Two Questions

[davywavy]

There's always a temptation for me to editorialise on my LJ. Often I'm the soul of discretion, presenting facts unblemished by my own opinions, with neither slant nor spin. That's not to say it's easy for me to do so.
There are certain philosophical/political ideas with which I disagree for what I consider to be perfectly good reasons and what I have to realise is that the people who agree with those idea do so for what to them appear to be good reasons also.
So, in order to try and understand the thinking of others, I'm going to ask two questions of my lefty chums. I might not agree with your answers and I'm sure that my comments section will quickly degenerate into mudslinging as usual. However, I'm asking the questions because they're points which seem to be articles of faith to many, but the arguments presented in favour to me have never made any sense. It may be that I'm just missing something, so I'll give it a go.

1) What is wrong with streaming children according to educational ability?
2) What is wrong with requiring people to work in order to receive state benefits?

Comments

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

I don't agree - I can't think of a professional environment I've worked in where the employees at a given level wouldn't have been intellectually in similar streams at school.

[davedevil.livejournal.com]

Really?

Is everyone in your department a degree holder? Is that a core requirment of your industry? I am the onlyperson with a masters degree in my team most of them do not have degrees we all have to a level professional qualifications however and more importantly the skills to be a good instructor, surely those are the primary and core reuirments for doing a job not what previous qualifications you come in with.

As for streaming can I clarify what streaming is, lets take the 11 plus system for instance. At 11 children took assesments which shaped their future life. If you passed grammer school ahoy! If you failed secondary modern and the probability of leaving with no qualifications, certianly not ones relevent to the work place.

Streaming is seperation in all subjects by single assesment. Streaming means that should you be damned sweet at Maths but have poor English you get put into an academic stream which you will remain in for most of your academic carear. In effect at a early age making a descision that will tend to shape the future options and choices that person has.

Setting is a prefered and far better option where a student may excel in one subject but have issues in another and can be placed in a group where they get the correct sylabus and support for theri skill level on a subject by subject basis.

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

Yes, everyone in my entire company is a degree holder. If you look in the media press, you'll see the adverts: "Graduates required..."

[davedevil.livejournal.com]

Thats fascinating, why such apolicy? Does the degree bring somethign special to a potential candidate do you feel?

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

It's a quick and easy shorthand to get an able workforce; the assumption being made is that someone who has the intellect, ability and tenacity to get a degree will bring those qualities to the job.
Numptys are quickly and easily weeded out at interview or in their 3-month probabtion.

[davedevil.livejournal.com]

So is it degree only or degree equivilent? With us it is more important probably to get the qualifications behind you that shwo you can train and you know the subject area you train in. Someoen who has earned an MCSD or an MCSE obviously knows his stuff.

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

Do you employ people who just plain aren't capable of getting the MCSD or MCSE, to use your examples?

[(Anonymous)]

No, just knows how to pass multiple-guess, er, -choice tests. MCSEs & other vendor-issued "qualifications" aren't objective measures of someone's skill and experience, but are nothing more than thinly-veiled marketing tools for the vendors concerned: "Buy our product - look at how many people are qualified to support it for you!"