Notes and Comments: No. 15

NOTES:

A thought on the so-called ‘cyber-bulling’ of teachers referred to below [Green light for bullies]. Human beings are social animals and if there is no ‘natural leader’ in a social situation then (young males especially) they will compete to become the leader. I presume we are all familiar with the youngster in the classroom who by force of personality becomes a sort of leader with a gang of followers? Well, if the teacher in the social situation of the classroom does not make it clear and obvious that he or she is the leader (and the only leader) in that room then this sort of chaos is almost bound to ensue.

COMMENTS:

The blogosphere risks putting off everyone….

My comment:

Admittedly it is rather new (I only built it a few weeks ago), but my computer comes with this thing called a 'space bar' - one touch of which enables me to effortlessly scroll past anything I don't fancy reading on comment sites, whether it be a foul-mouthed tirade, an exercise in overly-anal point-scoring, or whatever.

I was on the internet when this was all fields and there were only about half a dozen web sites in the whole of the UK - if anything it is more polite now than it was back then. However, it has always been anarchic, and I hope it always will be - it is a part of the attraction.

Everyone has a choice you can fight back like for like or you can ignore it, laugh it off, forget about it. But, try to control it and you will destroy the good bits as well as the bad and tiresome bits.

Smooth out the rough bits and it will become as tediously dull as some professional self-preening TV talking head interviewing a PR-perfect politician - probably the very reason why people turn away from the overly-bland professionally-perfect world of TV (and other media too) politics etc, into the rough and tumble of a place like this.

In short, don't try to fix what ain't broke.

A gauntlet for Brown

My comment:

The biggest surprise about PFI though is the near silence that seems to surround it all. It may not be a scandal on a par with Enron, say, but it is still quite big. Which makes the media's near total silence on the whole thing nearly as puzzling as the public's seeming indifference to just how much of their money (as taxpayers) is being pissed away by this whole massive con trick.

Apart from Private Eye - who have been banging on about it for what seems like years now - it seems very few in the media see this as a 'sexy' enough subject for them to raise their profiles by investigating. And, it seems, we - the public - are so blasé about such shoddy deals between government and its cronies, 'consultants' and 'business' partners that the whole thing just seems... well... as normal and as acceptable as - say - sailors flogging tales of their 'ordeal' to the highest media bidder.

… the police service needs reform

My comment:

Perhaps the powers that be in charge of the police should take a look at the final episode of Life on Mars as a pointer to where it has all gone wrong, with the police from 1973 out on a train trying to stop an armed robbery while those from the present day are stuck in a room with their laptops discussing the implementation of initiatives.

Oh, and a thorough reading and understanding of 'Wasting Police Time' by David Copperfield too.

Life On Mars: the perfect finale

My comment:

Nelson tells Sam he is alive when he feels. He feels Annie's slap, but doesn't feel the cut in his finger. The police in 1973 are out there confronting villains; the police in the present are locked together in a room with their laptops discussing the implementation of initiatives.

Sure, Sam realises Gene and his squad are imperfect, but they have something the modern-day force (+the modern-day world?) has lost. They have become divorced from the reality, from the people they are supposed to serve. For example, notice the bit where Sam goes to the present day police station - it is like a castle on a hilltop remote and separate, whereas Gene drives his car right through the women's washing - he is right there in the middle of it all.

I would have jumped too.

Green light for bullies

My comment:

Maybe these teachers ought to reflect on the notion that if a pupil can take a photo down the teacher's blouse, or up her skirt, then maybe they are not the most suitable clothes for the situation. Furthermore, if a pupil can pull down the trousers of a teacher in front of the whole class, then not only are the trousers equally unsuitable then the person wearing them is clearly unsuitable for such a job.

If this sort of kid thinks they can get away - more or less - with something, especially in front of their mates, then they will do it. It should be a major part of the teacher's job to make this type of child damn sure they will not get away with anything like this.