Sunday, April 20, 2008
Tired old story for a tired old media
I really do tire of media-driven advocacy of single-sex education, even within co-educational schools. i.e., the notion that "both girls and boys will flourish in environments tailored to their gender-specific requirements."
First, when I looked into the issue a few years back, I found that 'evidence' (of the sort cited, or rather uncritically promoted, in the Herald story linked to above) is rather ambiguous, with some studies pointing one way, and others, well, the other.
Second, what we're really talking about here is single-gender education (in the sense of gender being a set of social expectations and attitudes built up around biological difference), and don't guys like the visiting Dr Sax just love to jump on crude gender stereotypes:
Yes, such Neanderthal attitudes could only stem from biologically-grounded psychological differences ... nothing to do with socially ingrained gender roles and expectations at all. Nothing to see here, move along.
Is anyone else even faintly skeptical of claims such as "Girls learn much better with 3000-kelvin bulbs (warm light) while boys learn much better with 4000-K bulbs (cool light)." In other news, boys like slugs and snails, while girls prefer sugar and spice. It's ingrained, y'know.
3. What about the value of, you know, learning to live and learn side-by-side with people of a different sex and gender? What about the positive aspects of that interaction - both in the short-term, and in terms of being a decent human being?
4. My favourite objection. Why stop at gender? If it is legitimate to divide children on one social and biological axis of difference, why stop there? How about seeing if children do better in "same race" (sic) classrooms. We all know that "Asian kids" are predisposed to be good at maths and classical music. Polynesian kids mature faster, and should be allowed to use their natural physicality on the sports field without fear of crushing skinny whites and Asians. White kids don't need to be held back by Asians and Polynesians whose first language isn't English.
Separate but equal, I say.
First, when I looked into the issue a few years back, I found that 'evidence' (of the sort cited, or rather uncritically promoted, in the Herald story linked to above) is rather ambiguous, with some studies pointing one way, and others, well, the other.
Second, what we're really talking about here is single-gender education (in the sense of gender being a set of social expectations and attitudes built up around biological difference), and don't guys like the visiting Dr Sax just love to jump on crude gender stereotypes:
The areas of the brain associated with language and fine motor skills mature about six years earlier in girls than boys. The areas of the brain associated with maths and geometry mature about four years earlier in boys than girls. This finding may help explain why some girls find maths "hard", he says, while some boys think poetry is for "sissies".
Yes, such Neanderthal attitudes could only stem from biologically-grounded psychological differences ... nothing to do with socially ingrained gender roles and expectations at all. Nothing to see here, move along.
Is anyone else even faintly skeptical of claims such as "Girls learn much better with 3000-kelvin bulbs (warm light) while boys learn much better with 4000-K bulbs (cool light)." In other news, boys like slugs and snails, while girls prefer sugar and spice. It's ingrained, y'know.
3. What about the value of, you know, learning to live and learn side-by-side with people of a different sex and gender? What about the positive aspects of that interaction - both in the short-term, and in terms of being a decent human being?
4. My favourite objection. Why stop at gender? If it is legitimate to divide children on one social and biological axis of difference, why stop there? How about seeing if children do better in "same race" (sic) classrooms. We all know that "Asian kids" are predisposed to be good at maths and classical music. Polynesian kids mature faster, and should be allowed to use their natural physicality on the sports field without fear of crushing skinny whites and Asians. White kids don't need to be held back by Asians and Polynesians whose first language isn't English.
Separate but equal, I say.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Boy Racers
There's a bit of publicity at the moment for boy racers (actually there is every other week) about cracking down on them for shitty driving behaviour. Now that's fair enough but as long as the police crack down on all shitty driving (and I've seen it from all and sundry, often middle aged men and beyond) then that should be good enough.
