mykp

You've got to be f'ing joking!

Pupil gains marks for exam expletive - Yahoo! News UK

Pupil is give 2 marks out of 27 for writing "f off" as the answer to an english exam which asked "Describe the room you are in"

Apparently he would have got more marks if he'd used punctuation.

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

What a load of Bollocks!

Ns" I just got an A for expression" 04

Leslie

It is typical of the PC Plonkers who are anxious to display such controversial decisions not only to shock us all but to demonstrate to us their growing power to do just what they like in spite of going against what the average person whould regard as normal social behaviour.

As my old mate from Yorkshire would say"They want stuffing!"

Les

PeteBrant

Works for me.

Conveys spelling, communication, intention - And considerably better English skills than the odd poster on here .

Personally I think we have quite a archaic view with regards to swearing; It is a valuable tool for conveying emotion when used int he right context.

I would have no problem with either of my kids swearing in a context that was not being abusive or disrespectful ( I am not naive enough to think they * don't * swear ) - I think imaginative use of swear words in an English paper can be a positive thing.

The Zohan

When going shopping at Tesco's and i hear 10 or so year old's yelling **** and **** off at each other i tend to disagree (NOW THERE IS A SUPRISE)

In contet it is fine, the problem is a lot of people punctuate each sentence with it and it rubs off on the younger generations.

Yet again - people ignoring their responsibilities.

I do see the society we live in being erroded by so many things and in so many areas, i may just be getting old...

lozgti

Nope.Everything really has gone downhill despite the protestations from ministers and those with kids who have just achieved 10 GCSE's or 5 A levels

PeteBrant

I'm not sure that it's any worse that it ever has beeen Paul. Kids have sworn from time immemorial.

Of course it absolutely horrible to hear a young'un swear, and I don't swear in front of my kids and they don't swear in front of me.

However, I am sure that they will swear when with mates etc, the important thing is that they use swear words approproately. I mean when with mates, fine, its going to happen, but as long as they don't do it at thier Nan's 65th birthday bash.

With regards to the use of swear words in English, I think there is definitely room for them.

I mean noting, and I mean nothing, quite conveys your disgust as a given object or person like "oh you fu**ing c**t".

PeteBrant

I disagree.

We have have a much higher percentage of people going to university now, compared to 20 years ago. And an educated society is a more tolerant and respectful society.

However, what has happened is that it has created an "underclass". Which was, I think, an unforseen byproduct.

lozgti

I know.And the standard of what goes in to Universities is perhaps reflected in the embarrassing things that I speak to therafter ,holding degrees and yet IMO thick as a brick.Sceptic in me thinks 'unemployment figures helped if we hide them all at Uni'

The arguments will go on but as an employer,I despair.

Anyway,swearing.Believe it or not,I don't really.Or rather,very rarely.Having said that,the Daily Mash stuff has me creased up and yes,you do need the swear words sometimes( but not in your English exam)

The Zohan

Who you calling a ****ing **** - you cnunting asswipe pig-****er!

Yep - it does make you feel kinda good and gets the message across.

When i was a lad we never used to swear in front of our partents - early teens, even to 15 or so.

These day i bet the percentage who will do without the risk of a clip around the ear or being grounded do has actually risen.

Spoon

Thats the problem, less and less 'parents' (used loosely) don't seem in the slightest perturbed when their children swear.

Children do swear in public far more than they used to and with no shame whatsoever.

As for the exam result, well its only to be expected of this country now.

PeteBrant

No, Me neither, I rarely swear in from of them now except in expceptional circumstances.

Obviously I treat the kids slightly different dute to ages - The 17 year old would get a different reaction from me than the 13 year old.

The main thing is teaching them when it is, and it is not "ok" to swear, and I think they have got that sorted.


Again with regards t exams, I think creatviely swearing can add an edge of realism.

I mean take tripe like Eastenders. Your Brother runs off with your wife and you father turnes out to be a transvestite that's been having an affair with your daughter and your wife has been lesbianing it up with the local land lady , and the biggest expletive you come out with is "Bugger"

PeteBrant

Don't talk such ****ing ****e.


Seriously, why do you think that?

dpb

well he could have just put a cross ...!

Spoon

Pete, I hear it daily when I'm out and about, no magic involved. My generation never swore when there was an adult within hearing distance and if there was a Policeman nearby we all struggled to walk properly without thinking we'd done something worthy of a telling off which would bring shame on our families.

