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

Hi Wayde!

Thanks for your most recent message - I do agree we should have a new title; and thought that the above might suffice for the moment.

It seems to me that by going back as you put it to education, is by far the best way - not being bulldozed into it without having time to think if it is really what you wanted to do.

I do not know what the differences are between our respective educational systems. However, as I am opposed to our current way of teaching, perhaps I'm the last person to give opinions.

In the past, we have 'streamed' our students according to their abilities - so that those with a higher acedemic ability were not held back by those who were less gifted; and those less able to achieve, were not made to feel inadequate because they were studying with their peers etc.

Due to the current 'political correctness' (I really do hate that phrase and all it implies) all students are gathered together in age groups and no distinction is made regarding ability.

Given that young people have to go out into the world after school and secure some form of gainful employment, it is absolutely amazing that we currently have a system which forbids examiners from penalizing students at exam time, for spelling errors, errors of grammar and basic mathematical mistakes. Who is going to employ someone who cannot master the basics of spelling and addition?

I have been for many years, involved in employment; and the first and usually only picture one gets, is the basic CV ( employee profile) Unfortunately, if this involves many spelling mistakes, this person's paperwork gets put aside in favour of one who can communicate more fluently - they may not be the best person for the job; but that's the way it happens.

'O' Levels (ordinary) - studied for, between the ages of 11-16 - this is the basic school leaving certificate requirement, covering such subjects as: Mathematics, Geography, History, English Literature, English Language (Grammar), Science, IT, Design and Technology etc. It is also compulsory to take one foreign language in the first year and a second language in the second year. This is the foundation requirement which employers look for when employing people who have just left school, for jobs in factories, shops, lower office positions or apprenticeships. They are usually lower paid jobs with less prosect for advancement. I believe the grading is from A down to G - most employers require a basic minimum of C or above.

'A' Levels (advanced) between the ages of 16-17, students with a higher acedemic leaning, can choose to remain in school/6th form college; and choose which subjects they wish to study at 'A' level; usually those at which they excelled at 'O' level. The most usual option is three subjects, though 4 or 5 is not unusual (my Daughter took 4) - these students either have a much better prospect in the jobs market; or decide to enrol for a University place.

Sorry if I have bored you with all this; but I just wanted to make you au fait with how things are over here; and I hope its been helpful.

I also love reading - Bill Bryson's a firm favourite but I'm afraid that W Somerset Maugham is a bit heavy for me. I do however, love 'Waiting for God' Stephanie Beecham is so irreverant but really conveys what many senior citizens must feel about the way in which they are treated by the younger generation.

Take Care

Hey, thanks! I wasn't bored at all with your explanations of A-levels and O-levels. I've heard these terms for years and never knew what they were all about. As for your assessment of what it leads to when we try to so "one-size-fits-all" education, I couldn't agree more. Too much worry about self-esteem and not enough about what's best for students.

I'm running out the door to a meeting, but when I have a spare minute (HA!) I'll give you a blurb about the current state of education and assessments here in the good old U.S. of A. It's not a pretty picture, but not as bad as most people paint it, either.

Looking forward to chatting some more!

Wayde

OK Wayde, look forward to hearing from you when you have more (time to spare) this is a concept I have heard of; but never seem to manage to find any

Take care

Hey!

How are you doing? Hope all is well with you and yours. I'm just, plain, tired and back at my desk after a long weekend off work. The Fourth of July is a big holiday here, of course. The official name of the holiday is Independence Day, but almost everyone just calls it the Fourth of July. This gives rise to jokes among little kids. You say to them, "Do they have a Fourth of July in England?" and they answer no, and you say, "Yes, they do, and a Fifth, and a Sixth, and so on, just like us."

Anyway, as my kids and I watched the old Willy Wonka movie over the long weekend, my daughter asked me something that maybe you can help me with. Generally, I can interpret any Briticisms that come along, but I was stumped. In the movie (I don't know if you're familiar with it) there's a spoiled little brat named Veruka Salt who always gets everything she wants. Well, in her song about getting everything that she wants she starts off singing "I want a feast," to which her father says, "You et before we came." She then says, "I want a bean feast," and the old man says, "Oh, one of those."

So, the question is, what's a bean feast? The interpretation I get from the song is that it's some kind of junk-food-fest. I tried looking it up on h2g2, but got no help there. It is apparently a popular enough term to have been included in that song/movie, but I have never heard a reference to it anywhere else.

Any idea? And even if my interpretation is correct, why would it be called a bean feast, when beans are not exactly in the same league as cream buns and doughnuts. (Don't even get me started, by the way, about that movie. As much as it has become an icon and all that, I'm SO happy they're making a new version of it. Let's hope it's a little more true to the book. At least they're going to use the proper title this time around.)

