Gove pledges to change planning laws for free schools

Michael Gove promised to change planning laws to make it easier for parents and teacher who want to set up their free schools. The Education Secretary promised £ 50 million of funding, however he was vague on details of exactly what facilities schools would have to provide. Planning laws would be changed, with the Communities Secretary and local councils updating guidelines to “make it clear there is a presumption in favor of setting up new schools”. Christine Blower, of the National Union of Teachers, said: “Groups setting up their own schools irrespective of local planning needs would be a retrograde step that will lead to planning gridlock and social division.”

Comment: I think they have to spend £50 million on children from whom their parents have low incomes or spending the money on schools who are failing. Ok, it is a nice idea that a group of parents and teachers want to have the right to make choices, but how are they going have discipline at school? I think that free schools would not make a change to improve education of this decade. They have spent the money on how to make it better and not come up with new things in hope that it will work.
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/education/article2562456.ece

Teenager's 60ft painting of penis on parents' roof spotted in space

A house, near Hungerford, has had a penis painted on its roof. Teenager Rory McInnes painted a giant penis on the roof of his house. Apparently it was seen on Google Earth. The BBC said that it is a “Comedy painting” saying it was there for a whole year before the parents of the teenager found out. In 2006 the Sun reported that "pranksters drew a willy on the roof of a top school" in Teesside that went ­unnoticed until it appeared on Google Earth. So this was not the first time that some tried a stunt like this.

Comment:
When I saw the article and the photo, I started to laugh. I think it is very funny. It has to take a lot of guts to try this stunt. I would never come up with this idea, but the funny thing is that the parents never knew until it was seen by Google Earth. When I was at secondary school, the boys were always drawing penises on tables, walls etc. What is lad did, is something that not one boy or maybe a few come up with. I think that people do not have to take this seriously because come on; it is very funny, admit it!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/blog/2009/mar/24/penis-drawing-roof-google

Sex education call for primary pupils

Primary schools should be taught about sex, relationships and alcohol. The national institute for health and clinical excellence wants primary school lessons appropriate to children's ages. They say sex education is more effective if it is introduced before young people first have sex. The advice on alcohol would be intended to help young people to avoid binge drinking. It says that 40% of young people have rated their sex education as poor or very poor - and that improving sex education will help young people to make healthier choices. The health advisers argue that such lessons in personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE) should build up from an early age, so that they are aware of the consequences etc. and then will make their own choices... There are also calls for children to be taught about alcohol at an early age, as children grow up surrounded by advertising and images of alcohol.

Comment:
I think that there has to be a limit, like what you can tell to pupils about sex and what not. They do not have to get into details, but explain about having safe sex. But are the pupils going to take it seriously, because it is something new and not that much talked about in their environment, there could be a feeling of shame amongst the pupils or make jokes to feel comfortable again. However, talking about alcohol to prevent binge-drinking has to be taught in primary school. A lot of people start at a young age drinking alcohol and get use to it. I think to create awareness; they have to tell them about alcohol and its consequences.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/education/10333241.stm

UK population rises to almost 62m, ONS says

The population of the United Kingdom has reached up to 62 million. The number of people in the UK rose from 61,398,000 in mid-2008 to 61,792,000 in mid-2009. Most of the rise was caused by natural change like more births than deaths. The UK population is also aging fast. In mid-2009 nine the number of people aged 85. The ONS predicts that there will be more unmarried couples in the future. In mid-2008 40 % of the people were married, but divorce has become more popular. The ONS added that 45 % of total marriages end in divorce.

Comment:
There is a huge difference between how many it was in mid-2008 and in mid-2009. The fact that there are more births than deaths means that people are living healthier lives and maybe people are starting to have a baby at a young age. The fact that 45 % of total marriages end in divorce, draws me to a conclusion that people are not taking marriage seriously nowadays. Maybe because it is not a taboo anymore, people are finding it normal to divorce instead of trying to make it work.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk/10401629.stm

Pension age: Ministers to speed up rise to 66

The government wants to speed up plans to rise the state pension age to 66 for men before 2016. The ministers are even thinking about rising up to 70 in the following decades. Work and Pensions Secretary Ian Duncan Smith said it was time to "reinvigorate the pension’s landscape". Under the plans, women will move to an age of 66 in a few years after men. The previous Lab our government's policy was to rise the pension age to 66 in 2024 and then gradually to 68 by 2046. The coalition argues that this should be speeded up, eventually meaning a pension age of 70 or older. Paul Kenny, general secretary of the GMB union, said: "To force someone who has done a lifetime of toil on building sites, farms or in factories to work until they are 66 is completely unacceptable."


