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Before We Change Education, We Need to Re-Think Intelligence

Common Sense Contributors
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by Claire Gillespie

Britain loves a hierarchy. If there’s one thing we do well, it’s maintaining a system of deciding who is better than who, and nowhere is this clearer than in education. The age-old competition between Russell Group universities and polytechnics, and Oxbridge and ‘the rest’ in general, has been part of university culture since time immemorial. Even as early as post-16 study, people are forced into boxes. You’re either vocational or academic, A Level or BTEC. But does this division still have any place in Britain in 2017? Does it really help our economy and workforce move forward if they’re more obsessed with where they study than what they study?

Somewhere along the way (around the time we decided polytechnic colleges needed to be renamed), we decided that it was university degrees or bust. We overloaded a system meant for a certain type of education and pushed tens of thousands of square pegs into round holes. We made subjects never meant to be constrained to libraries and lecture theatres and put them there anyway, then charged people who wanted to study them for the privilege.

With education funding contentious as ever, and barely mentioned in the Autumn 2017 Budget announcements, it’s worth looking at why we educate Britain the way we do, and the thinking behind it.

To do this we need to put away our own egos. Policy is typically made by people who are university-educated with the sorts of degrees these institutions were designed for. It is inevitable that they will want to defend the structures that gave them their privileges. It is wonderful to believe yourself intelligent, but it is not useful to have that attached to a piece of paper, or the name of an institution, especially not if you make the policies which define how other people study. So here it is: your degree does not make you smarter or better or even more qualified to do anything. What it does do is give you a set of skills and knowledge, but how you practise them is up to you, just remember that there are people without your education (bar doctors, lawyers and scientists etc.) who could probably do those things anyway.

Now that we’ve taken ourselves down a peg or two, we can get to work. The British education system is broken: it’s too expensive, too poorly funded and overburdened. We have created a society in which people do degrees they don’t want to do and have no use for, simply because they will give them the appearance of being educated. We lose people who could be busy innovating and creating because we’ve told them that studying classic French literature is the best way to show the world how smart they are. We don’t fund the institutions that could be helping them to develop entirely different skill sets which would really tap into their potential, and we tell everyone that going to these niche institutions is a marker of their inadequacy.

We want to be a country and an economy ‘fit for the future’, but we have to start by accepting that traditional forms of academic achievement have very little place in the future that technology and society are leading us towards.

Fight Night: Lomachenko Vs. Rigondeaux

Common Sense Contributors
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Written by TCS Contributor, Akwasi Appiah.

Every now and then in boxing, the best fight the best. In the early hours of Sunday morning two men with a combined record of 893 wins to 14 losses, will go head to head in what is billed to be the most competitive boxing match of the year. It is the first time in boxing history where two men who are two-time Olympic Gold medallists will come head-to-head in the ring.

2017 has been an amazing year for boxing. We saw James Degale come off the deck to earn a draw with Badou Jack. Floyd Mayweather beat Connor Mcgregor in the highest grossing fight of all time. And last but not least, who could forget that night in Wembley stadium where Anthony Joshua knocked out Wladimir Klitschko in the 11th round. Unfortunately, the Lomachenko and Rigondeaux bout doesn’t carry the same attention as the aforementioned fights. But for the boxing purists, this event comes as an early Christmas gift.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6Q4C5IuVng

Rigondeaux was the Golden boy of the Cuban boxing school until he defected in 2005. We see few pro-Cuban boxers due to the ban imposed by Castro in 1961 prohibiting professional boxing. Rigondeaux won Gold medals at both the Sydney and Athens games in the bantamweight division. After winning Gold twice, he took a speedboat through shark-infested waters to Miami to realise his dream of becoming the best pound for pound boxer of all time. On arrival, he proved his ability to adapt to the professional ranks and has amassed a clean record of 17 fights, 11 knockouts with no losses.

