We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
Debate House Prices
In order to help keep the Forum a useful, safe and friendly place for our users, discussions around non MoneySaving matters are no longer permitted. This includes wider debates about general house prices, the economy and politics. As a result, we have taken the decision to keep this board permanently closed, but it remains viewable for users who may find some useful information in it. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
House or education
Comments
-
Loughton_Monkey wrote: »Against this background, we have to wonder why 'emerging markets' are growing double-digit and becoming massively richer and more powerful every year. Trouble is, I can't work it out. Wasn't on the carriculum at my school....
You and I have both worked in emerging markets. We know the answer.
They are growing so fast because if people don't work there, they don't eat. So what do they do? They become innovative and entrepeneurial. If they have no jobs, they become part of the street economy, selling food on stalls. They make opportunities for themselves and their families, rather than fall into poverty.
When i walk around the streets of Bangkok and see people selling fruit or things to tourists, or see young women buying clothes from the markets and selling them to their peers on street stalls outside office blocks, i wonder what would those same busy active people be doing in the UK. The answer is clear, of course. They wouldnt have their 9-5 with benefits job in a posh office, so they would be on the dole. They are forced to be innovative and make a living, and that can only be a good thing.
Here in the pampered and self-indulgent west we are actively encouraged to fail, to be lazy, to be indolent and to rely on others for our luxuries which we think are our unique privilege and birthright.
Makes me despair. It really does.0 -
An average ability kid with parental support and a good supporting school will do better than an average ability kid in a sink school with uncaring parents.
It may even be, though all the self motivated posters on here will disagree, that an average ability kid with with parental support and a good supporting school will do better than a bright kid in a sink school with uncaring parents.
I don't understand the concept of average.
There is no such thing as an average individual. There are individuals who want to succeed, and those who don't. There are individuals who will let the accident of their birth dictate their lives, and those who won't.
Where does average come into it?0 -
You and I have both worked in emerging markets. We know the answer.
They are growing so fast because if people don't work there, they don't eat. So what do they do? They become innovative and entrepeneurial. If they have no jobs, they become part of the street economy, selling food on stalls. They make opportunities for themselves and their families, rather than fall into poverty.
When i walk around the streets of Bangkok and see people selling fruit or things to tourists, or see young women buying clothes from the markets and selling them to their peers on street stalls outside office blocks, i wonder what would those same busy active people be doing in the UK. The answer is clear, of course. They wouldnt have their 9-5 with benefits job in a posh office, so they would be on the dole. They are forced to be innovative and make a living, and that can only be a good thing.
Here in the pampered and self-indulgent west we are actively encouraged to fail, to be lazy, to be indolent and to rely on others for our luxuries which we think are our unique privilege and birthright.
Makes me despair. It really does.
On the contrary, I think our society - which has a safety net for the sick and elderly etc - is a much better way to run things than in some of the developing countries.
Having elderly beggars come up to you in India - a country which has a space programme - wasn't much to convince me that the developed world's social framework was not the way to do things.
Is there not a possiblity you're seeing the Far East through rose-tinted specs a tad?0 -
Same here, I think to add to that point if you go to a better school but live in a poorer area the other problem you have is the teachers then look down on you.
At school I got accused of cheating in science because I did similarly well as the rich kid that I sat next too. This was in 3rd year to decide sets for GCSE, they put me in bottom grade I argued hey put me in second from last set. Ended up one of only 5 children in the whole school to get a double (BB) grade in GCSE. No one got double AA
I got put in mid range maths set that was not with the top grade "rich kids" so could never get a grade higher than C. Even though I got 98% in my mocks they would still not let me enter for the higher grades.
Many similar stories in all lessons to be honest.
From my experience not being from a good area of a better area can hold back a good education anyway.
I just never rolled over, thank god it was not the teachers from my school doing the GCSE marking.
I'm sorry that happened to you - it's inexcusable. Not all schools and not all teachers are like that.Do you know anyone who's bereaved? Point them to https://www.AtaLoss.org which does for bereavement support what MSE does for financial services, providing links to support organisations relevant to the circumstances of the loss & the local area. (Link permitted by forum team)
Tyre performance in the wet deteriorates rapidly below about 3mm tread - change yours when they get dangerous, not just when they are nearly illegal (1.6mm).
Oh, and wear your seatbelt. My kids are only alive because they were wearing theirs when somebody else was driving in wet weather with worn tyres.0 -
Couldn't disagree more. You're using your environment as an excuse.
