I'm glad I'm getting out of it...

[Thomas]

Well in that case it looks as though the kids have strained their backs.

Cambridge Union president Keir Bradwell said that he was setting up a black list of those whom the Union considered worthy to address its members.

Then John Cleese told the union to go fly a kite and Bradwell promptly bottle out.

The problem with today's students is not their opinions, but that they are such timid little buggers.

borkie have you seen this?

howling.

[Borchester]

I suspect strongly Toots and is is so usually the case, that senior academics on a mission are only to happy to use the youngsters to do the heavy lifting for them.

Well in that case it looks as though the kids have strained their backs.

Cambridge Union president Keir Bradwell said that he was setting up a black list of those whom the Union considered worthy to address its members.

Then John Cleese told the union to go fly a kite and Bradwell promptly bottle out.

The problem with today's students is not their opinions, but that they are such timid little buggers.

[Sampanviking]

I get the impression that the Student Unions are running amok and the Universities are bowing to them. The assumption being that any disruption is good. My friend was a mature student a few years back and she's pretty right wing but felt that she had to hide her opinions in order to pass.

I suspect strongly Toots and is is so usually the case, that senior academics on a mission are only to happy to use the youngsters to do the heavy lifting for them. In specific but an surprisingly wide range of subjects, no platforming has a knock on which is to delegitimise, none woke theories and academic work, which makes the academic opinion and position of others, virtually unassailable because the rules of logical and scientific debate and analysis are no longer recognised and Orthodoxy becomes beyond the challenge of heresy!

[Thomas]

There are many great and respected educational institutions. But are they all as impartial about what they teach as they'd like you to think they are? Especially lately, where many of our universities and student organisations are so keen to "no platform" and to oppose free speech? Apparently John Cleese abandoned a speaking slot at Cambridge earlier this week as a result of a suggested blacklisting exercise. Increasingly, "education" is looking more and more like indoctrination as each year goes by

In the end, there is a crucial difference between a further education (whether paid for or not), and a "university of life" experience, which you've just summed up. The latter is "self taught". Its about learning from experience, much of it bitter, rather than being "told" what is right and what is wrong by someone else. Its that 'someone else' who we entrust to teach our youngsters, whose ideas and motivations should perhaps be held to closer scrutiny too, especially when they feel able to tell others who can and can't speak. Education, in the wrong hands, can be as dangerous as a lack of it.

Do you remember years back on this forum , when the BNP and nick griffin were in the limelight in the uk media , the discussion by some on the left and the loony liberals was of no platforming him ? ( im sure the forums foremost democrat quack quack was of similar opinion reagding no platforming)

Others , the more right minded ,were saying they despised what nick griffin stood for , but defended his right to say it , and the best way to deal with him was debate him and crush his arguments one by one.

I saw that story regarding john cleese , and fully agree that education , whilst its hardly ever been "impartial" is indeed becoming more and more about indoctrination , not just in scotland or england either.

We really are in a very bad place were so called experts are being forced to teach children men or women can be whatever sex they say they are , or none at all , or that the history of subjects like slavery was all about some cherry picked period of nasty white men enslaving black men to the exclusion of all the rest of the story.

[T00ts]

There are many great and respected educational institutions. But are they all as impartial about what they teach as they'd like you to think they are? Especially lately, where many of our universities and student organisations are so keen to "no platform" and to oppose free speech? Apparently John Cleese abandoned a speaking slot at Cambridge earlier this week as a result of a suggested blacklisting exercise. Increasingly, "education" is looking more and more like indoctrination as each year goes by

In the end, there is a crucial difference between a further education (whether paid for or not), and a "university of life" experience, which you've just summed up. The latter is "self taught". Its about learning from experience, much of it bitter, rather than being "told" what is right and what is wrong by someone else. Its that 'someone else' who we entrust to teach our youngsters, whose ideas and motivations should perhaps be held to closer scrutiny too, especially when they feel able to tell others who can and can't speak. Education, in the wrong hands, can be as dangerous as a lack of it.

I get the impression that the Student Unions are running amok and the Universities are bowing to them. The assumption being that any disruption is good. My friend was a mature student a few years back and she's pretty right wing but felt that she had to hide her opinions in order to pass. 

[DeppityDawg]

Well it was in jest Thomas,and no I'm not blowing smoke anywhere but you're not uneducated,largely self taught I guess.

There are many great and respected educational institutions. But are they all as impartial about what they teach as they'd like you to think they are? Especially lately, where many of our universities and student organisations are so keen to "no platform" and to oppose free speech? Apparently John Cleese abandoned a speaking slot at Cambridge earlier this week as a result of a suggested blacklisting exercise. Increasingly, "education" is looking more and more like indoctrination as each year goes by

In the end, there is a crucial difference between a further education (whether paid for or not), and a "university of life" experience, which you've just summed up. The latter is "self taught". Its about learning from experience, much of it bitter, rather than being "told" what is right and what is wrong by someone else. Its that 'someone else' who we entrust to teach our youngsters, whose ideas and motivations should perhaps be held to closer scrutiny too, especially when they feel able to tell others who can and can't speak. Education, in the wrong hands, can be as dangerous as a lack of it.

[Thomas]

Cromwell , if you havent already guessed , just to be sure im on the wind up and taking the piss.

[Thomas]

Well it was in jest Thomas,and no I'm not blowing smoke anywhere but you're not uneducated,largely self taught I guess.

What i do know is i seem to be better educated , for all my many failings , on many subjects compared to our university scholar patman.

[cromwell]

What learning?

Im an uneducated pleb cromwell.

The english arent illiterate anymore , as i described we taught you  , and you have caught up with us. I bet though you never knew that wee bit of history did you cromwell?

