[Fsfe-uk] RE: accu-general: Where to setup web site

[PFJ]

Hi,

On Fri, 2003-07-11 at 10:46, David Nash wrote:
> >From David Nash <address@hidden> via accu-general list.
> Replies will be sent to the list (Reply-to: header set)
> 
> > From: Hugo Korwaser [mailto:address@hidden
> > I would like to setup a web site to act as a web presence for 
> > information about budget cuts at the primary school my 
> > daughter attends.
> 
> Good idea!

Sure is. You may like to highlight the amount of money the government
give to one company to use their software in schools per year. It's
about 110 MILLION pounds.

> > Also does anyone know of schools that are experiencing budget 
> > problems. 
> 
> Sadly I think that includes most of them.

Yup. There is a chronic shortage of teachers in schools, yet those who
need them most, do not have the funds to employ them despite the
constant (and frankly daft) claims of successive governments. I'm not
pinning this on any party as in my opinion (and having been through it
at the time) the move from O level to GCSE was good, but then it was
dumbed down so far to a point where a lot of students find the jump to A
level too much. Those who somehow make the jump then have major problems
in the relative pole-vault to University. Plus the removal of any form
of useful disciplinary procedures for pupils really doesn't want people
to go in and teach.

It's catch 22. Not enough money == Not enough staff == reduction in
number of classes.

> Sounds quite bad.  In my daughter's school they are having classes with
> years 3 and 4 together - they say it works, but I'm a little sceptical.
> however class sizes are not so bad as at yours I think.

At my son's school, they have a mixed year 1 and 2. Luckily, as it's a
catholic school, they are able to employ the number of teachers they
need, so it is only year 1/2 who have the cross over and even then, it's
only as there are enough for  1 1/2 classes in each year. Those in the
mixed year class have a teaching assistant as well.

Education in the UK really is in a mess. Paying 110 million UKP per year
to one company (even if a school doesn't have a computer!) doesn't help.

I personally believe that the best way to fix education (and the NHS) is
for parliment to stop trying to run them and give control totally to
those who know what they're doing. However, that is not the point...

TTFN

Paul

-- 
Open your mind to a time where a company does not have control
Open your mind to a choice of applications which you can control
Open your mind from the closed world of those who seek total power
Open your mind to the wonderful world of Open Source