Memoirs – A trip that goes astray
I had been partying hard on the idyllic island of Ibiza for 3 months. It was time to go home, back to England. It was either that or lose my mind to endless sleepless nights with too much drink. I had already sold my flight ticket home and was looking for the same deal. This involved using someone else’s ticket to get home. All the ticket holder had to do was check in with their passport and your bag, then you swapped. Thus, when you went through boarding, onto the plane, they only checked your ticket, ending up you went home cheaply on someone else’s ticket.
So, the ticket seller checked in my bag and showed his passport, got the boarding pass and my flight home was on. He then gave me the boarding pass, I paid him the money, and he left leaving me to catch the flight. On the way to the terminal I bumped into a girl friend of mine and told her the trick, she laughed. We both walked through the airport chatting about special Ibiza times without a care in the world.
It was now time to board, so I walked up to get on the flight. Unfortunately for me this time was like no other. The usual drill of just checking the ticket had gone, maybe they had cottoned on to the deceit. They were now checking tickets and passports together. What could I do? I had paid the money for the ticket and had to chance my luck. Moreover, I had already decided it was time to leave or risk further crazy problems. So, I walked up to the ground staff, they looked and looked again at the ticket and passport. There was a discrepancy. They pulled me to one side. My friend worryingly looked over, but there was nothing she could do.
The police arrived in no time, I was in trouble. They spoke no English and marched me away; all I could do was to accept the possibility of jail. They took me down the out of the main concourse and down flights of stairs. This was a long walk, where was I going? It was all getting louder. I could see the planes. It was then that I realised this must be the plane I was supposed to be on. I was marched up to the side of the plane and lifted up to find my bag. This was found in no time; at least it felt like that. I was certainly in a daze. Now, it was time to face the consequences of my actions. I thought my next move would be in the police car and kept overnight in some rough jail. They again marched me though the airport and then through a set of doors near the exit. It was then that they pushed me away and showed me the exit. I just walked half expecting this was not my chance to go. I was now outside; I kept walking then ran a little just be free of what just happened. I jumped in a taxi and was soon back to where I started all those hours ago.
(532 Words)
A&P Themes by John Updike
Once you read John Updike’s short supermarket story you are hit by many different themes. A reader could say it is the decadence of the girls who go against society’s norms by wearing their bikinis in the supermarket; there is also Sammy, a shop worker, who could well have made a rash and stupid decision to leave his job. Both of these themes are justified, although I believe that the main theme in this passage involves how mundane life can be. This is shown in the supermarket which is turned upside down with the entrance of the three scantly clad girls.
Within the first paragraph, the reader gets an idea of the two worlds Sammy is faced with. On the one hand Sammy has a welcome female distraction that he can not keep his eyes off, as he rings up the same product twice on the cash register. This is contrasted by the lady he is serving, as we find out she is a ‘witch’ of about fifty who sees his mistake and gives him ‘hell’. Sammy rudely comments that she would notice the mistake, as she had been doing week in week out for forty years.
Sammy alludes further to the dullness of the supermarket when he refers to the shoppers as ‘sheep pushing carts down the aisles’ and how they walk around the shop following each other, even though there are no one-way signs. Of course, the girls clash with this almost robotic movement of the shoppers by going against the flow of traffic.
Furthermore, we find the manager with some decisions to make. Sammy comments that he is a ‘pretty dreary’ figure. The manager does not help alleviate the mundane feel of this place, as his attitude to the girls does not raise a smile on his face. He comes straight out and tells them ‘this isn’t a beach’ He gives them a ‘sad superintendent stare’ as he reprimands them for not being decently dressed. We again see Sammy’s contrast to the situation, as he raises a smile which his manager notices and does not like. The manager compounds his dull attitude by commenting to the girls that it is the ‘company policy’.
Finally, the boredom and monotony of the supermarket is ultimately shown as Sammy quits his job. The experience of the day has told Sammy to seek a more interesting profession.
(Words 397)
The Morality of Competition – Frederick. M. Gordon
Competition, is it good or bad for us? Frederick. M. Gordon’s article pertains to this concept of competition and how it affects us in daily life. The question is answered in the first paragraph as a definite ‘bad’ as many factors hamper us due to competition while competition is still not always bad, or so the article says. In this short review, I will summarise the main points and key words from the article while also writing my application and implementation of the article’s moral ideas.
