Levels of obesity in the western world are rising continuously.
At the same time it does seem that expectations for education are dropping rapidly.
It is concerning here in the UK that our media is content with presenters that are extremely affable and arguably ticking required boxes but at the expense of intellect or experience. I do not question their popularity nor their ability to do what is required, my concern is that it is a promotion and an affirmation of 'education doesn't really matter'.
In fact we have very little in the way of positive promotions of the benefits of a good education within the media. I remember enduring a BBC Jeremy Vine show in which they discussed the merits of a university 2.2 degree, to the point that they were promoting it as the optimum outcome.
Of course there is an element of trying to be nice and being supportive of those who will not achieve academically, but we are at the point of making having had a good education as being detrimental.
There was always an element of burden to being the class, year, school 'brain/swot/geek' but that tended to diminish as you progressed through school and the advantages of a good career started to become apparent. Now, however, there are just too many examples of 'success' that has not required that tertiary educational attainment.
But it is like the teenager who intends to make their fortune at football. The numbers that succeed are very, very small. A good education is still, by far, the most secure way of maximising your opportunities in life. This fact needs to be rigourously and continuously pushed.
But the real concern is that we are digging a ditch through society. On one side we have an ever increasing number of people who are not taking the education available and at the same time are exposed to a poor diet, unfortunately resulting in carrying way too much weight.
It is appalling that we are creating a generation in which so many will be both unhealthier and less well educated than we are. But I don't think we can possibly fix this situation without being extremely honest and forthright. We cannot tackle the problem if we are not prepared to acknowledge that their is a problem.
And finally I do believe that there is an element within our political set up who don't really see this as a problem for them, They are just too caught up in there own self centered bubble to have time for the bigger and longer term picture.
So in a school of 1200 kids that's nobody, you need ten schools that size.....
Comentários