Of course I blame government for causing schools, particularly in the 5 - 11 year age group, to have effectively abandoned that 10% - 20% who aren't going to meet the targets and spoil that statistics. But society still has to cope with them. Somehow. keep to the Fen Causeway
Meh, having lived within stumbling distance of the most dangerous neighborhood in the Murder Capital of the United Kingdom -- where the murder rate is still 1 per 100k lower than that of New York (which is, if I remember correctly, lowest among the big American cities) -- I have to say that my impression is of the Brits being afraid of the bogeyman.
Not to say the the kids aren't occasionally a problem, but mostly the annual Missing White Women Invasion of the Yobs season seems be more of a matter of old people being afraid of young people. It's quite common in college towns here.
The fear of kids over there puzzled me. Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin
There are gaps in the social security systems and if you fall threw them, can not find a job and do not have (or is to proud to use) family and friends you can leech of, you are just about out of legal options. Of course, you can argue that there are better criminal options then the violent ones, but that would depend on your particular set of skills. A vote for PES is a vote for EPP! A vote for EPP is a vote for PES! Support the coalition, vote EPP-PES in 2009!
The only exception is if you're a drug addict. Then you do need to commit crimes to finance your habit.
The problem here is dual, one that Sweden has a War on Drugs mentality that would make the US proud, and two, because all the massive centralised insitutions (mental hospitals, narcotics clinics etc) were closed in the 80's because they were considered "inhumane". Which well, was partly true. But the principle was sound, the practice was just a little harsh at times, and they could have been reformed. Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.
Unfortunately, the ones who don't give a damn at 14 didn't give a damn at seven, either. I reckon, even if I can't prove, that we can almost always tell when a child is supported at home. You do get children who are keen to learn despite parents who don't much care, but not many of them. And wits' end just about covers it some days. I'm far enough down the food chain that Sats results don't worry me much as a statistic. But in terms of individual achievement, they're terrifying. I was told in my initial training that 85% of children who get level 4 (the government target) at age 11 will get "five good GCSEs". 85% of children who don't, won't. That's one hell of a motivation to get the best out of every child you can.
