Sophisticated Interactive Cheating Learning

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Only in the bizarre (as in anachronistic, educationally limiting and often damaging, economically draining and environmentally indefensible) world of mass schooling in the 21st century would looking something up on the Internet be considered cheating. To quote Stephen Crowne, Chief Executive, Becta,

“Equipping our current and future generations with the necessary skills to compete in a digital world is crucial to our future. Through innovative programmes such as Home Access, Becta is driving this development.  We can see in schools and colleges across Britain how the use of technology breeds greater success for students and teachers alike.”

Quite.

Or from a Microsoft Word document (No! Don’t laugh!) linked from the DCSF site, but without any indication what it is or who created it or when it was created (No! Don’t laugh!) ….

Gone are the days when young people spend endless school days poring over dusty textbooks. Learning is now interactive, sophisticated, and engaging.

Ho hum!

Synchronous Civil Disorder and Chess by Correspondence

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It was one of those happy synchronous moments reading the latest Freedom in Education post just after reading A Brief, Yet helpful, Guide to Civil Disobedience by [W:Woody Allen] which is full of brief, yet helpful, advice…

When the ‘oppressors’ become too strict, we have what is known as a police state, wherein all dissent is forbidden, as is chuckling, showing up in a bow tie or referring to your local MP as “Fats.” Civil liberties are greatly curtailed in a police state, and freedom of speech is unheard of, although one is allowed to mime to a record. Opinions critical of the government are not tolerated, particularly about their dancing. Freedom of the press is also curtailed and the ruling party ‘manages’ the news, permitting the citizens to hear only acceptable political ideas and Football scores that will not cause unrest.

But I only found that by chance while looking for the piece about the two guys playing [W:Correspondence chess], (throw another log on the fire and I will tell you about the olden days when people wrote letters to each other), which never fails to leave me rolling on the floor in a crumbled tearful state. I had earlier been enjoying some [W:Spike Milligan] which requires that you engage in his [W:Dada], absurdist, [W:Surreal humour]; whereas the Allen piece, The Gossage-Vardebedian Papers, is absurd but in a normal kind of way. The two protagonists play Chess by exchanging letters, the thinly spread civility of their correspondence barely covering the out-and-out cheating. This eventually culminates in the abandoning of Chess in favour of [W:Scrabble] from the setting down of the first seven letter word we know that nothing will change in their relationship.

Look at me going on about books! Martine will be so proud 😉