I like it.....

There's no "like" button! But I like it too!

With the amount of 'compost' (s***) around in government and the economy, what is amazing is that it doesn't grow like our potatoes and tomatoes do! Instead it seems to be withering on the vine!

Lol!

Hmm, well clearly Veolia is not reading the GoY posts - they supply my area, and our hosepipe ban is not being lifted. Thames Water's area stops about 500 yards up the road, so they'll be watering (should the rain ever stop) but we won't be...

Never mind, Bamboo, looking at the 10 day forecast I expect you will be next.

Apparently, Veolia relies on aquifers and the like for their water supply (tastes horrible compared to Thames Water too) and the aquifers are not anywhere near replenished, apparently.

I am going to go out into the garden tomorrow (when the ban is lifted) stand in a huge puddle and connect my hosepipe! Perhaps we could now get the government to ban Leylandii altogether. If we got enough signatures can we get a referendum on it?

If the bug that feeds on Leylandii carries on flourishing, it won't be necessary!

Can you buy hosepipes that long Bamboo.....

Gosh, now there's a thought Pamg - I'd need about half a mile's worth, lol

OK Cammomile. We will resolve the Leylandii problem and then after that we will completely sort out Illegal Immigration and then the EU Crisis. And then after that what shall we do next week?

Teach everyone under 40 how to spell, punctuate and basic grammar rules... and that includes my own sons...

Bamboo, it's many years ago now but I remember walking into an Infants' classroom and up on the wall, in enormous letters, was the word Penis. Under the word was a collection of large cut-out coins. This was ITA , the Initial Teaching Alphabet, where very young children were taught how to write and to spell phonetically. So this was how they were taught to spell Pennies. These children at about the age of 8 or 9 were then expected to re-learn the language but with the traditional spellings. You can only imagine the problems those children had with spelling accurately throughout the rest of their lives.
At least traditional spelling is now back in our primary schools.

That is hilarious - and utterly ridiculous, Inverglen. I heard Michael Gove say the other day he wanted 7 year olds to be able to recite poems off by heart and to know the difference between 'disinterested' and 'uninterested' by then. Given that I didn't know the difference between those two words, and the difference appears to be miniscule and largely irrelevant today, he;s living on another planet or even in another universe if he thinks 7 year olds 'should' know that. So I don't think any changes he makes will mean literate 16 year olds in a few years...

I walked into a class of 5-year-olds to see a wall display of "Compound words we know". How impressive! And another group, on a trip out, asked whether the animals in the field were cows or horses - and they were still only 3 miles from home!

In my sister's experience (worked in a school) 8 years knew what a hononym was, but still couldn't read properly nor construct a sentence... talk about cart before horse.

Chiming in late on this one! Our younger grandson, now nearly 17, had learned how to read before he went to school. When he actually went to school they insisted he learn to read again using a 'letter sounding method'? he became so confused he actually was unable to read for a couple of years and the school claimed he was dislexic, which was rubbish! If they had listened to his parent who told the school he was already reading then there would not have been a problem. His father, our son, also taught himself to read when he was about two years old. Before he went to 'proper school' I went along and saw the teacher and explained all this and gave her a list of the sort of books he was happily reading in his own at home. Did the teacher listen, no not to start with, but when she complained he was bored during reading lesson I pointed out exactly why he was bored and suggested she supply him with books me wanted to read or let him take his own books into the class. Funnily enough once he had something 'he' found interesting to read he wasn't bored. Bookworms run in my family, seems my father was reading as a tot and, apparently I started reading around 3 years old.

Whoops! Homonym !! Whoops! Dyslexic !! says Mr Tick the Teacher

Oh, okay, Inverglen, fingers going faster than me brain... I'm not sure I can remember what one of those is anyway, not something you need to know every day, is it...

My 8 year old cousin sends me emails and I,m quite impressed with his spelling, sometimes he replies so quickly the spelling goes downhill fast.he's such fun though
His family had to make a fuss though when they found that he did his homework in class and the teacher didn't know he'd finished his work, took a month for her to give him a new reading book too
He's a great lad, normal not a genius I just hope holding the top half of the class back won't make them bored with school

Keeping the brightest children interested with appropriate material for their ability is the biggest challenge every teacher faces. The brighter the child, the bigger the challenge.

Our hosepipe ban is not being lifted as South East Water relies on underground supplies more then its reservoirs and their underground supplies remain low.

Agree Inverglen!

I find that rather sad Inverglen! Surely the less bright child also deserves to be a challenge? as being perceived as less bright does not mean they will not blossom with the same care and attention as the so called 'bright child'.

Isn't a homonym someone who rings Australia and would rather talk to Sydney than Adelaide?

I thought it was one of those piano things that you pumped with pedals!

I used to have one of those...

The English language has certainly gone downhill, especially since we have mobiles and PC's.

I have to admit that if I am in a hurry I have been known to use 'textspeak' or whatever it's called, but if I need to put a point across I like to use words that describe exactly the point.

When my daughter was young I made sure that I picked her up on her grammar and use of words.

She would ask me the meaning of (big) words and if she didn't know of a word she needed to help her describe something she would ask me.

Oh! and don't get me started on Leylandii!!!

Ddc726. Yes the less bright child deserves to be and indeed is also a challenge and an enormous amount of time and additional resources target their needs in every school in the country. What I was saying , as other GOY members have written here, was that the very bright child's needs should also be considered. Classrooms are full of extra Special Needs materials and support staff for less able children , and often one to one support too, so there is no need to be sad Dcr726. That is not true normally for the brightest. It's up to the teacher to meet their needs and to do so really well hour by hour , day by day , especially in mixed ability classes in primary schools , is a real challenge.
Obviously every child's needs should be met, but some can be more of a challenge than others.

Drc726 Sorry. Got your name right this time

Sadly some teachers manage it better than others.....

Or live on Kind Richards Road rather than Queen Anne Terrace Andrew?

Over the years I have so often seen 'Precocious' confused with 'Bright' and this premature maturity so often fails to deliver in adult life! In a hospital I did not expect to nurse more well than sick people so why do so many teachers only want to teach the 'Bright' or those without so called 'Special needs'?

I can only disagree Drc726. I do not recognise that as a fair description of how the majority of teachers view their role.

Its my opinion through my experience Inverglen.

OK. Drc726. Probably time we just got back to a bit of relaxing and therapeutic gardening .

Or watch the Olympic torch as it travels round the country - lol!