Competition is everywhere, and the article first highlights this with a married couple; the man is a, just made unemployed, carpenter. The bills need paying and his wife knows she has to help, although she is just the housewife. She decides to become a carpenter herself. The competition has started; she has not only become the breadwinner but also a rival to her husband’s wood skills to which her skills thus surpass by the end of her carpentry course at college. The husband has to only grudgingly accept it, but he does not accept it well, as he becomes a drinker and starts getting angry and eventually moves out.
The reader is asked what they think of the story. Many factors are working for the lady while the man has lost. She has shown talent and determination. She has become the one who may be taking over the role to protect her family. The sad aspect is that she was competing against him. The husband did not take it kindly and felt his superior position was being challenged.
The author then takes us on a moral path to show the opposing views that have arisen. From reading the story you may side with the lady, but as the author mentions the man may well commit suicide. So, who side would you be on then? This man dragged down to the depths where he felt so worthless. This now gets deeper into the moral dilemma of competition.
The question now turns to rivalry and how it affects each person. The example the author gives involves Shakespeare and Marlowe. Shakespeare weary of Marlowe’s writing wrote his own comparable style of writing to challenge his rival. This example shows one can raise his level of competition to exceed the other, but what if he never did that? The article mentions that this may fill anyone with anger.
The morality the author mentions is, is competition won by doing or making the other do worse?
So, here lies the answer, or so the author tries to explain, that research shows that ‘egalitarian cooperation’ is a superior system to ‘competiveness’. Competitiveness is seen in the gap that is created. For example, countries have so much to lose, the loss is huge, so friendly rivalries disappear. The threat to their identity creates a huge state of arousal. The author states that research shows that there should be ‘appropriate competition’ which is a good as cooperation.
Cooperation is highlighted next by the ‘Hawthorne Effect’. It is a simple idea that alleviates competitiveness by rewarding staff, as the article states. It was noticed that once the bosses recognised their workers and rewarded them for their work, the competition was less thought about and more was thought about cooperation. This would then lead to a ‘mutual concern’. The egalitarian reward system gave high morale and group identity. This is how the researchers felt as their findings led to a radical egalitarianism and concluded competition was bad.
The author sums up to state that competition is not on the whole bad. It can change where talent is shown which highlights someone’s weakness. The American system is mentioned as it serves to allow those people who have more skill and competition to succeed and not just in positions of tyranny and power.
Here is the warning and the moral dilemma the author highlights, and it involves socialism as a system that tried to make all people equal. Did it work? But, also has competitiveness stopped corruption, social problems? The author says he thinks that the research completed so far still has not answered these questions.
As a moral exercise that highlights competition and cooperation, we only need to look at schools. In all aspects of a school, they are organised in order for the development of relationships between and among students, staff, and the community. This is where cooperation and collaboration with the students are emphasized over competition. They have to learn values such as fairness, respect, and honesty which are part of everyday lessons in and out of the classroom. Any school is a caring community of learners in which there is a bond connecting the students, the staff, and the school while not forgetting the local community. Social, moral, and emotional learning is emphasized as much as academic learning. Students should be given ample opportunities to practice moral behavior through activities that show cooperation. Hopefully, this essay goes some way to demonstrate these facts.
(828 Words)
Functional Skills (Literacy and Numeracy) in 14-19 (Vocational) Education
(Written 2012)
Teenagers can be ill equipped for challenges in life because they lack skills in English and maths. Young students’ well being and their future prospects are made from them achieving required skills to help them to push forward in their chosen career. As of October 2011 the Functional Skills component, including literacy and numeracy, of vocational courses started to include these vital skills in the new model to take over from the old Key Skills qualification. Equipping students with these vital skills highlighted the Government’s measure for success of five GCSEs for any student which means GCSEs at least at grade A*-C – including Maths and English. Therefore, the provision of functional skills in young students’ vocational subjects is the route to achieving literacy and numeracy; being essential for the Government’s reforms of 14-19 education. Thus, what follows is this written report that will discuss literacy and numeracy which in vocational courses were, as mentioned, called Key Skills and their modern equivalent Functional Skills. The development, difficulties and the future of these skills for students will be discussed showing it to be a pressing problem under debate by past and present governments (and the opposition) with their policies and initiatives. Focus will be put on vocational/technical courses. Mentioned also is a time frame from 2001 to present day. Moreover, I will show that for the future of any student with skills in English and Maths including technical knowledge gained from their vocational course will develop each student to a better future; not only in education but also their career path. Additionally, a key underlying theme throughout this report acknowledges students ‘achieving economic well-being, making a positive contribution and enjoying and achieving’ that encapsulates Every Citizen Matters initiative to show the value of achieving functional skills. I will also take into account my own role in teaching functional skills that stresses the implementation of English language.
