, and before the pub closed (a tradition that petered out over time, and would probably explain why the likes of Wayne Rooney don't know it).
I've never been much of a royalist, to be completely honest the whole idea of a democracy with royalty makes no sense whatsoever, they're essentially a family that go on a lot of holidays to visit people that we, as her loyal subjects, couldn't give less interest to as we work tirelessly to ensure that the places that we work do not suffer the death associated with a double-dip recession.
But hey, what an ambassador she is. Thanks Ma'am.
Friday 1 June 2012
guilty pleasures
We all do it, sitting in front of our computers, knowing that we shouldn't be. Procrastinating.
It took me thirteen hours to write 1500 words earlier this week; the last six-hundred took me somewhere in the region of twenty minutes. Why the extra time? Well amongst other things, Facebook. There's something about Facebook isn't there? The ease at which we can burn away a day doing nothing but clicking and looking? The worst thing is I don't really think that this is a bad thing.
The time our elders spent sitting doing nothing is the time we spend being an online socialite, talking to people we wouldn't ordinarily have the nerve, or the interest, to talk to. It also allows people to keep in touch from distance without actually talking. You can see through photographs and the like what they are doing, and don't have to have that awkward moment in which they speak to you and you have to run away because of a prior engagement. Convenience personified.
There is, however, a new feature that means that we can know if we're getting the silent treatment ,or being ignored. I DON'T WANT THAT?! I mean yes, fair enough, they might have had to do the aforementioned 'run-away-for-prior-engagement' but then paranoia kicks in, we fear not being liked, particularly with traditional British reservation that means that we don't confront our issues head on, this means that being able to know categorically that someone doesn't wish to speak to you, or at least being made to think like that. It is not good.
This has been my procrastination for the day, until my ukulele arrives. wey.
It took me thirteen hours to write 1500 words earlier this week; the last six-hundred took me somewhere in the region of twenty minutes. Why the extra time? Well amongst other things, Facebook. There's something about Facebook isn't there? The ease at which we can burn away a day doing nothing but clicking and looking? The worst thing is I don't really think that this is a bad thing.
The time our elders spent sitting doing nothing is the time we spend being an online socialite, talking to people we wouldn't ordinarily have the nerve, or the interest, to talk to. It also allows people to keep in touch from distance without actually talking. You can see through photographs and the like what they are doing, and don't have to have that awkward moment in which they speak to you and you have to run away because of a prior engagement. Convenience personified.
There is, however, a new feature that means that we can know if we're getting the silent treatment ,or being ignored. I DON'T WANT THAT?! I mean yes, fair enough, they might have had to do the aforementioned 'run-away-for-prior-engagement' but then paranoia kicks in, we fear not being liked, particularly with traditional British reservation that means that we don't confront our issues head on, this means that being able to know categorically that someone doesn't wish to speak to you, or at least being made to think like that. It is not good.
This has been my procrastination for the day, until my ukulele arrives. wey.
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