Tuesday 25 August 2015

too focussed on exam results

Exam results are just in:
GCSE Results Day 2015: top grades drop for fourth year in a row following efforts to fight grade inflation - Telegraph



How important are they really?
'I wanted pupils to know their exam results are just a small part of them' | Teacher Network | The Guardian

There has been some criticism of their usefulness:

Schools are 'too focused on exam results and don't prepare students for the workplace', survey finds

Chairman of the Career Colleges Trust says 'this is simply not acceptable' and that young people need to be equipped with the skills they need work


STUDENT EDITOR

Evaluated by the Career Colleges Trust – to mark the approval of ten new Career Colleges opening this year – 1,000 secondary school-aged pupils, along with 1,000 parents, gave their opinions on how they feel about the education they are receiving.
76 per cent of pupils said their school trains them just to pass exams and get good grades rather than preparing them for the world of work.
More than 80 per cent think it is important for the education system to be more career focused, however, a third don’t think they have been actively encouraged to undertake work experience as part of the school curriculum.
Another 32 per cent said they were unclear about what they actually want do to when they finish school.
READ MORE:
PUPILS HAVE 'NO IDEA WHAT THEY WANT TO DO AFTER SCHOOL'
AVERAGE SCHOOL-LEAVER 'THINKS THEY'LL BE EARNING £90K A YEAR'
CAREER AND PAY GAP BETWEEN PRIVATE AND STATE-SCHOOL GRADS 'GROWING'
Parents, too, admitted to not taking into account the vocational aspect of a school when choosing one for their children, with 32 per cent saying they chose based purely on its position in exam league table results.
Founder of the Career Colleges Trust, Lord Baker, described how the research highlights the extent of the problem that the UK is facing a huge skills gap across many industries.
He said: “If young people themselves are not feeling prepared for work, employers will continue to struggle with the recruitment issues that have become such a challenge for UK industry.”
By ensuring young people are equipped with the skills they need to go into the workplace with confidence, Lord Barker added: “This, of course, includes good levels of maths and English but extends far wider to practical, technical and employability skills.”
Chairman of the Career Colleges Trust, Luke Johnson, said the results have shown it is not just employers who feel young people are not prepared for work. He added: “This is simply not acceptable.
“We owe it to young people in this country to equip them with the skills they need to embark the pathway to a successful career.”

Schools are 'too focused on exam results and don't prepare students for the workplace', survey finds - News - Student - The Independent

Are exams 'dangerous'?
Jay Doubleyou: SAT tests are 'weakening our democracy"

But, then, the 'point' of school is exams:
Jay Doubleyou: the purpose of education: from china to prussia to the united states
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Monday 24 August 2015

animation

The 'best cartoon ever'
What's Opera, Doc? - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

... is also a wonderful piece of parody:



What's Opera Doc by MistyIsland1

Cartoons can even be subversive:



Les mécanismes humoristiques de Tex Avery - Screwball Squirrel - Extrait - YouTube
Top Ten Screwy Squirrel Funniest Moments - YouTube

The latest Banksy show has satirised Disney:



Jay Doubleyou: dismaland from banksy

From the same city as Banksy comes a very innovative animation studio:
Aardman

Which is most famous for:

Wallace & Gromit's Website

Wallace & Gromit - The Official Site
Wallace and Gromit - YouTube

What is Gromit saying here?
A Matter of Loaf and Death - Piella Bakewell - Wallace and Gromit - YouTube

And what are the two of them saying here?
Mychailo Kazybrid's Character Creation: Wallace and Gromit Heatwave inks Day 1 and 2
Mychailo Kazybrid's Character Creation: Wallace and Gromit Heatwave pencils Day 3 and 4
Mychailo Kazybrid's Character Creation: Wallace and Gromit Heatwave inks Day 5 and 6

And then there's Shaun the Sheep.
Shaun the Sheep The Movie – Official Trailer - YouTube

Let's look at some sheep vocab from this excellent resource:
Cinema - Movies - Actors - ESL Resources

And what are they saying here?
A Close Shave - The Birth of Shaun the Sheep - Wallace and Gromit - YouTube
Shaun the Sheep S04E20 Ground Dog Day-Shaun the Sheep-HD-HQ - Video Dailymotion
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Friday 21 August 2015

very british problems...

