Thursday, December 01, 2005

Britain's most PC job ever

Health chiefs have sparked controversy by planning to create a post of "learning disabilities tsar" - who MUST have learning disabilities.

Angry campaigners last night branded it a politically correct "gimmick" and warned it will be a waste of taxpayers' money. And they accused the Government of having "more tsars than Imperial Russia".

The successful applicant will help the National Director for Learning Disabilities, Rob Greig, to "understand the problems" faced by those living with such disabilities. The post has yet to be filled and Whitehall bosses refuse to reveal what the salary will be. But previous tsars - like drugs supremo Keith Hellawell - got more than 100,000 pounds a year.

Learning difficulties range from dyslexia - problems understanding words and reading - to severe autism, where a sufferer has difficulty making sense of the world around them and needs constant care. Yesterday the National Campaign Against Political Correctness said the tsar's wage would be better spent on real services. It argued that ministers could have asked for advice from learning disability groups and should have used the cash on teachers and care workers. A spokesman for the NCAPC said: "It seems to be a pointless appointment and a waste of taxpayers' money. "Surely the money should be spent on front-line services rather than these politically correct gimmicks. It seems that we have more tsars than Imperial Russia."

Bosses are not advertising the job and are instead hunting for candidates from within the learning handicapped community.

More here



British school bans its pupils from using the C-word

And it is not the c-word you might think

Christmas frenzy arrives earlier every year, with tinsel appearing in shop windows in September and Slade playing in supermarkets long before the clocks go back. But for one headmistress it has become a matter of principle to shield her pupils from the full force of the hype. Sue Lines has won praise from parents for keeping Christmas off the syllabus at Piper's Vale primary school in Ipswich until December 7. Her success, coupled with the John Lewis Partnership's decision to move its Christmas range into its stores two weeks later than usual, suggests that the tide may at last be turning. The retail giant held its festive produce back until a relatively modest October 3 this year and last year because of customer demand.

But for Mrs Lines, Christmas does not begin until December. She has banned pupils from mentioning Christmas in lessons until after Advent to stop them getting overexcited. She said: "You can't ban children from talking about Christmas on their way in but they don't talk about it in school. If they bring it up in lessons they are reminded that they have got work to do." Mrs Lines said that she had always preferred to concentrate Christmas activities into the last two weeks of term and to emphasise "the real meaning of Christmas". "Many of our families already have their Christmas trees up. But we are here to teach. That's what a school is for. Our children won't miss out on anything." The school's Christmas tree will not go up until December 7, when there will also be a postbox for children to send Christmas cards to each other.

The school, which has just over 300 pupils aged from 3 to 11, will be staging several events including a carol service in the local church, a coffee morning and Christmas sale for parents, a nativity play by younger pupils and performances by older children. However, Mrs Lines believes that schools can insulate children against some of the frenzied build-up to December 25. "It is like celebrating fireworks night in August. If we started now, the children would be as high as kites by Christmas Day."

Paul Keeble who has two children Sophie, seven, and Daniel, four, at the school, said: "I think the school is right because Christmas starts too early these days." But one mother, who asked not to be named, said: "The head is behaving like Scrooge. The Christmas lights have been up in Ipswich town centre for ten days and it is only natural that all the youngsters are getting excited." For other pupils Christmas has started. Ken Lunn, head of Morland Primary School said: "We start rehearsing Christmas carols and getting ready for it from the middle of November. "After all, it only comes once a year. We go all out to make the most of it!"

Source



A FEMINIST "NEW MAN" IS JUST NOT APPEARING

The idea of a new generation of hands-on fathers who change their children's nappies before going to work has been exposed as a myth. Fathers in their thirties would like to spend more time with their children and be more involved in their upbringing, but most are working longer hours and sharing less in their children's lives, according to a study by London University's Institute of Education.

Although 46 per cent of fathers born in 1958 claimed to share the responsibility of looking after their children, just 39 per cent born in 1970 can make the same claim. And working-class men born in 1958 were far more likely (56 per cent) to be involved in childcare than those from the professional classes (40 per cent).

Instead of narrowing, this class differential has widened, with 60 per cent of working-class fathers born in 1970 now claiming to play an equal part in their children's upbringing, compared with just 39 per cent of fathers in senior management. In 1965, as many as six in ten fathers said they played an equal role. Professor Shirley Dex, who analysed data for the study, said: "If you look at the distances people are travelling to work and the long-hours culture it's more understandable. Men are working longer as they climb the professional ladder, but the pressure from the unions means hours are shorter than they were at the lower end."

British fathers work the most hours in Europe, averaging 46.9 a week compared with 35.5 in France. Almost 40 per cent work more than 48 hours.

However aspirations have changed. Middle-class fathers in their 30s are now more "likely to express egalitarian views", even if most are not yet ready to sacrifice their careers

Source

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