Iluvbertie said:
Child centred education actually means a lot more than helping kids achieve their potential. *It also means not telling them their limitations e.g. allowing them to fail.
These days giving kids marks is frowned upon - because it might upset him. *That is child centred education - very different from the ideas of the 60s that Charles experienced.
Then you have to have the marks and yes 2 A levels was a borderline entrance mark to Cambridge but they did also interview entrants to ensure that they would fit in with the culture of the system and were also doing the right courses for them - a different concept altogether to the modern ideas of telling people that they can do anything they like despite the fact that they actually don't have the abilties - that is what child centred education is all about - and one of the consequences was the rioting last week of disconnected people who had been told all their youth that they could do anything and then when they got into the real world found that they couldn't so they hit back at the society.
Quite the opposite. *They have not had access and they have been told that their options are limited. *
Do you really believe that the problem is that these youths were given too much encouragement and made to have too much hope for their future prospects and that the British school system hadn't sufficiently stripped them of any overblown faith in their own potential?
I am mindful that you have consistently assumed a low intelligence and limited abilities amongst all of the riot participants, who are, as a group, economically underprivileged inner city youths, of mixed racial backgrounds. *(please don't take offense, this is my observation only.)
Obviously, one can project onto another person any number of experiences, but it is useful to listen to the actual voices of the people that are assuming to know so much about. *Did you have a chance to see the video from before the riots that I posted from Guardian UK? *Did you see the young man saying that he can't go out of his neighborhood because people look at him and seem afraid of him, and how, without the youth programs, he has no where to go, but to stand on the street corner while people eye him warily? Is this one of the over encouraged children you referring to, to whom too much has been given?
Rather than making such indefensible and reckless statements, why not listen to what Prince Charles himself has said on the matter? *Rather than digging his heels in over his previous statements that you are somewhat absurdly defending, he has EVOLVED in his thinking. *This is what some refer to as wisdom, when one learns from experiences and gains insight and compassion. *You are defending a line of thought that PC has apparently abandoned:
Prince Charles while visiting Tottenham after the riots:
"Half the problem is that people join gangs because it’s a cry for help and they’re looking for a sense of belonging"
Schools don't have enough extra-curricular activities now. There are not enough organised games or other kinds of activities. Young people need self-confidence. We have to motivate and encourage them and give them responsibility."
Earlier in the day he had also set out a policy idea, attempting to sketch out a way forward. ";We should have national community service to give all sorts of opportunities,"he said." All we have been doing is dealing with the symptoms, not giving the opportunities."