A new series on Channel Four looks at the Brits and their problems:
Very British Problems - All 4

It all started on Twitter:
VeryBritishProblems (@SoVeryBritish) | Twitter

And now there's a book:
Very British Problems: Making Life Awkward for Ourselves, One Rainy Day at a Time: Amazon.co.uk: Rob Temple: 9780751552591: Books

This TV series has been put together from that:
TV Pick of the Day: Very British Problems (Channel 4, 9pm), August 20 | Western Morning News
Very British Problems, TV review: Britons struggle with saying 'have a nice day', because they know they won't - Reviews - TV & Radio - The Independent



Feeling ‘fine, honestly’? That’s a very British problem | The Sunday Times

Most British media critics found it a problem, though:
CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews Very British Problems and Who Do You Think You Are? | Daily Mail Online
Very British Problems, Channel 4, review: 'a mistake' - Telegraph
Very British Problems review: ‘Self-indulgent and just a teeny bit dull’ | Television & radio | The Guardian

Here's a list of Cornish problems:
Very Cornish Problems | Cornish Guardian

What is typically British/English?
Jay Doubleyou: what is typically english... german... nigerian... brazilian?

Traditions:
Jay Doubleyou: english traditions which aren't english...

DNA:
Jay Doubleyou: identity in the uk

Class:
Jay Doubleyou: class is the big issue in the united kingdom: part one

A poem:
Jay Doubleyou: the british - a poem
The British Poem by Benjamin Zephaniah - Poem Hunter

How others see us:
Jay Doubleyou: how others see us...
Jay Doubleyou: "drunk stupid brits"

Language:
Jay Doubleyou: polite requests and asking for permission
Jay Doubleyou: monty python, the british and the english language

History:
Jay Doubleyou: bristol and slavery
Jay Doubleyou: every town and city in britain profited from the slave trade
and:
Jay Doubleyou: the first world war: triumph and pride ... or ... tragedy and sorrow?
Jay Doubleyou: blackadder and world war one

And more:
Jay Doubleyou: the british: a summary
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dismaland from banksy

Banksy always likes a good show:
Jay Doubleyou: banksy: the provocative artist of our time
Jay Doubleyou: the disappearing banksys
Jay Doubleyou: banksy is not only provocative - he's very popular...

Here is his latest show:
Banksy's Dismaland: 'amusements and anarchism' in artist’s biggest project yet | Art and design | The Guardian
Banksy bans Disney lawyers from his 'Dismaland' theme park - Telegraph

There are very different views of this latest thing:
In Dismaland, Banksy has created something truly depressing | Art and design | The Guardian
Dismaland: Banksy's 'bemusement park' is deeply unsettling... but bizarrely entertaining - News - Art - The Independent

But the site keeps crashing:
http://www.dismaland.co.uk/map/ is not available

This is from the BBC - plus some video links:

Banksy Dismaland show revealed at Weston's Tropicana

  • 20 August 2015
  •  
  • From the sectionBristol
Media captionAndrew Plant looks around Banksy's latest exhibition
Graffiti artist Banksy has announced an exhibition at a derelict seafront lido in Weston-super-Mare.
The Dismaland show - which will also feature work from Damien Hirst, Jenny Holzer and Jimmy Cauty - will take over the Tropicana site for five weeks.
"I loved the Tropicana as a kid, so getting to throw these doors open again is a real honour," Banksy said.
The show is his first in the UK since 2009's Banksy v Bristol Museum show which drew huge crowds.
Banksy described the show as a "family theme park unsuitable for children".
Overturned fairy carriage being photographed
Banksy said the show "offers an escape from mindless escapism"
He said he had been motivated to work on the site which had been "popular with low income holiday makers" after peering through a gap in the fence in January.
Big Rig Jig, an artwork by Mike Ross
Also on display is Mike Ross' Big Rig Jig
Many of the works require "audience participation".
"A dead princess is only complete when surrounded by gawping crowds with their cameras out, or the opportunity to photograph yourself pulling an amazed expression when a killer whale leaps from a toilet," he said.
Banksy Dismaland exhibition
The aerial view taken from the Ferris wheel
Dismaland show
Prime Minister David Cameron is given the Banksy treatment
"I guess you'd say it's a theme park whose big theme is 'theme parks should have bigger themes'."
Banksy Dismaland exhibition
North Somerset Council hopes the show will draw in crowds and boost tourism
line

