Monday, December 10, 2007

Gasp!

Well, michty me, would you credit it? The mathematics outcomes are indeed now available on the LTS website which you can find... och, away and google it yersel'. Not had much time to look in detail but... hmm... could be worse, I think, but I'll reserve judgment for now.

However I am amazed to see that a particular rumour is indeed true. The maths outcomes contain the numeracy outcomes (and extend them), so obviously it's helpful to be able to quickly see which is which in the full list of outcomes... and so step forward, A Curriculum for Excellence, for the first of our "Pure Mince, So It is" awards, for the sheer brilliance of deciding to... print the numeracy outcomes in green, and the maths ones in black.

Yup. Green. That's it. No italics, or different font, or even font size... just green type.

Did I mention that these outcomes aren't being published in paper form but are instead just to be taken from the website? And then freely copied and distributed to staff?

And they think this is going to happen in colour?

This one speaks the truth...

Blimey, things have come to a pretty pass when we have to rely on the Head Teacher of a private school to speak up about the impending mess that is "A Curriculum for Excellence" (or Mince as I described it in a recent post). So fair play to the head of "Smellies", as the good people of Edinburgh might refer to the august institution that is (deep breath) Daniel Stewart's and Melville College, for doing just that, as reported by the Scotsman newspaper here.

Apparently the outcomes for Mathematics are due for release... today? I'll believe it when I see it. Even better would be for the ACE people to fess up and actually make clear precisely how we are meant to contribute our thoughts and opinions, as (scandalously) there seems to be no actual mechanism for feedback at all just now. To be fair, this is entirely in keeping with the so-vague-it's-saying-next-to-nothing approach taken thus far by the whole enterprise.

This is all very worrying.

Thursday, December 06, 2007

Still breathing

... more or less. I even saw a couple of films, but they were so meh I can't really be bothered writing much. "Elizabeth: the Golden Age" - avoid at all costs. "Lions for Lambs" - yawnsville.

And on the maths front? Well, a few good ideas, here and there. But for just now I suppose I'd better head into work...

But first: hey, let's hear it for the Pilot Drawing Pen 0.3mm black - very much my pen du jour. Why don't they make other colours though? Why?? Why???