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Stainless Steel Rat Series by Harry Harrison in general
by APR91
"Slippery Jim" Di Griz is one of the best anti-hero characters i have ever read. I picked it up not too long ago and as soon as i read i immediately ordered the whole set! I found reading them chronologically was the best way for me, but you can find both orders on the wikipedia page and how ever you do it they are well worth a ... read.
You will find it very hard with any of Harry Harrision's books, but especially with the rat series to stop reading and i must admit to making my way through all twelve novels in about two weeks. They are serious at times but behind everything there is a dark humor and sarcasm that even if you don't like at the beginning you will certainly come to love.
If you ever find yourself in a position to read this, if you like sci-fi, adventure books or even just a good character then this book is definitely a great choice!
The Stainless Steel Rat series is about Slippery Jim Di Griz who is by all accounts one of the greatest con men and thieves in the galaxy, the first book starts out with him as a kid and works up to him being a successful and reasonable powerful individual. Over the series he works for both sides of the law, a lot more frequently than he might like to, and you always see a good side to the character.
Jumping from world to world and getting into all sorts of trouble, Jim always has his strong morals behind him, never killing or stealing from those who can't afford it.
Stealing from banks who are paid out by insurance, the insurance companies pay out and charge the banks more, this is spread out to the people using the banks who pay pence each. In such a law abiding universe the pence that they pay is very little compared to the excitement they get from seeing or reading about the daring crimes.
Related authors for me would be Asimov, Heinlein and "Doc" E E Smith.
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Education in general
by thedevilinme
So the schools are kicking up a fuss because grade inflation has ended. The same teachers didn't seem too bothered as the results rose year on year regardless and all too keen to take the credit for those results. Teaching kids the answers is lazy. But now the government has called an end to this nonsense and they are up in arms. But ... everyone in the profession knew that rise was unsustainable and merely a political tool to make governments look good. The Tories were brave to make a stand. Admittedly changing the grading in January was a little unfair but if colleges and employers use some common sense and leeway when accepting students disappointed with their grades then this shouldn't be too much of a problem. Presumably the places are available as they budgeted for the January passes.
So my first change would be realistic marking. The 93% A-Level pass rate is absurd. A-D passes and nothing else should be passes, as it was for O-Levels in my day. If you get 20% and an E you clearly failed that exam and little grasp of the course and subject. And stop stuffing exams with multiple-choice questions that can produce chance correct answers and end the course work module nonsense where you can keep retaking them if you fail. That method is only about getting average students to pass exams that place schools in league ladders so to secure funding. Blair messed up big time with league tables.
Secondly there are just too many exams in modern schools. Its boring doing 8 or 9 CGSE's in subjects you have no passion for and just cramping your chances of getting a better grade in the other subjects you are more suited for, and so could sneak you into university. It makes dim kids irritable and so truancy rates shoot up. Make five GCSE the maximum for 16-years-old like you do for 18-year-olds in A-Level. Put more sport and recreation in the gaps on the curriculum. Be creative with those gaps in the curriculum. Use them to make kids feel more mature and needed in society. I hated school and anxious all the way through it so didn't learn much. Concentrate kids younger education on having good Math's and English skills and push languages more. History and Geography and the sciences are not critical in anyone's development unless they have a clear career path. A-Level Sport and Home Economics should be hosed into the gutter.
Cut down degree courses from three years. University is a middle-class right of passage and a three year pi** up and many degrees barely offer ten hours a week of lectures and little one-to-one time. You can plagiarize a 2.2 degree pass of the internet now. If you don't then I'm sure under pressure lecturers will 'help you' finish your work to make sure you pass.
Make more degrees two year courses and part-time. And stop stuffing them with foreign nationals purely because they will pay more and so denying smart working-class British kids places, a big chunk of those students disappearing when the border cops show up, as we saw with London Metropolitan University. Trust me; few British students go to university just to seek employment in the three years.
The so-called 'Free Schools' are divisive and elitist. Get rid. Most are half empty on the first day of the September term. They are a selective way for white middle-class parents in nice areas to school their kids away from disruptive kids and ethnic minorities. They also undermine the national curriculum. I understand middle-class parents want their kids to get to the best schools and their kids being at those schools make the schools become the best schools but don't stack the system against working-class kids who want to learn. At least grammar schools allow working-class kids a chance to get into university and a reward for parents who understand the importance of education.
I am ok with religious schools to be selective as clearly different cultures are happier together. Racism is very real in Britain, most white against the rest, Asian against Black and so on and so on. It's silly trying to place white working-class tearaways in a Muslim or Jewish faith schools. Multiculturism is nonsense and if an Academy for Black Caribbean kids helps in London to improve standards then do it. We cant pussy foot around on education. We know the reasons why the system doesn't work for some so let's fix it and not be sensitive about it. School is boring and certainly intimidating to some. Change that, as Obama would say.
Stop picking on teachers. It's almost an impossible job now with human rights laws and liberal PC nonsense beating them down every turn and they can't teach if they can't enforce discipline and their bosses don't back them up. If these kids don't understand authority at this age they never will. It makes sense for teachers to be able to be more authoritative whilst they have kids in one place. Any parents that are not bothered about helping their kids with homework or encouraging them to do well after school because their school life was rubbish should not have the right to berate their school staff because little Darren or Dale isn't doing well. They are your kids so help out here! My mum religiously helped me with my reading and writing when I was young, even after doing two jobs. Teachers can't do it all.
Critically you must do everything to engage kid's interest as there are many distractions at home and in school. Why some kids are allowed to have mobiles in classroom is beyond me. Most kids would rather play video games at home on their computer so make lessons more about their world. In America kids go to a gym as part of the curriculum and they go on running machines that power the educational video games in front of them, a great idea.
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Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling in General
by billythreechins
JK Rowling has given children and adults alike something mind blowing to think about. this magical series of books and films, the attention to detail in the films is amazing from specks of dust on shelves to books in the shops in diagon alley the films have transformed the actors lives forever after a ten year spell the film franchise ... has finished but they are have now opened the studio tour (in London) and the theme park in America is so popular you have to queue for at least 45 minutes and the new pottermore website will let people sign up in early April. The films have definitely done the books justice. JK Rowling has sold over four hundred and fifty million copies of her books worldwide. Personally my favourite part in the books and films was when Harry Potter first stepped into Diagon Alley and got his wand from Ollivander's
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