Analysis - by David Sillito, arts correspondent

Dismaland is the official name but it's really Banksyland. Subversive, darkly comic and cocking a snook at authority there are good reasons why the mysterious Mr Banksy is so popular.
His stencils are well known but this is something very different - a pitch black antidote to the 'fun day out'.
The Julie Burchill 'Punch and Judy', the riot torn village, the 'magic castle' with a paparazzi and Disney centrepiece and, of course, an exit through the gift shop. Fun for all the family? No. Something Britain's seaside has never seen before? Yes.
Weston is bracing itself for crowds.
line
Banksy Dismaland exhibition
A preview of the exhibition is being held on Thursday
Banksy Dismaland exhibition
The show opens to the wider public on Saturday
Speculation had been growing that the elusive Bristolian was planning an exhibition after a castle and sculpture made from tanker trucks were spotted above the walls.
Locals had been told a Hollywood company was filming there.
Nigel Ashton, leader of North Somerset Council, said: "We have been working closely with the organisers for months now and, for obvious reasons, have had to remain tight-lipped about the true nature of the event.
"In fact, only four people in the entire council knew what was really happening."
The Grim Reaper riding a dodgem
Banksy said the show was "certainly not street art"
Banksy Dismaland exhibition
Visitors can see trademark Banksy juxtapositions such as a killer whale jumping out of a loo
line break

At the Tropicana: Chris Kelly, BBC News

The transformation inside the Tropicana is quite stunning. It's still the run-down lido it has been for the past 15 years, but now there's art everywhere.
From the moment you walk through the fake airport-style security you get the dismal tone of Dismaland. Grumpy guards play the part astonishingly well.
Inside you see Banksy's Cinderella castle and his Grim Reaper dodgem, which dances to the song Staying Alive.
But you also get a heavy dose of other local and international artists. Damien Hirst makes contributions alongside others.
And the organisers are keen to point to the show's art credentials rather than it being just street art alone.
line break
Dismaland map
Dismaland will run at the Tropicana site for six weeks
The Tropicana outdoor pool and leisure facility closed in 2000 due to falling visitor numbers.
Since then, there has been various attempts to either reopen or demolish the structure.
The Trop Trust is trying to reopen the structure and bring it back into use.
Trust member Derek Mead said: "It has definitely put the Trop back in the forefront and I believe Mr Banksy was a swimmer in there in his younger days, so I think there could be an extra agenda here."

More on this story

Related Internet links

Banksy Dismaland show revealed at Weston's Tropicana - BBC News
Dismaland: Ticket and queue misery at Banksy show - BBC News
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Wednesday 12 August 2015

an overview of teaching and learning theories

Jay Doubleyou: socratic method
Jay Doubleyou: socratic method pt 2
Jay Doubleyou: coaching v mentoring: what works best for teachers?

Jay Doubleyou: students want feedback
Jay Doubleyou: students want feedback part 2
Jay Doubleyou: demand-high teaching
Jay Doubleyou: students and teachers prefer different activities when learning english...
Jay Doubleyou: task-based learning

Jay Doubleyou: multiple intelligences in the classroom
Jay Doubleyou: visual, auditory, kinesthetic learning styles
Jay Doubleyou: multiple intelligences: shown in a clever way

Jay Doubleyou: rote learning

Jay Doubleyou: theories of language learning and teaching: dogme
Jay Doubleyou: go with the flow
Jay Doubleyou: dogme and emergent language pt 1
Jay Doubleyou: dogme and emergent language pt 2

Jay Doubleyou: theories of language learning and teaching: behaviourism vs nativism

Jay Doubleyou: theories of language learning and teaching: input
Jay Doubleyou: second language acquisition

Jay Doubleyou: extensive reading
Jay Doubleyou: intensive reading: less is more
Jay Doubleyou: extensive reading vs narrow reading
Jay Doubleyou: from narrow reading and listening to fluency: part two

Jay Doubleyou: philosophy in the classroom

Jay Doubleyou: pragmatics

Jay Doubleyou: ivan illich on education and health
Jay Doubleyou: john taylor gatto: on video
Jay Doubleyou: steven pinker - and language
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