THE YARD..... The GC Grumble Societies thread.... ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK...!!!

How did i miss this thread!!

In Canada, we refer to our garden as our yard too.......however, we have some differences from the US, for instance, we call Pop, pop....not Soda....we call our Couch, a couch....not a sofa......we call BBQ's, a BBQ, not grills like the US.

 

:hehe: I had to chuckle at this Alice because here in Portugal a common phrase is 'neste momente' ie 'in this moment' rather than 'now'.

 

In Wales we say, now in a minute.:dh::gnthb:

 

And of course, Canadians are famous for "Eh:hehe::wink:

 

Oh dear. Don't get me started.

I've had similar discussions with people who feel that it's somehow patronising to teach kids to write, spell, punctuate, speak clearly and conduct themselves properly. It is futile to point out that the independent schools churn out tons of polished kids each year who know exactly how to bag the best university places, jobs, etc and that if you don't give children from less privileged backgrounds the same knowledge you are largely condemning them to 'stay in their place'. It's not snobbery, just realism. Unfortunately academics have read the fashionable textbooks and these seldom reflect the realities of the big, bad world out there. Meanwhile, back on Planet Earth, it's still the case that if you go for an interview and mention that you've just got off of the train, you have probably blown your chances already as far as the snootier professions in the UK go.

As for the (h)aitch, the kids at my local primary 'ave 'amsters, 'ate 'omework and live in an 'ouse. An awful lot of the girls seem to be called 'olly - but an aitch is always a haitch!

 

Well said ClaraLou.
There are so many bright children out there who don't get a fair chance in the professions because they don't have the social skills to go with it - including the ability to speak in the accepted manner (NOTHING TO DO WITH ACCENT) Just to do with speaking in a grammatically correct way and acceptable pronounciation.
The one that gets me is "lor and odda".(Law and order)
Where does that come from ????

 

What used to annoy me was the goverment's obsession with removing any form of "competitiveness" from all aspects of education. It ain't "deferred success" it's naffin' failure!

This made many kids totally unprepared for the "dog eat dog" situation in the business world.

As far as reading and writing are concerned I was apalled at the standards achieved. In my final years of working, (twelve years ago) when we were opening new stores, often in areas of high unemployment, we held "open days" at various local hotels and interviewed several hundred applicants for pretty basic shop work, but the pay wasn't bad. A considerable number of teenagers were unable to complete a simple four-page application form, (and I'd tell the interviewers to disregard basic spelling mistakes), whilst people of thirty and over generally found no difficulty. Needless to say, those that couldn't fill in the form, regardless of age didn't have their application progressed any further. Too many young people came with the attitude that the world owed them a living.

Digressing a bit here..

I employed many students as part-time shelf-fillers. What used to give me a deal of satisfaction was how quickly they "grew up" and were soon able to relate to people of all ages, both other staff and customers, whereas before the people with whom they mostly came into contact were people of their own age and friends of the family.
OK it was only a temporarary job, but it made them more "worldly wise." I always encouraged them when applying for a "proper job" that when listing their present part-time employment was to include the words "I was responsible for..." (which they were). I also suggested they could "big it up" a bit without going overboard. I used to tell them it's what prospective employers want from their staff. OK I said it won't get you the job, but if they were in competition with someone with similar academic qualifications, it might just tip the balance.

I had many "mums" come to see me over the years to say thank-you for helping their child to "grow up and take responsibility" they often said that the couldn't believe how quickly their kid had grown up omce they'd had a part-time job for a few months. Far too many kids these days wouldn't dream of getting a part-time job. We haven't seen a paper boy/girl in fifteen years.

 

Hands up who would want to be 18 again now?

• 'Encouraged' to go to university, even if you aren't that academically minded, to get a third rate degree and probably thousands of pounds in debt
• Job market decidedly shaky, especially with employers wanting experience - catch 22 situation.
• House prices frankly absurd - with that debt to pay off if you do get a job, how are you going to afford to save up for the deposit?

No thanks!

 

I agree totally, Aaron. In a few years' time the young generation will also be forking out for a growing gang of old people who are going to live for a very long time. I think we should count ourselves very lucky if they don't simply chuck us all on the nearest compost heap. An elderly family member, who shall remain anonymous, retired from teaching in his fifties on a full pension. He is now well into his eighties and in rude health. I'm certain he'll end up spending much more time on his pension than he ever worked. (Apparently, when the figures were compiled, it was estimated that workers would draw pensions for around seven years.) Good for him, I suppose, except that he spends all his time blathering on about the fecklessness of young people. It's useless to protest that those same young people are going to be paying out on his non-contrib pension, that being on the right side of the property boom had nothing to do with his own cleverness, or that his four children were educated in the days when tuition was free and there were generous, non-repayable maintenance grants as well.

Doghouse: You're right about getting kids to take responsibility. Years ago Chatham Dockyard, which is not far from me, was a major employer of teenage apprentices. (It's now a theme park.) Many of the boys it employed hadn't done that well at school but the dockyard gave them a fresh start and a sound education in its own school. It treated them as adults and expected them to behave that way. If they worked hard and proved they had the ability, there was no limit to what they could achieve. If, however, they mucked around, turned up late and didn't want to work, they were out. It seemed to be a good formula for many lads, including my late neighbour's son, who went on to do a PhD in Engineering!