Lomachenko’s journey was arguably easier. Born in Ukraine he started boxing aged 5. Trained by his father he displayed natural ability for the sport. His father, recognising the importance of footwork, pulled him out of boxing and sent him to the national ballet academy to hone his skills. His sublime footwork is now on display for all to see. With only 9 professional fights, he is already a two-weight world champion. It took Floyd Mayweather double the number of fights to win one title let alone two.

This is a spectacle which will intrigue all; the coming together of the two most–skilled fighters in the world. How will two men who hit and often don’t get hit, impose their wills on each other? The edge must be given to Lomachenko. Being the younger, fresher fighter, will help him in the later rounds as will the 8lb weight advantage. However, Rigondeaux brings an experience and confidence with him into the ring. He has come off the canvas to win. He’s gone to points. He’s fought abroad. But all of this won’t matter at 2 am Sunday morning. What will matter is who has the greater will and for that display, I cannot wait.

 

Donald Trump & Theresa May: BFF’s Forever?

Emmabelle Nwadikwa
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Donald Trump & Theresa May: BFF’s Forever?

The so-called friendship between Donald Trump and Theresa May is something that confuses the majority of us. The 45TH president of the United States of America has been one of the most controversial candidates in history. During his campaign his win seemed almost impossible with all the different allegations coming out against him. This wasn’t helped by the fact that he seems to also be an extremely outspoken man, one who doesn’t necessarily think before he speaks as he often seems to respond on impulse, something we haven’t seen in other presidential candidates. Not to mention the fact that no one seems to be able to stop Trump from tweeting his every thought. Whilst his behaviour may frighten people like me, clearly enough people either loved it or found him the lesser of two evils because it didn’t stop him from achieving his goal.

If that wasn’t shocking enough, I’d like to believe the majority of the British public were shocked by pictures emerging of the Prime Minister, Theresa May holding his hand as they walked through the White House. It has since been revealed that the reason there were seen to be holding has was so that May could assist Trump but this was only the start of Theresa May’s Trump issues. After neo-nazi’s rallied in Charlottesville – a rally that resulted in death – the outspoken president made a statement to say that there was blame on both sides, as opposed to just rebuking the far-right group for their actions. When May was called upon to condemn her new friend’s actions she repeatedly avoided doing so, and so a pattern emerged. All things Trump related may as well have become off the table for any media interview.

We saw a recent change in this when May finally spoke out against his actions by saying that it wasn’t right of him to retweet various anti-Muslim videos from a British far-right group. This, of course didn’t sit so well with Mr Trump who decided to express his frustrations on twitter by tweeting

@Theresa_May, don’t focus on me, focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom. We are doing just fine!

I, for one, had been wondering when Trump and May would finally have a public disagreement and how it would play out. Especially seeing as while it may seem that Americans are fine with Trump’s over exuberant nature, we Brits are known for having a ‘stiff upper lip’. Of course, in true British form Theresa May didn’t respond to the president’s tweet but it does beg the question, how long will Donald Trump get away with his actions? Will he continue to provoke world leaders and expect to remain consequence free? Does presidency mean that Mr Trump is suddenly untouchable? Will Theresa May be as protective of his future actions as she has been over his past actions? Or, my personal favourite question, when will Donald finally be impeached? To know the answer to any of them, we’re going to have to stick around to find out. I’ll bring the popcorn.

 

Diversity: The New Buzzword

Emmabelle Nwadikwa
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Diversity: The New Buzzword

When some people hear the word diversity, all they think about is the dance group led by Ashley Banjo that unfairly lost out in Britain’s Got Talent in 2008. For others, they picture a group of middle-aged white male executives that control the boards of their offices and for very few, they see that one person of colour, female or member of the LGBT+ community that they work with.

While diversity itself is known to mean ‘a variety of different things’ why is it that we no longer accept this at face value? We no longer look at a team of people with different skill sets and call them a diverse team. We no longer look at a panel with different backgrounds and agree that the panel is diverse, we only seem to acknowledge diversity when it is something we can see at first glance and not something we have to dig deeper to understand.