Comment:
The government has to reconsider this plan, because I agree with the GMB union. It is unfair to let people work to 66 or even maybe to 70 years. For upper class people it is easy to accept if they have a job like being a lawyer, but people who work 9 hours a day every day in factories or do heavy work it is not that easy to work more than half of your life even though the people are living longer and healthier, there is a limit of strength and energy a human being has got.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/politics/10398918.stm

Schools told to help on healthy packed lunches

According to Ofsted, schools should help parents who have low incomes who do not qualify free meals for their children. Two in five schools were failing to meet the requirements for healthy food and primary schools were weak at giving the pupils fruit at lunch. Advice should be given to parents about what to put in their children’s lunch pack, the report said. Report also said that parents with low incomes cannot afford to pay for school lunch. Healthy food is more expensive than donuts and crisps. Parents felt that it was more important to provide food that they knew that their children would eat instead of taken a risk that their children might not eat all day. Mick Brookes, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said ‘it is not the responsibility of the teachers to be lunch box inspectors’.

Comment: Parents really need to pack their children healthy food. A lot of studies show that healthy food, like an apple, helps you better to concentrate. Like the head teacher said, it is not the responsibility of the teachers, but I still think they have to make rules at schools for banning unhealthy food. In my time, when I was at primary school, we were not allowed to bring snacks to school. We had a shelve in class for our lunch pack so that the teacher could see what we had for lunch. To improve their skills and test results, the school and the parents have to think about what they can give them for lunch. What the parents said about that they would not take a risk that their children might not eat all day, they have to reconsider that, because eventually children are going to eat, they would choose hunger for healthy food.
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/health/news/article2573392.ece

Smiling makes you happy research into botox shows

Researchers have discovered that being unable to smile will make you unhappy. People who use botox have less movement in their facial expressions and therefore have less facial expression. A person, who has less facial expressions because of Botox use, will also feel fewer emotions. The Botox paralyses the muscles in the face and therefore will have less feedback to the brain about facial expressions, said researcher Joshua Davis, a psychologist at Barnard College in New York. The simple act of smiling can help you feel better and happier and frowning can bring your mood down.
Comment:
I have always been against using Botox. You’re just injecting chemicals into your face and it helps for a few months. Nowadays, there are a lot of creams for helping out the wrinkles and lines and causes any pain. It is awful not to feel emotions because you cannot express yourself. This leads to that facial expressions are very important for feeling emotions, it sets up your mood and the way you feel. I think I even will get frustrated because I cannot use my facial expressions to show how I feel, or e.g. when someone is telling you joke and you want to smile or laugh, but you are not able to show it, that will frustrate yourself and even so the person who is telling the joke.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/7849905/Smiling-makes-you-happy-research-into-botox-shows.html

Scrap 'breast is best' slogan, say campaigners

Campaigners are calling on the government to drop the slogan ' breast is best'. They think that this slogan does not convince the new mums to breast feed their newborns. The Breastfeeding Network says that breastfeeding is a norm and not something called special. Research shows that breast milk helps reduce obesity. Lesley Backhouse, chair of health department breastfeeding network, says that it is important to communicate to new mums that breastfeeding is free and easy to feed a baby. Figures show that eight in ten women in England start off breastfeeding but only five continue breastfeeding their child up to six months. Breastfeeding is good for mothers and for babies.


Comment:
I think that the Breastfeeding Network is right. Breastfeeding is definitely a norm and not something special. Breastfeeding is the easiest and most natural way to feed a baby. Studies show that breastfeeding protects from obesity, allergies, asthma etc. so why spend your money on baby milk, if you can feed your child with breast milk, it is easy and free. I think that it is good that the Breastfeeding Network wants to convince the pregnant women and the new mums to breast-feed their babies.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/10368037.stm

Different exams set for girls and boys.

Exam board wants to prepare two types of science GCSE. Studies have shown that girls are better in coursework and boys are better in the exams. Bill Alexander, the exam board's director of curriculum and assessment, told the Times Educational Supplement: "We could offer a route for boys that are very different to a route for girls. John Bangs, head of education at the National Union of Teachers, said it was "extremely dangerous" to get into gender stereotyping. He says that there are also enough boys that are interested in coursework as well. However, he suggested that their work should be marked by professional assessors.


