EDUCATION-WISE I come from the age of dinosaurs. The first hurdle in the dark ages was at the end of primary school when a written examination determined whether you went into the big school academic or the technical stream. If you went to the former after lots of exams and if you were smart enough you had the chance of going away to university; there if you could remember facts just until you sat the exam, stayed sober long enough and worked your socks off you might get a degree, the chance of it being an Honours first class being a slim one. In short, the education system was like Everest, the chances of reaching the summit slim most didn’t even get to Nepal never mind base-camp.
I read today that four out of 10 school leavers are going on to university or take a degree-level course at college. It strikes me that intellectually the human race must have evolved substantially in the last 60 years; either that or tertiary education has changed dramatically from what it used to be. And yes, the policemen are getting younger and smaller.
David J Crawford, Glasgow G12.
I WAS surprised to read your report that a recent poll had showed that 20 per cent of participants believed that the University of the Highlands and Islands was the least exciting place in Britain to get a degree (" ‘Most boring’ university", The Herald, June 19).
We have much higher than average success rates for completion and student satisfaction.
We have large numbers of students gaining access from disadvantaged backgrounds.
We offer many opportunities including the study of Gaelic on Skye amongst native Gaelic speakers, the study of Archaeology in Orkney with access to internationally important digs, to be part of the research into energy in North Highland next to our expanding offshore renewable industry and to study Adventure Tourism in the West Highlands in our spectacular landscape.
We offer a chance to enjoy a real learning experience rather than the "virtual studies" of the old universities.
Our students may not get the full on "rock and roll student lifestyle", including the negatives, but they will have access to great festivals, great experiences and will make friends in real communities.
What is not to like?
Dr Michael Foxley,
FE Regional Board Chair UHI, Fort William.
I READ Paul Shaw's Agenda article ("Could an International Baccalaureate work for us?", The Herald, June 19) with great interest. I wonder if Mr Shaw knows of the great work being done in the five development education centres throughout Scotland. They are partners of the International Development Education Association of Scotland and provide resources, in-service training and encouragement to educators at all levels in the methodologies he and his wife experienced on their visit to a school in Kuala Lumpar.
Many Scottish teachers already aspire to the practice and process he described in his article, although it is obviously inappropriate to compare one private educational establishment overseas with the width, variety and complexity of a national education service.
Nonetheless it may be of interest and advantageous to Mr Shaw and his wife to see what is being done at their own "back door". It certainly would be less expensive than a trip to Malaysia.
Molly McGavigan,
Chair, (on behalf of Board of Trustees), West of Scotland Development Education Centre, Bridge of Weir.
MAY I take this opportunity to thank you for printing my Agenda article. Can I also thank the online commentator correcting my statement that the Primary Years Programme is Inter-Disciplinary when in fact it is Trans-Disciplinary.
Paul Shaw, Dunblane.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel