THE VIEW FROM HERE
DAVID Cameron’s latest idiotic idea (why do you keep doing these things, Dave, when we’re trying to like you?) is that only those with first class or 2:1 degrees should be allowed to train as teachers.
This is a notion scarcely worth discussing, except to point out teaching is about the ability to communicate and to draw out ('education’ from the Latin 'e-ducere’, to draw out, Dave, not to shove in) the best from each pupil and is not necessarily the forte of some nerdy brainbox who would fare better in an ivory tower than a Year 9 classroom.
Ideally, however, it would be nice if our teachers had at least a modicum of basic literacy which they could share with their students. This is particularly true in the area of those subjects which attract a certain amount of disdain, being seen as soft options requiring the minimum of ability to scoop up a pass.
Passing swiftly over media studies (I expect Dave has got a wheeze whereby our editor will be compulsorily replaced by a youth brandishing his 'meeja’ degree), we come to geography. This subject is commonly seen as the province of dimwits, and is sneeringly referred to as "Colouring In".
I am sure geography teachers everywhere will rush to defend their speciality and tell me all their students are completely brilliant.
Perhaps I’ll get a call from Sandown High School.
Alas, their case may be somewhat compromised by the school’s website, which gives us a link to the 'geograhpy’ department.
Perhaps this writer could work his magic on our rubbish road surfaces
THERE'S been a fearful furore over Ben Mallalieu’s article in The Oldie, with knees jerking all over the Island in response to his rudery.
Gun-metal grey sea, over-cluttered gift shops, an old-fashioned class structure, pretentious and bad restaurants. What a cheek.
Actually, I thought his article was rather jolly.
There are days on the Island when I feel it is entirely composed of what Mr Mallalieu has in mind.
Why do you think battleships are grey? To match the flipping sea, that’s why. And yes, there are some horrible gift shops and bad restaurants and, yes, there is a socking great class structure and quite a lot of racism.
And it’s no good saying there isn’t, because there is. Somebody told me quite recently that it mostly was "the Isle of White, thank goodness".
But that is by no means the whole picture. We have much to be proud of and the sea can be blue and restaurants good. There’s plenty of inspiring community spirit, a wealth of different talents, kindness, generosity and even moves to embrace racial diversity.
We should, quite rightly, defend the Island and highlight its good qualities. But that should not blind us to the fact it isn’t perfect and sometimes needs a good kick up its backside.
Let’s get Mr Mallalieu on our side. It seems he only has to mention a particularly aversion for it to disappear.
He put the boot into the old TB hospital and the Brading Wax Museum, both of which are now defunct. So let’s get him going on the IW Council’s planning committee, drunken youths and rubbish road surfaces.
A very resourceful herd of Guernseys
SANDOWN'S geography department may be in need of some basic instruction but, elsewhere on the Island, we can find examples of really outstanding ability.
I am particularly enchanted to discover the secret behind the success of Briddlesford Lodge Farm, owned by the Griffin family but not, it seems, run by them.
The label on the Briddlesford milk reads: "The Griffin family are very proud of their pedigree Guernsey cows and the way they have farmed the land since 1923 at Briddlesford Lodge Farm."
Never let it be said the Island is not resourceful. Why, we’ve got cows that have been farming for nearly 90 years. And what with having pedigrees and all, I bet they know how to spell 'geography’, too.