|
The stench of
hypocrisy from the Tories over athletes and the continuing sell off
of school playing fields
CHILDHOOD obesity is linked
to a host of illnesses including Type II Diabetes, Congestive Heart
Failure and Cancer. A poor diet and lack of exercise are the main
causes of childhood obesity. Tragically little is being done by the
Government to benefit schools in tackling these contributory factors
with little spent on nutritious school food and Michael Gove
committed to selling off yet more playing fields.
The Green Party believes that it is imperative to preserve
children's playing fields. The Conservative and Liberal Democrats
coalition agreed with us in the beginning where they too "pledged
to protect these playing fields"
(ref). However, with Minister
of Education, Michael Gove going back on his word and selling these
recreational facilities to high paying developers, it is very
difficult for children to find an area for them to keep fit.
Ironically only this week Prime Minister David Cameron expressed
concern that too many top British athletes in the Olympics attended
private schools, and as a result, we are not as concerned with
"sports excellence"
(ref)! We cannot expect to have
children of the future succeed in sports by taking away their venues
to practice.
Green Party Green Party Families and Children Spokesperson, Emma
Pruen comments:- "Sport is essential to the emotional and
physical health of the nation, and the well being of children.
Children who participate in sport are proven to be happier and
healthier. Insuring the fitness of our children will save the NHS
billions for years to come, yet for all the posturing of our
public-school educated government they are still selling off school
playing fields and reducing the time available for sporting
activities. This is so short sighted it beggars belief. The rising
obesity levels and instances of childhood depression will only get
worse if Michael Gove continues with his selfish and short-sighted
plans. Cameron's pronouncements about public school supremacy are
supremely hypocritical when the actions of his education minister
will ensure only privately educated children have the teaching and
facilities to become our next generation of medal winners. If we
want the playing fields of England to be filled with the next
generation of Mo's and Jessica's the government must stop selling
those fields off to the highest bidder." |
 |
Schools 20 years
behind on ICT teaching
A leading UK expert on information and communications
technology (ICT) says that the teaching of ICT in England and Wales
is 20 years out of date and as a result a whole generation has been
lost who could have designed the systems of the future. He places
the blame on the government for failing to set an appropriate
curriculum.
Dr Mike Short CBE, President of the Institution of Engineering and
Technology (IET) said:- "Whilst the current generation, often
referred to as the 'Net Generation', are heavy users of ICT
in their social interaction, very few have been taught how to
understand, design and build upon the technology that underpins most
of our daily lives.
The current school ICT syllabus is not appropriate for the digital
generation since it does not equip our young people to be able to
understand or compete in the modern world. There is an urgent need
for school to be teaching the current generation Computer Science as
a subject in schools in order that our future workforce is equipped
to design, build and maintain the next generation of infrastructure,
systems and products, all of which require elements of computer
science and engineering, but also sufficiently qualified,
experienced and informed to take advantage of the plentiful career
opportunities within the digital and computing industries."
The IET and many other professional bodies believe that the ICT
education is in a dire situation, which is already posing a risk to
the UK and its globally competitive position.
Dr Short continued:- "One of the side effects of this poor
teaching has been to grow generations of students who, though avid
users of technology, have absolutely no insight into how modern ICT
systems work."
To help remedy the situation, the IET has joined forces with the
Computing at Schools Group to build on the considerable success they
have achieved so far in the promotion of teaching Computer Science.
The IET, Europe's largest professional body for engineers and
technicians, believes that by pooling resources and effort, it can
support the already considerable progress made to date. The IET will
further build momentum by utilising its network of volunteers and
schools ambassadors. |