The death and injury rates from automobile accidents is way, way the fuck lower now than it was in the 1970s. People often say that's because of better roads and safer cars. But if that was the case (which it was), why didn't people show more common sense by driving to the conditions and to the ability of their car to cope? People now are quick to talk about a lack of common sense from todays yoof, but seem to forget the fucken dumb arse shithead driving from back in the day. I should ask my dad again about all his mates killed on motorcycles in the 60s and 70s or about the mate that was decapitated while hanging out the side of a car and a passing vehicle quite literally... did what you think might have happened. Or the vehicle that plowed into the back of him killing a young girl occupant in the rear vehicle a couple of decades ago.
Also the two worst cases of driving I have seen this year were by a man who looked in his late 50s who was literally driving within a couple of metres of my bumper up a winding rural road in wet drizzly conditions as the sun was going down. The cunt had the balls to abuse the shit out of me and pull the fingers as I pulled into the driveway. This is a road I have driven up and down a few thousand times so i'd like to think I know a normal speed to drive at on it.
The other shit hosue driving was from a middle aged male bus driver on a school trip with a bus full with teens who decided he would overtake the other bus on a double yellow line on the open road and with a car coming the other way which we forced off the road. Luckily the other vehicle had enough sealed road to cross on to.
Ban all men from driving I say. And Asians too. And women are banned from roundabouts and intersections and are not allowed to parallel park. And elderly people are hereby banned from all forms of travel, bus, car, train, mobility scooter, skateboard, you name it. Dig up the roads and turn them into cricket pitches.
But the big question I want answered is.... where in fucks name do these teenagers get the money to soup their cars up to the point where they would almost need a mortgage to pay for it? Surely they aren't working?! I mean all young people are drug addict bums, with no respect, no aims in life, no conscience, no common sense and no jobs, sitting at home smoking pot, drinking booze, playing PS2, mouthing off at their mums because they drove their parents to divorce, organising parties so they can fight, throw bottles at the police, terrorise the neighbourhood, tag fences, hoon round getting hospitalised, murdering people and wasting tax payers money. On a good weekend.
PS I see Russell Brown has done a fair better job than me.
The death and injury rates from automobile accidents is way, way the fuck lower now than it was in the 1970s. People often say that's because of better roads and safer cars. But if that was the case (which it was), why didn't people show more common sense by driving to the conditions and to the ability of their car to cope? People now are quick to talk about a lack of common sense from todays yoof, but seem to forget the fucken dumb arse shithead driving from back in the day. I should ask my dad again about all his mates killed on motorcycles in the 60s and 70s or about the mate that was decapitated while hanging out the side of a car and a passing vehicle quite literally... did what you think might have happened. Or the vehicle that plowed into the back of him killing a young girl occupant in the rear vehicle a couple of decades ago.
Also the two worst cases of driving I have seen this year were by a man who looked in his late 50s who was literally driving within a couple of metres of my bumper up a winding rural road in wet drizzly conditions as the sun was going down. The cunt had the balls to abuse the shit out of me and pull the fingers as I pulled into the driveway. This is a road I have driven up and down a few thousand times so i'd like to think I know a normal speed to drive at on it.
The other shit hosue driving was from a middle aged male bus driver on a school trip with a bus full with teens who decided he would overtake the other bus on a double yellow line on the open road and with a car coming the other way which we forced off the road. Luckily the other vehicle had enough sealed road to cross on to.
Ban all men from driving I say. And Asians too. And women are banned from roundabouts and intersections and are not allowed to parallel park. And elderly people are hereby banned from all forms of travel, bus, car, train, mobility scooter, skateboard, you name it. Dig up the roads and turn them into cricket pitches.
But the big question I want answered is.... where in fucks name do these teenagers get the money to soup their cars up to the point where they would almost need a mortgage to pay for it? Surely they aren't working?! I mean all young people are drug addict bums, with no respect, no aims in life, no conscience, no common sense and no jobs, sitting at home smoking pot, drinking booze, playing PS2, mouthing off at their mums because they drove their parents to divorce, organising parties so they can fight, throw bottles at the police, terrorise the neighbourhood, tag fences, hoon round getting hospitalised, murdering people and wasting tax payers money. On a good weekend.
PS I see Russell Brown has done a fair better job than me.
Labels: boy racers, death, mayhem