To begin with, looking over a period from 2001, the British Government has tried to instil literacy and numeracy into students. In 2001, for the Labour Government’s ‘Skills For Life’ strategy, there was an impetus at improving literacy and numeracy. In 2007 and having had an expenditure of £5 billion results still showed a large demographic with an inability to read or write simple sentences or a basic knowledge of mathematics (House of Commons Public Accounts Committee, 2008, pg. 3). For example, in 2006–07, 51,000 school leavers left without Level 1 Maths and 39,000 without level 1 English (House of Commons Public Accounts Committee, 2008, pg. 5). Targets have now been set for the Government’s World skills in literacy and numeracy for 2020 which were agreed in July, 2007 to make the UK a world leader. The value of acquiring these skills cannot be underestimated. The advancement beyond the basic measure of success in literacy and numeracy skills can be shown to be strategic for students. For example, Alison Wolf reported that advanced level 3 is a valuable qualification and helps in the progression of work while she described the level 2 (minimum measure of 4-5 CSE grade A* to C) as “the staple offer for between a quarter and a third of the post-16 cohort is a diet of low-level vocational qualifications, most of which have little to no labour market value” (Wolf, 2011, pg. 7). From the Wolf Report these are contradictory goals for future students. The major goal of any student is that he or she wants a job after their two years when completing an equivalence of at least 5 GCSE A* – C (Level 2) in their vocational course of choosing. The Wolf Report states that level 1 and 2 vocational awards offers poor or even negative returns (Alison Wolf, 2011, pg. 31). Furthermore, the Wolf Report worryingly recognised that less than 50% of school leaving sixteen year old students failed to achieve English and Maths GCSEs grade A* to C (Alison Wolf, 2011, pg. 8). This is where the need for functional skills is that it is for those who do not possess those GCSEs at grade A* – C. There has to be hope that students have the initiative to get these required (literacy and numeracy) skills and pass their vocational course and subsequently go further in education.
Although having better qualifications, level 3, is imperative and those cohorts do bode supposedly better, it should not be forgotten there is also a need for experience. For example, the Association of Employment and Learning Providers stated that it is much easier to find apprenticeships for those over 18 than under (Wolf, 2011. pg. 78). Moreover, in 2009 6% of employers recruited sixteen-year-olds and 11% of 17 or 18 years old compared to 1958 where a quarter acquired apprenticeships (Wolf, 2011. pg. 78). There is now a lack of work history and experience that students need. As mentioned, qualifications such as level 3 are seen to be more valuable and better in progression terms which mean functional skills have to be administered to bring those skills up that may be lacking through loss of impetus from employers and of full apprenticeships. So, from the Wolf report, there is a recognition that the integration of functional skills embedded into the students’ apprenticeships/vocational education gives them chance to develop and further use (all) their acquired skills in ways that represent meaningful context in the workplace. This, in turn, should help to improve the students in the long run with their chances in their chosen career and show prospective employers that students have more employability. Functional skills in vocational education give learners the opportunity to develop those skills that are lacking or have been ignored before. This predominantly helps build a skilled workforce that fits the needs of business and is better qualified.
Those skills needed for performing in the work arena, which are not there or have not been used, are predominant in my occupation as a teacher trainer. So, to highlight literacy, I noticed the stresses and strains from those on the course I administered; be they recent graduates or mature students, as I delivered English language teacher training to these people. I taught them for 20 hours per week which was broken down into modules. These modules focused on all aspects of second language teaching with lesson planning, teaching techniques, grammar, foreign language and classroom management. The students were from various background and ages. There could be young university graduates to people semi-retiring who wanted to teach English abroad. There was a consensus that was always mentioned in my classes that they never really learnt English at school: such as going into detail with parts of speech, context, inferring, implying, intonation etc. Moreover, during their course, they had to develop their writing and note taking skills so they could reach their goal of completing the work/tasks by the end of the course. However, the biggest challenge was the use of grammar and the realisation that they, as English teachers, actually have to explain this not only for themselves but also to their forthcoming students. On the whole, the problem is that students come on to the course expecting to just meet the course requirements, but they had to show that their performance on the course meets, or on the whole goes beyond, the standards in both assessment components: teaching practice and written assignments. Using these skills hit them hard and frustration was shown. In my position, as the trainer, I came up against a barrier of ignorance to English grammar, language and learning styles that it seemed like I was starting anew with some students. I ended up teaching them from scratch when I should have been teaching them to be teachers. This was exacerbated by me then having to embed these factors into my teaching methods such as communicative language teaching or task-based language teaching that I used. These method-based pedagogies brought critical discourse and discussion to the fore. Students did only see the end product of performing in the classroom before unearthing or learning and realising the fundamentals of English language before the start of the course. This hindered my actual work. Initially, having only been in this job for a short time I had to make inroads into the problem. My employer and I discussed having a grammar/language module before the students started on the course. Unfortunately, they completed this after the twenty hours of classroom study with their eight other written essay modules. I advised him that when I did my TESOL certificate, the school sent me a learner’s pack and within that I had grammar and language assignments; not far reaching exercises, but just as a refresher pack to get me ready for the course which definitely highlighted the skills I would need. My employer gave me good feedback, and it was hoped this could be introduced. Hopefully, our company could prepare them for better for the course and make them aware of an English teacher’s basic knowledge.