Talk to you later!
Wayde

BEAN-FEAST, primarily an annual dinner given by an employer to his workpeople, and then colloquially any jollification. The phrase is variously derived. The most probable theory is that which connects it with the custom in France, and afterwards in Germany and England, of a feast on Twelfth Night, at which a cake with a bean buried in it was a great feature. The beanking was he who had the good fortune to have the slice of cake in which was the bean. This choosing of a king or queen by a bean was formerly a common Christmas diversion at the English and Scottish courts, and in both English universities. This monarch was master of the revels like his congener the lord of misrule. A clue to his original functions is possibly found in the old popular belief that the weather for the ensuing twelve months was determined by the weather of the twelve days from Christmas to Twelfth Night, tue weather of each particular month being prognosticated from each day. Thus the king of the bean of Twelfth Night may have originally reigned for the twelve days, his chief duty being the performance of magical ceremonies for ensuring good weather during the ensuing twelve months. Probably in him and the lord of misrule it is correct to find the lineal descendi ant of the old king of the Saturnalia, the real man who personated Saturn and, when the revels ceased, suffered a real death in his assumed character. Another but most improbable derivation lot bean-feast connects it with M.E. bene prayer, request, the allusion being to the soliciting of alms towards the cost of theit Twelfth Night dinner by the workpeople.

Got the above information from the Web - hope it is of some use - sorry that I have to rush right now, as we have a canine problem which needs urgent attention. will respond more personally in the near future - happy belated 4th July.

Hi!
Thanks for the bean feast info. I looked around the web a little, but didn't, apparently, do a thorough enough job. Is that a commonly-used phrase? I mean, would you actually say to someone that you were having a bean feast?

Sorry to hear about the canine emergency. Hope it all works out for the best.

More later,
Wayde

Hi Wayde! yeah, if you were having a really good get-together here, we would call it a 'bean feast' any sort of special occasion or party could be called that!

Doggy seems to be ok at the moment, as he's now 12 yrs old we take extra care with him. The Vet and 'Scamp' have a mutual hate society going between them - the Vet looks at the dog from 20 mtrs and charges £20.00 for the privelidge; without either of them getting too close.

I am sorry that my info is not much 'cop' but if I can be of any more use, I'll be happy to oblige.

Take care and have a happy August (do you call it Fall?)

Hey!
Happy to hear that the pooch is on the mend. I used to have a dog that the vet didn't particularly like to work on. He would put a ridiculously restrictive muzzle on him to work on him. Meanwhile, he (the dog) was the gentlest creature imaginable. He was a Pomeranian, though, and they have a reputation for being overly snappy.



To answer your question, no, we don't call August fall. We distinguish the seasons based on the various solstices, but apparently this is not the norm throughout the world. This is an odd thing that I only discovered within the last 10 years or so. I read somewhere that there are countries where they very logically divide the seasons based strictly upon the months of the year. Four seasons; thus three months per season. June, July, and August comprise summer for these places, and you can work out the rest from there. It matches reality pretty well (at least in a temperate zone in the northern hemisphere) but we don't do it that way in the good old U.S. of A.

We won't oficially consider it fall until September 21 or 22. Then winter won't officially begin until December 21 or 22, depending upon when the shortest day of the year (the solstice) occurs. In day-to-day practice, though, most people consider the beginning of fall to be the day school begins or they call Labor Day weekend the "last weekend of summer." Labor Day is the first Monday in September, so its date varies from the first to the 7th, depending upon where the first of September lands.
Following this logic, March 21 or 22 marks the beginning of spring (when most of us in the U.S. still get the occasional snow storm) and summer doesn't begin until June 21 or 22, when everyone has already been out of school for "summer vacation" for weeks already.
The school year summer and the "real" summer never really line up, which is why it's probably better to ignore all of these complexities and call it what it looks like. If it's snowing outside, or carolers are at the door, then it must be winter. If most people are dressing in short pants and going to the beach, then it must be summer. And so on...

Isn't life fascinating?

Hi Wayde! Yeah, life is so fascinating its unreal!! I have read your posting of last week and am extremely interested; and do intend to reply. However, have a problem with time; and family committments at the moment, so must unfortunately (I think your phrase for this is 'must take a rain check') not sure if that's the correct phrase but I hope so.

I hope to respond more fully in the next couple of days. Just didn't want you to think that I wasn't interested in responding or was just too ill-mannered to answer.

Take care!

Speak Soon

Hi encore!

How are you doing over the 'pond'?

Today - Wednesday is absolutely glorious here. The sun is shining, the dickie birds are singing; and all's right with the world. So Far!!

I knew there was something important that I needed to do - now I've remembered what it was - sorry for the delay in responding.

Found the following little snippet, which I thought might be of some interest:

Equinoxes and Solstices 2005

The Equinoxes and the Solstices mark the beginning of the seasons in the Northern Hemisphere and also mark the entry of the sun into each of the cardinal zodiac signs.

The Spring or Vernal Equinox begins when the sun enters Aries, the beginning of the astrological New Year. In the year 2005 the sun enters Aries on the 20 March at 12h 33 m GMT.

The Summer Solstice (the longest day) occurs on 21 June 2005 at 06h 46m as the sun enters the zodiac sign of Cancer.

The Autumnal Equinox begins when the sun enters Libra, the halfway point of the astrological year. In the year 2005 the sun enters Libra on the 22 September at 22h 23m GMT.