Still after three hundred years under westminster boot , we have enough sense not to saddle our children with 9 grand a year uni fees for an education you can get for free at a comprehensive and public library.

Well it was in jest Thomas,and no I'm not blowing smoke anywhere but you're not uneducated,largely self taught I guess.

[Thomas]

Well all that learning didn't do you much good that you have been under the heel of those illiterate English for over three hundred years as you keep telling us.  

What learning?

Im an uneducated pleb cromwell.

The english arent illiterate anymore , as i described we taught you  , and you have caught up with us. I bet though you never knew that wee bit of history did you cromwell?

Still after three hundred years under westminster boot , we have enough sense not to saddle our children with 9 grand a year uni fees for an education you can get for free at a comprehensive and public library.

[Thomas]

I bet that made her feel really welcome. How awful for her.

To be fair barry it was a west of scotland village primary at the time , and she really set the cat among the pigeons when she replied church of england.

The natives spent the rest of the term trying to work out if the church of england was catholic or protestant.

Unfortunately , british and irish sectariansim is something we have had to put up with for a century now , but its getting better.

Hopefully in an indy scotland , we can eradicate this british disease of muppets marching and waving union jacks.

[Barry]

My wife as you know is english , but spent part of her childhood in scotland. She always mentions the fact when she came up to school in west scotland from east englia , she was a year behind her peers in scotland in terms of education.

She also reminisces the fact the first thing she was asked , "are you english " ?

"yes " she replied , and then the second question was  "are you protestant english or catholic english."?

I bet that made her feel really welcome. How awful for her.

[cromwell]

Not really borkie , i think you have it all wrong there.

The scottish education system has always been a sore point with you english as it forced you to confront many uncomfortable truths.

When the uncultured , backward , barbaric anglo saxons first came to these islands 1600 years ago , it was the scottish and irish who came down to show you how to read write add up and hold a bible the right way around.

English kings like Aldfrith of northumbria were famously eduated among the scots and irish , and while the gaidhlig scribes were penning the great illuminated celtic gospel books at kells , Doire ,echternach , armagh etc , the anglo saxon peasants were still carving on cave walls.

In the later medieval times , scotland had five universities when england only had three.

What scotland is really famous for is educating the poor for free while the rest of europe didnt. The presbyterian taliban cottoned onto the fact that back in the celtic times , the scots and irish educated the poor to provide a steady pool of highly educated talent , so they revived this ancient tradition which went onto produce the scottish enlightenment.

I dont think borkie that scottish education ,  which was always deliberately exaggerated to wind up you english , has declined under wee krankie. I think its more the fact the rest of the world has caught up with us , including you english.

Well all that learning didn't do you much good that you have been under the heel of those illiterate English for over three hundred years as you keep telling us.   

[Thomas]

Actually, I always thought Pat went to George Town Comprehensive.  And the main tenet of the Guyanese education system was that you were there to learn and if you didn't you got a flogging until you did. Several Guyanese friends have waxes sentimental about the system.

Flogging doesnt seem to have worked in pats case though borkie.

While pat was being flogged to learn , i was sitting back with my feet up in class throwing rubbers about , sharpening pencils to stab in eyes , and putting pubes in the teachers tea.

I still learned enough though to understand the basic fact there isnt any such thing as a "british " education . Pat really struggles to lower himself to say the word "english" doesnt he?

My wife as you know is english , but spent part of her childhood in scotland. She always mentions the fact when she came up to school in west scotland from east englia , she was a year behind her peers in scotland in terms of education.

She also reminisces the fact the first thing she was asked , "are you english " ?

"yes " she replied , and then the second question was  "are you protestant english or catholic english."?

[Thomas]

Pat's problem is that he wants to back the same horse in different races. On the one hand, he never fails to tell everyone how well educated and successful he is, how extensive his property portfolio is, and how he travels the world first class in his fantastic business career - while frequently playing the race card with references about the the mistreatment he has received at the hands of the law (and others), none of which apparently prevented him from having a successful career or aquiring his property empire. I know the old bill slapped me up a few times, yet I never managed to acquire a property portfolio in London or fly first class to Timbuktoo every third week day. Obviosuly I'm not half the bloke he is, or he doesn't appear to grasp how the contradictions play out to other readers. Either he is a wholly exceptional person who has risen above adversity, or his start in life was not affected by the colour of his skin to the extent he would have others believe. I think that in reality, his education was probably better and more extensive than that of most others, regardless of their skin colour ir place of birth. In the end, this has turned Pat into a small c conservative with his own bigoted views

For all his talk about "British education", he has little to no idea of what the reality meant for the average Secondary Modern or Comprehensive school kid in this country, firstly because by his own admission he was sent away to be educated, and secondly because be displays absolutely zero knowledge of what life for a council estate pleb was like in Hackney, let alone Glasgow. As for Pats understanding of history, its basically what the BBC History website says it is.

Brilliant post deppity. All i will add is there is something seriously wrong in the life of a man who spends his spare time coming on an obscure political forum in the outer reaches of the interwebby trying and failing to wind up old white men , ladies and uncultured uneducated backward council estate plebs like us.

If i had a property portfolio , a swedish supermodel on my arm and a billion pound two bedroom terrace in that shithole hackney , i wouldnt be wasting my life coming on here talking to you clowns.

If i had spent tens of thousands on some colonial "british " education for my son and he was regularly being corrected by uneducated plebs on an internet forum , i think i would be demanding my money back.

I seem to have got for free at some shit glesga comprehensive and govan public library a basic knowledge of the "state" we live in that pat didnt at his mega expensive university.