h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Dilbert is a cartoon documentary.

Regarding software, the people whose needs are the most important are the people whose opinions are never asked - the users. Either a suite of features is put together by marketing or, in the case of bespoke software, the required features are decided by a director at the commissioning company. Either way, the end product seldom meets the user's needs exactly. Ideally software should be prototyped, with input and feedback from actual users. In 20 years as a software engineer this happened once. There are plenty of reasons for not doing it with 'off-the-peg' software, but I can't think of a good reason for not doing it with bespoke software.

SATS (officially 'National Curriculum Tests')

How does it benefit a 7-year-old to sit exams?

<BB<

It doesn't...

I hate to start a post with 'When I was young', but...

When I was young, children in infant school didn't sit exams. I think I remember a math's exam in junior school, but that was in my final year if my memory serves me. I don't remember anything in the way of exams before then.

Yes, basic literacy and numeracy are important, and it's possible that children are going to secondary school without these skills. But I don't see the need to have exams for children in infant school. It introduces the kids to exam stress far too early, IMO.

As far as I can tell, the only thing these exams are used for is to allow the school to boast that '98% of students at our school get grade x or above'. I'm not convinced that it is worth it.

<BB<

we had "exams" at the end of every school year in my junior school. One in each subject, we had exercise books that we used all through the school (I remember in the 4th year having a look through). It was, however, a very old school with a real "old school" headmaster.

We had tests in English, maths, scripture, geography and history. We were also streamed according to ability and stuff like that. most of my class passed the 11+ and went to grammar schools. Not sure what happened to everyone after that though.

Hammondorgan, I'm disinclined to trust that site given that it gives some GPs as earning a salary of between £10-20k and splits them by sectors that include 'IT' and 'catering', where one doesn't tend to find a lot of GPs... people using unreliable data to back up an argument is another PH.

(Also, I did not know many GPs were self-employed and in failing to find any properly reliable data on GP salaries I saw the question "why do GPs only do things if they are paid?" which is the stupidest thing I can think of on account of the whole bit where they're not unpaid volunteers.)

Aye! When you phone these so called "help centres" they all have a bit of paper that have to recite word for word, before they will even listen to you?

Then they go and on about the procedure we are supposed to go through, before we call them, and even if you tell them that you have already done all that! they insist that you go thought it all! all over again!

Smudger.

Mr D, my original posting re GP's and their incomes was meant as a bit of fun really but never mind, whether you trust the site I quoted or not, there are hardly any GP's on NHS salaries and to quote NHS salary figures is meaningless, most GP's make double NHS rates, some considerably more, this is factual sorry if it's inconvenient, have a word with a competent HR professional, they should be able to put you right.

PH People who telephone at lunchtime & say they hope they're not disturbing lunch - well why didn't they ring at a more neutral time then?

Hammondorgan, your post did not come across to me as fun, and it's rather likely that I have Asperger's so you do the maths.

There is nothing inconvenient about facts, but I like my facts to be presented from reliable and consistent sources rather than ropey websites and anecdotes (cf. Asperger's)

As for the veiled insult in the 'competent HR professional' part, I will have you know that I am a VERY competent HR professional. I was simply not aware that the NHS worked so differently from the rest of the public sector (my HR career has taken me from doing HR for the Research Councils and into the Civil Service, I have been a driving force in improving operational processes and policy awareness within the NDPB I work for, have recently been promoted and am piloting a new model of query management which is proving a great success.)

And yes I am completely aware that I could have not posted that, but that's neurodiversity for you...

PH: Bickering

PH: Smartarses.

"Nobody likes a smartarse"

Wurf!

"Nobody likes a smartarse" biggrin

I do

ROW!!!