The Winter Solstice (the shortest day) occurs on 21 December 2005 at 18h 35m GMT as the sun enters the zodiac sign of Capricorn.

Looks pretty much like your calculations with the exception of Autumn/Fall which is quite a bit later here.

Have to 'fly' again - take care

Hey!

Now it's my turn to apologize for being incommunicado. I was away on vacation all last week and spending most of Monday and Tuesday of this week digging through the pile of work on my desk before I could even think of signing on to hootoo.

I love that stuff about the solstices and so on. I'm sure tha makes me strange in some way, but we already knew that. Any time I come up with some mathematical oddity and try to share it with my friends or family, they pretty much look at each other and say, "Yeah, that's fascinating," while rolling their eyes. Oh well.

Still digging through the in-box, which includes an accusation of a hazing incident on my high school's football team. So I must run and take care of that matter.

I guess what I call football you would call "American football," right? Because when you say football you mean soccer. Do you ever call soccer soccer, or is it strictly known as football to you? (words fascinate me too!)

Wayde

Hi Wayde

How about this for a speedy reply - my oh my I can't believe my own response speed here.

It just so happens that for the first time in a great many years, Husband and I are having to take separate holidays this year; due to the age/temper of the dog. He's 12 going on 90 now and is most unpredictable with strangers/vets/kennel maids. Also its not fair to uproot him just so we can go away together. Hubby is therefore currently sunning himself in Cornwall and I have time on my hands in the evening. No comments like "are we having any conversation tonight", when I turn on the computer - my man is not computer literate and has no interest.

Back to your missive.

Hope that you had a good vacation - did you go anywhere I might have heard of? and what sort of things did your family enjoy doing? nosy aren't I? but its nice to learn how other people spend their leisure time.

I tend to leave most mathematical oddities to Daughter; as previously 'boasted', she's the Maths Graduate and tends to make me feel inadequate when it comes to numbers (not intentionally). I still find them fascinating, but keep any interest to myself. Have you seen the numbers pyramid?

Soccer/Football: Over here it is always football. You may get the occasional newspaper reference to soccer; but its very rare. Thinking about it, the only time you hear any reference to 'soccer' is when it is teamed with 'violence' We have an abysmal record here in the UK for this, the papers will always refer to 'soccer violence' or 'football hooliganism' No matter what sentences they pass out, nothing seems to deter these morons. Personally, I'd bring back the public stocks (are you familiar with this ancient concept?) Humiliation in front of one's peers; and being made to look a fool whilst your friends watch, seems to me to be the ultimate disgrace. Being pelted with old fruit and veg, whilst tethered in a public place, would surely deter the most ardent villain!!

I'm not sure what I would call American football. I believe its the game which I like to watch sometimes, if it weren't on in the early hours, where the players are all padded out above the waist to look three times their size, wear helmets with grilles and run like h**l with the ball, hoping not to get crashed to the ground by the opponents before they reach their destination - is that Football to you? In its widest comparison, that would be likened to our game of rugby - no padding, no helmets, only back passes allowed, but I think similar aims for scoring. However, I'm no expert, in fact I'm a complete novice.

Will go away now and stop boring you for another evening.

Take care, respond when you feel the urge

Hey!
That WAS a speedy response, and check me out, getting right back to you.. I think I may get the hang of this conversation thing.

I'm not all that familiar with rugby. I've seen snippets of games in various movies, and I once worked with a guy who played on a team. Rugby players seem to think that American football players are wimps for wearing pads, and they appear to revel in their own injuries. I don't understand it, but to each his/her own!

The old stocks is, indeed, a great idea for punishing certain offenses. I have always thought that they'd be good for child molesters.

As for soccer violence, I must say that as the principal of a high school (and several other schools before this one) it has been my experience that soccer players and their parents are the most fanatical, unreasonable, and generally disagreeable bunch I've ever had to deal with. They have more parents thrown out of games than any other sport and generally raise the most unpleasant children. I'm sure these people are the exception and are in the minority of all soccer-players everywhere, but they certainly dominate the perception of the sport.

Separate vacations due to your dog's advanced years... you are great dog-owners. I have made similar sacrifices for pets and have not regretted it. My vacation, since you ask, was in North Carolina, one of the southern states. My daughter and I drove 11 hours to get to Emerald Isle, North Carolina, which is a small island that juts out from the coast of NC. While we were there, my ex-wife took our son to Boy Scout camp. I'll take the beach over a leaky tent in the woods any day!

The weather was beautiful (sunny and temps in the 90's every day) and the ocean water was warm. We shared a beach house with another family, and they wanted to take little day trips here and there, but my daughter and I spent all of our time at the beach. Our friends who shared the house live in North Carolina and can pretty much go to the beach any time they want. It's not that way for us in Pittsburgh, so we wanted to get as much beach time as we could. We built sand castles, swam, read, and lay in the sun getting tan. A relaxing vacation, but I don't know if it was worth putting in the 22 hours round-trip in the car.

Back to work for me as I'm still digging my way down to the surface of my desk... although I do have a nice tan while I'm doing it