The question that now arises is: what is being done to cease this lack of literacy together with numeracy? In respect to this, as a way to not only avoid a (functional) skills shortage but also youth unemployment, back in 2007 the Labour government laid down plans for raising the school leaving age to 18. These plans were that by 2013 students would stay in education or training until they are 17 and come 2015 it will be 18 (Education and Skills Act 2008). The Wolf Report made this recommendation that ‘students who are under 19 and do not have GCSE A*-C in English and/or Maths should be required, as part of their programme, to pursue a course which either leads directly to these qualifications, or which provide significant progress towards future GCSE entry and success’ (Wolf, 2011, pg. 15). For example, this recommendation mirrors one fact that only 15 percent of students carry on with maths beyond compulsory education (Clark, 2012). All these factors work to solidifying the curriculum to achieve Maths and English for 14-19 year olds.
Above all students still need to be better qualified, skillful, employable young adults. For example, the Department of Education data showed ‘58.6 per cent achieved 5 or more GCSEs at grade A* to C or equivalent including English and Mathematics GCSEs or iGCSEs’ in 2011/12 (Department of Education, Oct 2012, pg.1). Additionally, Labour Leader Ed Miliband at the Labour Party Conference talked about his idea of the TechBac for the “forgotten 50%” that do not go to university (Milliband, 2 October 2012). Students would be able to start at 14 with academic and practical courses. On this note, Lord Baker of Dorking moved in front of Labour by introducing his own Technical Baccalaureate. Lord Baker’s Technical Baccalaureate would create not only technical subjects but also practical and vocational which would include functional skills in English and Maths which is an extended project and thinking and employability skills with English and maths at levels 2 and 3. This innovative proposal for a Technical Baccalaureate it was noted still needs working on, but there will be a pilot project and could be offered as early as 2014. This hopes again a new program will change the fortunes of young teens/adults who are technically/vocationally minded where they can be furthered in all their educational and employability skills to progress forward and achieve the desired qualifications and more.
To conclude this view of functional skills (literacy and numeracy) within the 14-19 education sector, this essay has shown that there is a need for young students to achieve not only the basic skills but also progressively higher skills. It was shown how vital education is for young students to have the right training and skills given to them, so they can confidently go through college and pursue a valuable career where functional skills and also every child matters aims can be truly achieved. Then, the government will be able to say that young students are properly equipped for the challenges of life and their career path.
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References
Clark, L (2012) Michael Gove: New ‘real life’ maths curriculum for sixth formers, Mail Online. accessed 1 December 2012, <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2225584/Michael-Gove-New-real-life-maths-curriculum-sixth-formers.html>
Department of education, (2012) GCSE AND EQUIVALENT RESULTS IN ENGLAND 2011/12 (PROVISIONAL) http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001094/sfr25-2012.pdf
Education and Skills Act 2008. (2008). Education and Skills Act 2008. Norwich, TSO.
House of Commons Public Accounts Committee. (2008). Skills for life: progress in improving adult literacy and numeracy. London, Stationery Office.
Lee, J (2012) Lord Baker leapfrogs government with plans for his own TechBac, TES, accessed 10 November 2012, < http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6309518>.
Miliband, A (2013) BBC News – Labour conference: Ed Miliband speech in full. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-19803646. [Accessed 11November 2013].
Wolf, A (2011) Review of Vocational Education: The Wolf Report, Stationery Office.
