BS: Pisa tests

Subject: BS: Pisa tests
From: Jack Campin
Date: 24 Jan 18 - 05:16 AM

It's fairly telling that the Scottish government is willing to implement an OECD measure to promote tolerance in children and combat media lies, while England and the US aren't:

Subject: RE: BS: Pisa tests
From: Senoufou
Date: 24 Jan 18 - 06:50 AM

Gosh Jack, those sample Pisa questions are blooming hard!
And only offer Mathematics, Problem Solving and Financial Competence.
(None of which are my forte)
I'm getting on with my Daily Mail crossword instead!

Subject: RE: BS: Pisa tests
From: Jack Campin
Date: 24 Jan 18 - 06:59 AM

Something ate my link.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42781376

Subject: RE: BS: Pisa tests
From: Senoufou
Date: 24 Jan 18 - 07:47 AM

Ah I see, sorry I misunderstood.
Global Competence. Wonder why it's been rejected by England and the US, as you point out.
Looks like a good idea to me for students to develop these skills.

Subject: RE: BS: Pisa tests
From: leeneia
Date: 24 Jan 18 - 09:24 AM

Just because a school system doesn't buy one particular brand of test doesn't mean that the personnel don't care and don't do anything about intolerance, etc.

Subject: RE: BS: Pisa tests
From: Jack Campin
Date: 24 Jan 18 - 09:34 AM

No "buying" involved and it's not a brand. The OECD developed it for anyone to use.

Here's the OECD's own page on it:

http://www.oecd.org/pisa/pisa-2018-global-competence.htm

Subject: RE: BS: Pisa tests
From: Senoufou
Date: 24 Jan 18 - 10:30 AM

I've now read through the link, and the aims etc of the programme. It sounds commendable, but I can see a difficulty. While one should encourage young people to understand other cultures, there are many of those which are not acceptable to Western culture. For example, polygamy, FGM, arranged marriage, lack of women's rights, misogyny, fundamentalism and so on. At the risk of sounding rather like Trump in full flow, it's not so easy to make known these differences while at the same time uphold and commend our own standards.

Subject: RE: BS: Pisa tests
From: Donuel
Date: 24 Jan 18 - 11:15 AM

Senofou the US is currently killing immigrants by destroying humanitarian water stations in the Sonoma desert by border control agents emptying plastic gallons of water. We deport immigrants who have been here since age 2. We put immigrants in holding prisons where they are subject to factory work to earn their keep.

The administration describes these activities differently than I do .
I hear the UK has a few immigrant haters of their own.

Someone is thinking beyond the bible to come up with an enlightened PISA

Subject: RE: BS: Pisa tests
From: leeneia
Date: 25 Jan 18 - 12:04 PM

Jack, they may not sell the tests, but it still costs. And yes, it's a brand.

Senoufou, you are right. "Global tolerance" sounds like a good idea until we start learning about some of the cruel and unjust practices which are accepted in various parts of the globe. We don't have to tolerate those.

I read the linked page and am not impressed. Jargon, vagueness, a guy wearing a suit lecturing from a position of power. No sense that I am hearing from somebody who actually spends the day with young people. Doesn't even define OECD. And what's Pisa got to do with anything?

Subject: RE: BS: Pisa tests
From: Senoufou
Date: 25 Jan 18 - 01:12 PM

I understand your point Donuel, and yes, there are many cruelties and inhumane acts going on around the world. But this is in a way a separate issue (though equally in need of being addressed of course)

What we're considering is educating young people about different cultures and formulating a course which tackles this.

As I see it, it's a good idea to promote knowledge and give insight. But as leeneia says above, we can't encourage pupils to tolerate the many unacceptable cultures around the globe.
The word 'tolerate' is the one I can't get over.

Here in UK we have a very varied selection of people from many cultures. Even here, in my view a tolerant country, some practices cause huge problems. Fasting in Ramadan for example, and pupils fainting at school from dehydration and low blood-sugar. Wearing of the hijab (headscarf) among really quite young girls. Forced marriage etc.

As a retired teacher, I can see that one could end up with propaganda (always forbidden here)
My considered opinion is that it would be fraught with difficulty and hard to formulate and deliver.

Subject: RE: BS: Pisa tests
From: BobL
Date: 26 Jan 18 - 04:48 AM

And there was I, thinking the thread was going to be about civil engineering problems in Tuscany.... Sometimes capitalization makes a difference.

Subject: RE: BS: Pisa tests
From: Senoufou
Date: 26 Jan 18 - 05:08 AM

Hahaha Bob! That leaning tower would give me dreadful vertigo.
I believe they reinforced it some time ago, so that it would lean but not eventually fall over?

Subject: RE: BS: Pisa tests
From: Joe Offer
Date: 26 Jan 18 - 05:21 AM

Damn, I hate acronyms. Here I'm thinking of a leaning tower with all sorts of people taking selfies of themselves pretending to hold it up, and I gather PISA stands for something else.
Please, folks, remember that this is an international forum and we don't all use the same acronyms.
So, what's PISA stand for?

-Joe-

Subject: RE: BS: Pisa tests
From: Senoufou
Date: 26 Jan 18 - 06:43 AM

I believe it stands for Programme for International Student Assessment
Joe. I too hate acronyms, they seem to be all the rage nowadays.