Which then leads on to another point. Why do I see so many kids not at school on a regular basis?

a1oku

And???I'm afraid the benchmark for exam passes has been lowered big time over the last thirty years!!!Fact. Just because more people are going to uni now does not indicate a general raising of standards!!That is sloppy thinking...just what university education is designed to eradicate.

Leslie

Although I sometimes used swearwords as a teenager, but never in earshot of grownups or those who might be offended, I think it was part of growing up along the lines of smoking and having a drink on the quiet!

I do however find it is offensive in public and hate to hear it from young children or the fully grown for that matter.

I well remember being told that use of bad language demonstrates the inabiliy of the user to express himself and is nothing to be proud about. Far more impressive to be able to say just what you mean clearly and succintly without recourse to unpleasant language in my opinion.

I am however the first to admit that it certainly helps when things go wrong in private to let a few choice comments go just to make you feel better

Les

lozgti

What is really annoying in respect of this 'hug a hoodie' style marking is seeing what the question was

'Describe the room you are in'

If I was the examiner and he had written 'F off' he would get minus marks and kick up the backside.

Mind you,doesn't happen in this fluffy wuffy new world we all live in where kids get away with anything

PeteBrant

Seriously I think some of you are at least 208 years old, or, lived in secluded time warp villages when growing up (whohc must have been genuinely aces)

"Bring shame on our families"? What??? A copper would say "oi don't swear" How passer by is possibly going to know what family you belong to is beyond me.


Swearing, in my experience of growing up in a city is no better or worse than it used to be.

PeteBrant

What evidence do you have of standards being lowered?

Spoon

Then I'd say the majority of us think you came from another planet or were dragged up.

PeteBrant

I'm fine with that

And whats more, I've managed not to bring shame on my family .


"Shame on my family", **** me. It's like something out of a c*nting dickens novel.

Spoon

Pete, they excepted you were never going to amount to much at a very early age so you never got the general behaviour brief as a child.

PeteBrant

Either that, or I lived an area where there were more than 3 people in the village.


Having said that. When I was about 13 I used to travel into central London quite often ( I lived a tube ride away). One day I wa sin Trafalgar Square and me an a couple of mates decided to see how far we could get up it.

We got passed the square base and onto the actual column itself, which if you know Nelsons column is pretty high up, when a copper screamed at us to get down. We got down and he gave us an earful.


When I got home later that day, My mum was waiting for me and went beserk at me for getting told off by the Police in trafalgar Square. She never did tell mw how she found out, but I couldnt beleive it at the time.

Spoon

Do you think your Mum screamed because you never made it to the top?

As for knowing, maybe you had your name and address written on the sole of your shoes and on your descent plod noted it.

warrenm2

Im beginning to feel like Frank Grimes...

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

Exactly. How is that a valid response to that question.

Maybe if the kid had written:

"Fu*k off; you didn't say please"

That student gets a "T" Any takers as to what the T stands for?

Ns04

Spoon

It stands for a traditional English drink.

Leslie

Well I still have to say that I think that allowing children to use bad or obscene language in normal conversation is indeed a lowering of standards and in earlier days would have been regarded as "common" behaviour.

Les

c_maguire

1. Pete, you are out of your tree.

2. Unnecessary swearing, which seems all too common (like its users) now, is just representative of individuals with a lack of respect for others.

3. The suggestion that swearing is no more prevalent now than in the past is frankly ridiculous - go ask your granny how many foul-mouthed lepers she had to put up with in her youth.

4. If I suggest that standards of education have dropped significantly (particularly under this government) then no doubt some (hello Pete) will say "anecdotal"..."hearsay"....."Daily Mail" etc. Because of course now 465% of the population have some kind of degree in Media Studies, Drama, American Studies, Fine Art or other that guarantees them to be virtually unemployable in anything other than the Public Sector where the Welcome Mat is out for everybody. Government statistics will back Pete up, and suggest our real life perceptions cannot be true. I am more inclined to accept the views of the CBI and the IoM, who both report an obvious drop in the quality of individuals looking for employment.

5. How soul-destroying must it be as a teacher, having to deal with the type of brain-dead individual we are talking about here.

This 'dumbing down' of society is like a runaway train, driven by the inevitable truth that stupid people tend to give rise to far more offspring than those of higher intelligence, who just happen to be more responsible and respectful in everything they do.
****, fascist or whatever you like, I'd have no problem with forced sterilization of the anti-social idiots because I am sick to the back teeth of the shameless way this society behaves.

Kevin