Topic: New Zealand to allow "text-speak" in exams

[idolminds]

Plz, u lie.

This is the end of the world as we know it. It's been a good run.

[Cobra951]

It does say that English must be used on English exams at least.  It's a bad move anyway.  The idea of school is to learn.  You can slaughter the language later to cater to social fads.

[scottws]

That is absolutely ridiculous.

[Xessive]

Woah, that is frickin' retarded! What's next? 1337? (although 1337 is kinda cool)

[Antares]

That is just stupid.

[iPPi]

Utterly retarded.

[Jedi]

Yeah I saw a headline about this the other day, its fucking retarded!
But then our education system isn't all it used to be, they put in some new standard of testing which:
1. no one understood, not the students and certianly not the teachers or the people marking the work.
2. had no "fail" markings as in no one passed no one failed you just get graded on how well you did overall (and even that was adjusted so if you had some idiot in a class full of smart kids his grading would be lifted).

The general feeling here in NZ is that the government is making school exams easier because the this current generation of kids are struggling more than (lets say) my generation did.

[Xessive]

If the kids today are struggling with something that previous generations were fine with making their testing 'easier' is not a solution; it's just perpetuating a bigger problem.

[Quemaqua]

Xessive hit the nail on the head and I don't understand how more people can't realize this.  Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with people?  I honestly want to know.  Is it just a genetic defect?  There has to be some reason that people can consistently be this stupid and shortsighted.

[ren]

The older generation is the stupider one; they're the ones permitting, and practically encouraging this to happen. Kids are always going to try and make things easier, it's the parents and teachers who should be teaching them the proper way of doing things. If what Jedi said is true, then it seems that their is very little motivation to do well in school. How can you expect intelligent children when you give them no motivation?

[Xessive]

The older generation is the stupider one; they're the ones permitting, and practically encouraging this to happen. Kids are always going to try and make things easier, it's the parents and teachers who should be teaching them the proper way of doing things. If what Jedi said is true, then it seems that their is very little motivation to do well in school. How can you expect intelligent children when you give them no motivation?

Exactly, a mind cannot develop (or flourish) if it's not challenged!

Hehe I love this line Ren:
*Star Wars: A New Hope theme begins*
"If what Jedi said is true, then it seems that there is very little motivation to do well in school."
Jedi, seek knowledge they must.

[Cobra951]

The older generation is the stupider one; they're the ones permitting, and practically encouraging this to happen. Kids are always going to try and make things easier, it's the parents and teachers who should be teaching them the proper way of doing things. If what Jedi said is true, then it seems that their is very little motivation to do well in school. How can you expect intelligent children when you give them no motivation?

Too much freedom, too many distractions, too little control.  You can go to jail for doing to a kid what was called "discipline" a scant 30 years ago.  If the phrase "spare the rod, spoil the child" ever needed vindication, it's earned it now.  Without consequences, why should any kid care about anything other than amusing himself?