Examination Revelation

My A level exams are over, finally along with my time in school education. Though despite this there is an evident void in my life since revision has not been occupying my day. Not only have I found this gap but also amongst my peers. This then begged the question to me, is there a serious issue with education? After studying for X amount of months my peers and I have noticed now we crave for  mental stimulation that exams present us. I think it would be the wrong suggestion for more exams; there are plenty to keep people occupied already. However, I see people want to have a wider interest in a subject or an issue. Young people crave that extra amount of information especially if it is not on the syllabus. Possibly the best way to get information from students is not grilling them to succeed in a memory test, but rather present well rounded individuals who have a interest in something through some sort of research and essay task.

Coursework by many has been frowned upon for the possibility of cheating. However, I feel if the students are picking the topics or directing their life they are more likely to take personal interest and ownership of their study. Furthermore, this is something that universities are crying out for from undergraduates. They want students that are motivated, and wish to expand their mind. Therefore, is it not wise to start this process at school? Creating well rounded students and not just those who can retain information for an exam. In addition I feel that people retain information for a longer period of time if they have an interest in something, rather than generic revision, which strives not to have an interested in a topic but rather just to find the easiest route to an A grade.

Thank you for reading,
Joshua

Involvement in Politics

The US presidential election is over, as we all know President Obama is holding his job for another four years. Though the outcome of the election is not my main story, rather more the decrease in voter turnout amongst the states. The party separation in the states has been on the increase in the past few years with the rise of the Tea Party. Though despite this growth they did not to do well within this election. It would seem America is wanting politicians to work together and fix the economy before engaging in party politics. This was clearly picked up on by Obama in his victory speech 'I also look forward to sitting down with Governor Romney to talk about where we can work together to move this country forward. '

The UK which is not as politically divided with a larger centre ground between the parties has not faired much better. There has been an decrease in political involvement, just merely looking at the current elections on the police commissioners. The turnout around 10 and 20%. This in a country where citizens are now be able to become more politically active are choosing not to. The parties are in a coalition as it happens and yet this has not resolved political apathy. So what is the issue? Is it party politics, or opportunity?  It would appear a middle ground is needed, somewhere between party decline and bi-partisan working. The public prefer some difference between parties and also some working between them as well. Something in which they can Aline themselves and also something that passes bills to benefit their lives.  Josh

And we are back!

Parliament is starting back soon, as well as the American elections. It looks like the political stories will start to build up again. With a Parliamentary reshuffle as well as Mitt Romney not looking particularly ready to beat President Obama. The following weeks are looking good for some stories and some changes to things as we know it.

September is upon us and i am back to to bring the quick analysis of news stories from the week and avoid the jargon that goes along with it.

As always Joshua Gentry

A Good Heart

This week i was truly taken back from the success of the Martha Payne's blog. Her use of media to rate her school meals was scrutinised and momentarily banned earlier in the week. This was due to worries from cooking staff that they may lose there jobs after a story published in a paper. Thankfully this ban was dropped.

Though despite the discussions of the ability to censor information or ban taking pictures of food, what has been promising is the increase in cash from the public donated to her charity. This was to provide money for school food projects in Malawi. There was an increase to £73,000 on Sunday.

This week amongst the growing tensions in the Eurozone and other political disagreements, i have enjoyed hearing about good human spirit. Raising money for charity and the public embracing a cause despite the tough times.

So simply i ask that we all do more like this young girl, who has made a real impact in the lives of many children. More so than most of us who are older than her.

Data

Sorry no article for this week, due to an ongoing project. However a chance for yourselves to be involved in this. I am writing a short project on the legitimacy on political power, and i wanted to have some tailored data to accompany parts of this.

So if you have a minute or two please could you answer as well, there are only 5 questions. Once all the data is collected then i shall publish it here and possibly along side this project.


http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/P9S8TQF

Thank you

Josh

Politics continues to 'drone' on.

President Obama is back once again with his favourite toy. His Drones have been out again this week. This time trying to take out 'Abu Yahya al-Libi' al-Qaeda's second in command. These attacks are being heavily scrutinised and rightly so after a receiving the Nobel peace prize. It is unclear whether or not these attacks are legal, Pakistan's foreign ministry called the most recent strike 'illegal'. As far as i see these strikes are in order to protect individuals against terrorism though these suspected terrorists are being killed without trial. The 6th amendment says 'In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favour, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.'. 


The real question is this process legal or does the constitution regarding a fair trial only effect US citizens. It is important to protect against terror, but is it right to lose track of civil liberties and freedoms. I feel that Obama is looking at the interests of his citizens though i think there needs to be a closer watch on whether he is overstepping his powers as president, and also to see if this action is constitutional.


Thanks for reading 


Josh.

Traffic Light Foods

Red stop. Green go. Food producers are being asked to label their foods clearly. Well lets be honest that would be a miracle if that was to happen. Though it seems it would be most appropriate to have one system over all foods so you could compare if that interested you, or if you could be bothered to do such a dull task while quickly popping into your supermarket.

I feel that food labelling obviously has some benefits in theory, but it has so many issues. Not many people pay attention to it (that is not a call to make it bigger on the packaging), it actually often tells you vary little. Many individuals now see salt as being a bad product as well as sugars, well in fact they are important to your diet its all about eating a balanced diet. If you look in the past there was not an obesity problem neither was there food labels, peoples cooked properly for themselves and applied some common sense.

The thing that is quite strange is how packaging labels sugars which are natural as negative however what are the effects of the products and additives that are replacing them, are these worse for you should there be a limit of how much we have of these man-made alternatives. Often i feel that what is naturally occurring tends to be better for you rather than something man has created after all that could have unforeseen flaws in it.

Over i feel food labelling is a good idea if it was constant across all brands. Though at the end of the day if your comparing the salt amount in you ready meals i hardly doubt you should be concentrating on the difference between the two products and rather should find some natural products and cook for yourself at  least that way you can add as little or as much of these ingredients.

Hope you enjoyed reading

Josh