The exam board has to reconsider this plan, because I think too that it is gender stereotyping. Not every girl is good at coursework and not every boy is good at exams. On the other hand, it shows that the exam board wants to improve the percentage of passing the GSCE. However, they have to ask the pupils as well and even the parents have their right to say something about it. The bigger problem is, in my opinion, how are they going to mark it. There is going to be different way of marking it between the girls and the boys.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/jun/18/boys-girls-different-gcse-course

The secret to happiness - speak to your father

Studies have shown that children, who talk to their father regularly, are happier than children who do not. Young people who talk to their father about things that matter “most days” gave themselves 87 per cent on a happiness scale compared with 79 per cent of those who hardly ever speak to their dads. As academic research has shown that child’s well-being later in life depends on how the relationship is with their fathers. The investigation will go on in autumn for recommendations on how the obstacles to better child-father relationship will overcome.

Comment: I find this article very interesting, because it seems that the child-father relationship is very important for a child’s well-being later in life. I never thought that relationship between father and child is so important to have a happier life. I think it is more important for boys, because they see their father as a role-model and cannot talk about everything that matters to them with their mothers. The relationship with the father is important, but we have to not forget that the relationship between mother and child is important too.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7835708/The-secret-to-happiness-speak-to-your-father.html

Home computers ‘harm children’s test results’

Studies have shown that PCs can lead to a decline in test scores amongst pupils. Using home computers, children get distracted and spend a lot of time socializing with friends than spending time for homework. Professor Jacob Vigdor said: “Adults may think of computer technology as a productivity tool, but the average kid doesn't share that perception.” Researchers compared the results of children before and after having a computer at home and the results showed that children who have home computers are getting worse at math and reading. The conclusions from last year are that technology disrupts education.

Comment: Nowadays, children are using computers all the time. I can see a point in that children are getting worse in math, because everything is now solved with a calculator. Computers are a distraction for the children. The average kid does not read that much anymore now technology has taken over. In my time, when technology was not used that much, children were reading books or playing outside to make fun, but nowadays children are sitting at home and spending time with their computers. I think that parents have a say in this, they have to make rules so that their kids would spend more time for homework instead of getting distracted by their computers.

Study to probe mobile health risk

The largest study untill this day on the safety of using mobile phones has been started by researchers in London. The research will engage 250.000 phone users in UK and five other different European countries. It is still not assured that mobile phones are the gate to a serious illness. This will take between 20 and 30 years of research and the aim is to provide definite answer. Researches say that those studies are to short to detect cancer or other illnesses. The study is calles Cosmos, the cohort study on mobile communications. The study is funded by the mobile telecommunications and the health research programme. One of the member is saying that they cannot rule out the possibility that mobile phones cause cancer, evidence say that this is not the case, but they want to be sure. Nowadays, phone users do not only use their phone for calling or texting, but surfing the web as well. Phone users in Denmark, Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands will be recruited as well.

I think that this is subject is very essential. Not everyone is aware of how mobile phones can play a crucial role in our health. I have heard this issue for years. The researches who are involved in this project are still not sure if phones cause cancer or other illnesses, so my question is, will they know it after 20 or 30 years? I find this topic important because the study is also going to be held in the Netherlands ass well and we all use mobile phones. But I still have a huge question mark, because if they say that evidence showed that mobile phones do not cause cancer, but why did this whole issue started? I think I have to search for why this project started.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8637466.stm

Former Angel Delight model jailed for doctor's murder

Two boys at the age of 20, have been jailed for life for murdering a doctor in a robbery in London Park. The man, Nadim Gulamhuseinwala, 32 years old, was attacked by a former model child and his friend on 25 july while he was walking home through Green Park.He was hit and stamped on his face and after that they took his money and used it for prostitues. Thomas Connor and William Paton, will serve minimum terms of 25 and 23 years respectively. The jury heard that the two boys had been drinking and taken cocaine in a bar that night. Conner took 90 pounds from a cash machine and was later robbed that night. “ This seems to have driven him into a towering rage,” said mr Andrew Adis QC. After the court, Nadim’s father said, “ we will remember him as a unique, loving son. Both the boys were given concurrent terms of 10 years’ detention for robbery apart from the serve minimum terms.

I find it very frustrating that boys at that age or oven girls are able to do these kinds of horrific things. It is shocking to hear that drugs or alcohol can drive you to a rage that you cannot control anymore. The decision of the court, in my opinion is perfect. They have to know and understand that this shocking action is unhumanly. Apart from this article, the youth nowadays, are getting used to criminalisation and becomes common. The world has to stay aware that these actions cannot be tolerated. We have to focus on how to prevend these criminal activities.