I too was in an unheated 6X7 bedroom at home, but i shared mine. I had nowhere to do homework, but I still did it. You just cope. You just get it done. It comes from you, not the size of your bedroom.
Britain used to be a place that 'coped' with adversity. Now it uses every conceivable excuse it can find to justify mediocrity.
I used to do my homework in registration.......I was too busy building up my earnings to do it any other time, I was absolutely addicted to earning as much as I possibly could! (In a 35 day period that summer, I earned enough to pay for a holiday to Spain with my nan, get a whole new wardrobe of clothes, save £150 and still have enough to buy all my usual day to day stuff, meals out etc)
Mind you, didn't do me any harm, I was the top student in 3rd year high school getting the top mark over all subjects despite having 7 (yes seven!) jobs at the same time.We made it! All three boys have graduated, it's been hard work but it shows there is a possibility of a chance of normal (ish) life after a diagnosis (or two) of ASD. It's not been the easiest route but I am so glad I ignored everything and everyone and did my own therapies with them.
Eldests' EDS diagnosis 4.5.10, mine 13.1.11 eekk - now having fun and games as a wheelchair user.0 -
Is there not a possiblity you're seeing the Far East through rose-tinted specs a tad?
No.
Realistic glasses, i think.
You can't measure a society by its extremes. I see beggars come up to me in chic West London too. What of it? Society will never catch all its people, nor should it try to.0 -
I'm sorry that happened to you - it's inexcusable. Not all schools and not all teachers are like that.
I have no issue with it, Just made me more than ever it was always going to be up to me to make a go in life.
Looking back I do think that social norms were very much set on to children at our school by all but a few of the best teachers.
I really hope that has changed in secondary schools now, but I do feel the preconceptions are still fairly ingrained in our society (Chav etc.)
It's just one of those hurdles in life, one thing for sure it was a small one compared to people with disabilities and in poorer counties have to get over.0 -
I guess spelling was not on the curriculum when you grew up though...Loughton_Monkey wrote: »Quite agree. Life is much more a matter of choices than most people think.
Sadly, this fact is largely ignored by governments and the media, thus creating a 'Nanny State' in which an individual can never be 'responsible' for their own life. If they are not too bright, it's the school's fault. If they don't understand pensions, it's the school carriculum at fault. If they mess about at school, it's 'Attention Deficit Syndrome' at fault. If they don't get a job, it's the recession and government cuts at fault. If they are not paid much, it's the minimum wage at fault......
Against this background, we have to wonder why 'emerging markets' are growing double-digit and becoming massively richer and more powerful every year. Trouble is, I can't work it out. Wasn't on the carriculum at my school....I think....0 -
A grade C in GCSE maths may be 'beyond expectations' in that sink school, but it is does not stop the individual pupil rising above those expectations.
Encourage a child to be inquisitive and you could put them in Bash Street School, and they will still succeed.
It's all about the individual. Always has been.
I went to the local comp and grew up on the council house estate in a single parent family. I could have taken the easy option and failed. I chose not to.
Am I so freaking special? No I'm not.
so what was the suitable environment that your parents provided? seems like it was the state that provided the education. they just provided the genes.
agreed people can still do well in life without parental help but i think parents should aim to provide a good start. personally i feel if you can't provide that emotionally and financially (and i'd set the standards pretty high on that one if it was me as parent and include wanting to help with uni fees and house deposits) then you shouldn't really have children.
just because you have done alright (i have a sneaking suspicion you could have done better with more opportunities) doesn't make it okay for people to pop out kids and let them find for themselves through the local comprehensive education system with no decent father figure.Those who will not reason, are bigots, those who cannot, are fools, and those who dare not, are slaves. - Lord Byron0 -
Labour trashed an already weak education system. Under their rule, exam standards were devalued, the UK's position in the academic league table crashed and the numbers of illiterate school leavers soared. Bad teachers were protected and many University degrees now carry less credibility than a membership card from the Dennis the Menace fan club.
Although Labour paid lip service to education, they played the House Price ticket ruthlessly at every election (bar the first). Their winning message at elections was always "The Tories will put up interest rates and bring down house prices".
In the poll on this thread, 90% of people (at 29 votes) put education first. When it comes to voting for a government however it is evident that many will not put education before housing.0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 352.2K Banking & Borrowing
- 253.6K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 454.3K Spending & Discounts
- 245.3K Work, Benefits & Business
- 601K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 177.5K Life & Family
- 259.1K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.7K Read-Only Boards