General Chat

Ah - the old 'blame the single parents' chestnut again. Peter, single parenthood doesn't guarantee bad parenting any more than traditional parenthood guarantees good parenting. In fact, for some children, single parenting is an improvement! There are many examples of good single parents like Maggie and OC and endless examples of inadequate traditional parenting. It's easy to look back and say that all the difficulties stem from the past but don't forget that they're the 'good old days' for some, just like these will become the 'good old days' for others.

We are.....!!!!!! We had an education system which was the envy of the world. We have politicians who preach 'education, education, education' and then send their children to Private Schools......if the local comp is good enough for us then it should be good enough for them.

Generally speaking, most bad behaviour stems from single parent families. No discipline, just running to muumy all the time you are caught out. Have you seen such programs as bad lads army? What a load of whinging mummies boys they are. PS Tony Blair sends his kids to one of the most expensive private school in West London. So he knows how to educate the children of today....!

Tiny Blair's children do *not* go to a private school. They attend a Catholoc school which is state funded. Gwynne

Where do you get those statistics from, Peter? Or is it something you just 'know'? TV programmes such as the one you cite aren't 'proof' of anything, they're just one person's microcosmic view.

Gwynne, Sorry, the London Oratory is hardly state funded.

'The London Oratory School is a Catholic voluntary aided comprehensive secondary school in London educating boys in the age range of 7-16 and boys and girls in the sixth form. There are 1338 pupils, including 354 in the sixth form.' Source - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia It is state funded and extra activities are supported by the catholic church - just like a lot of other faith schools None of the pupils pay fees. Gwynne

Fel, No statistics, just facts. My old school, St Edwards College in Liverpool is still the most over subscribed in the city. No messing about now as was then, or you are out. In my day the strap across your hand made sure you kept in line.

Chistine How I agree, we had an education system that was the envy of the world. But somebody decided that it was divisive to send certain children to Grammar School and others to Secondary Modern, and that it was a much better idea to lump everyone into a great big melting pot. What happened in reality - as far as my daughters were concerned - was that they and the other bright ones went into the Top Set and had little, if anything, to do with less able children. So what was the point I ask myself. They gained nothing and lost a lot through that system and I cannot believe that the less able children gained much from being in a school of 2,000 children. I have spent some time in Cyprus, which adopted the british (old) education system. Cypriot schoolchildren are bilingual from an early age, polite and well-behaved in school and have a classical education, with great emphasis on academic learning. Their children do well and (as far as I know) Cyprus doesnt have an underclass of idle uneducated spongers, breeding like rabbits. They are, of course, a religious country and have strong traditional family values. OC

Peter, Your last comment has no bearing on your previous comment regarding single parents - I'll ask you again, but phrase it differently - where do you get your facts from?

Gwynne Sorry, but that is what TB and his wife would have you believe. Do you? I for one don't. You can't even get near the the front door of the London Oratory unless you have several tens of thousands of £££ in your pocket.

Fel, From simple observations over the last 30 years, Most boys without a father are whingiing mothers boys. They play on their mothers sympathies and have cultivated this since they were toddlers. By the time they are in there teens they need a serious kick in the provebial.

Peter, That just isn't so. Read the website - totally no mention of fees. http://www.london-oratory.org/ You are wrong why not just admit it? Gwynne

What I said was that you can't even get near the the front door of the London Oratory unless you have several tens of thousands of £££ in your pocket.

What you said was that the Blairs sent their children to a private school. And they dont. Gwynne

Peter, It must be the company you keep. :-) I could show you many boys brought up by women who are not 'whining mummy's boys', and a few with two parents at home who are. Please don't generalise so emphatically, it's inaccurate and unfair. (And please don't shorten my name - I'd prefer that you left it out of your response altogether than do that. Many thanks.:-))

Lots of mums and dads now go out to work full time, hence they are probably too tired to educate their children or to make sure they are behaving. Having watched a TV programme, education 50's style, we were amazed at how many less schooling hours there are in a week now, compared to then. No wonder children are not learning as much, and have too much free time to become bored, and hence misbehave.

Gwynne Sorry but I beg to differ. The London Oratory is so elite that the only way you get your kid in is by paying serious money., which is exactly what TB and his wife did.

Peter, The Oratory School is not fee paying, its accounts are audited on an annual basis - are you trying to say that the Head teacher accepts bribes? That's quite a serious allegation, do you have any evidence? Gwynne

Gwynne How else could they have gained entry, given that the school probably has 1000 applicants to every one accepted? Not on ability surely?