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A Larger World Opens – A Look at Imperialism and Colonialism
What made the Europeans so eager for expansion and control? Their vast empires stretched all across the world which led to trade and capitalism as we now it. As early as the 1400s Europe was aware of the high culture in China and overland trade routes to far off continents such as Asia. The only problem was that these trade routes were wholly Muslim enterprises. Not only were Chinese products being brought back but also Indian, as the trade for luxury in The West prospered. Unfortunately, at the time, the rise of the Ottoman Empire led to the curtailing of this trade, which instead of slowing down trade, led to the rise of sea travel and trade routes. European countries now wanted a slice of the profits to be made from the far away countries, not only Asia but also the Americas. Thus the first roots of Imperialism and Colonialism started to manifest.
Seas were precarious places and ships had to battle fierce waters and long distances, but the journeys were still made to be the first to conquer. In 1450, the Portuguese started to sponsor trade routes and in 1488 Bartolomeu Dias made crucial advances around the Cape of Good Hope, as he went looking for African gold and spices. Vasco De Gama sailed to the Indian Ocean and the West Indies. Also, explorer Pedro Alvarez Cabral ended up in Brazil by way of winds and tides from his Portuguese base which led to their claim of the land. These were intrepid voyages but were vital in opening trade and establishing colonies. It was actually the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus in 1492 that coined the phrase the Columbian Exchange which saw the Old World marry up with the New World as all kinds of good were to be transported to the Americas. Also in 1510, the Portuguese had landed in Goa, India, and as far as Macau marking their position as the domineering country. The world was expanding and the Portuguese took the initiative to have the control of most profitable routes.
The sixteenth century was a turning phase for the Portuguese. Although they were wise in their first exchanges, they were no match for the Spanish whose strength began to grow. Many voyages in the early 1500s by the Spanish (namely Columbus who was under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain and at the invitation of King Manuel I of Portugal, Amerigo Vespucci, whose name was given to the New World) emphasized Europe’s new goal to be in control of many places. Spain actually had gained control of Northern South America and Central America. By 1550 with Portugal not taking a hold on its stations, the Spanish began to incorporate themselves in Portuguese ventures. This turning point gave the Dutch and English the incentive to stake their claim on trade and control. The English had been slow to get in on the lucrative trade as they were fighting their own battles back home such as the famous War of the Roses. The Dutch also grew stronger as they had gained independence from Spain. Now, towns such as Antwerp and Amsterdam were major trade ports. The Dutch wanted to carry vast loads bought from the Far East at low prices and ship them back to Europe for vast profit. This was done by the opening up of the East India Company which would be one of the first multinational mega-corporations in trading. This company would take most of the Portuguese trade. The English, although having wars with the Dutch never really fought for this trade, having established trade with India and having acquired the seaport of Singapore as well as the colonies in North America. There was also the London East India Company which was a private entity and extremely powerful in itself. This company came to rule large parts of India with its military power and also its administrative functions. Europe was gaining control of the world.
Trade was not the only idea that was prevalent in these journeys to far off places. The motto was God, Glory, and Gold. This now begins to explain more of the suggestion that these explorers and the countries behind them were going forget all they needed. They wanted to convert the natives to their respective faith. Each of the explorers wanted the glory back in his homeland for finding new sources of income for the nation, and Gold was the income source they were looking for the most. Locals were unable to stop the European intruders with their fast weaponry and training that while this would seem total overthrow of the natives, trade was still done with locals with established trade. The Portuguese actually failed in this respect as they used their strength to try and take over all trade. The British, Dutch, and Spanish would later appease this by maintaining trade relationships but still with control. Trade continued and the Spanish crown took a vast amount of gold and silver from India to fill its coffers. The Catholic Spanish would also try to convert the locals. This was heightened by the fact that countries like England were Protestant. The Spanish took their technology, and strangely, disease to conquer most of South America, parts of the Southwestern United States, and all of Mexico and Central America. The English would make big inroads to North America along with the Dutch.
To conclude, the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were astonishing times of exploration and discovery. These European countries had enormous power and took it to all parts of the world colonising many countries and taking natural wealth from them. The Europeans also have the view that these were inferior lands but as time moved on instead of thinking that these people were just man-eaters they came to the view that they were ‘noble savages’. It could be said that European domination led to the erosion of many traditional values and destroyed many existing social relationships while taking many natural resources. Conversely, imperialism and colonialism can be said to have saved countries in a lot of ways by way trade, technology, roads, railroads, schools, hospitals and better farming.
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