Nicki Minaj at the BET Awards

In 2016 we saw the issue become subject of popular debate when the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite arose. Interestingly, Stacey Dash went on to comment on the fact that people of colour had created exclusive spaces for themselves such as BET (Black Entertainment Television) in fact she said “Either we want to have segregation or integration. And if we don’t want segregation, then we need to get rid of channels like BET and the BET Awards and the Image Awards, where you’re only awarded if you’re Black. If it were the other way around, we would be up in arms. It’s a double standard”.
However, although people of colour are the face of BET, they are not the only people that are nominated for BET awards, nor are they the only people to have won.

Can true diversity be found in situations where everyone appears to look the same? Does diversity only exist when it’s inclusive? In what some may call a hyper-sensitive society we have seen that there is a constant desire to please everyone. Is the most qualified person the person being called for the job? Or, is it possible that the person that’s the most qualified is being passed over for someone who may not have the same qualifications but who fills some sort of quota?

Of course, both things are possibilities. However, it is getting harder and harder to tell the difference and whilst some people may see quotas as a negative thing (as it may mean that the someone is getting passed over), I for one, see them as a positive thing. Quotas have meant an increase of minorities in spaces that have formerly been closed off to them. Quotas have meant that people have a foot in the door when the same doors have formerly been closed in their faces. Quotas allow for increased representation across the board which is not only healthy for the state of society but it is also healthy for the future. By seeing people that ‘look like them’ in spaces that weren’t necessarily created for them, the next generation of young people are able to aim for things that others may not have ever thought to aim for. Quotas quite literally create hope for the hopeless and that in itself is a reason to be grateful for them.

So while diversity may just be a buzzword for some, the quotas that it brings with them literally changes lives.

 

UK Banks Stand Firm To a Hard Brexit

Common Sense Contributors
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UK Banks Stand Firm To a Hard Brexit

Written by TCS Contributor, Takudzwa Gezi

The Bank of England has said that all the UK major banks are able to cope with a ‘hard’ Brexit.

This comes after the Governor of BoE Mark Carney, had announced that the UK’s biggest lenders had passed the Bank’s stress tests. The Bank’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) is also “taking action to ensure the financial system is resilient to a very broad range of risks”.

Some of the key points, which Mark Carney and the Bank of England raised, in reducing the impact of a ‘hard’ Brexit on the UK household banks, included:

  • Regulatory frameworks
  • Strong trade deal
  • Strong legislation
  • Impact on capital requirements

Grant Thornton Financial Services Group has pointed out that UK banks such as HSBC, USB, and Lloyds, will benefit from a ‘hard’ Brexit, by avoiding burdensome EU legislations, which include the bonus cap, and the restrictive employment rights. Michael Snapes, financial services director at PwC said, “There is some comfort to be had in the knowledge that the UK banking system is strong enough to withstand severe economics deterioration”.

Since the financial crisis of 2008, all the major UK banks have passed their stress tests.

On the flip side, one has to look at the possible risks of a ‘hard’ Brexit on UK Banks. “What we have to do is look at the tail risk – what could go wrong – and to ensure that the core of the system has enough capital and liquidity to withstand a shock to the financial system”, Carney pointed out.

If the UK is to leave the EU in a ‘sharp, disorderly’ fashion, there is certainly going to be some economical consequences. Given the worst-case scenario, there will be a rise in interest rates from 0.5% to 4% within 2 years, and the unemployment rate will rise from its current rate of 4.3% to over the 10% mark.

The Bank’s Governor has emphasised that this is an ‘unlikely event’, which the UK’s banking system is working to avoid. “UK banks could continue to support the real economy even in the event of a severely disruptive exit from the EU” he added.

Despite the potential risks of a ‘hard’ Brexit, the UK’s biggest lenders have been ticking off the right places within the Bank’s stress tests. HSBC, Standard Chartered, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide, and Santander, have all maintained their capital levels above the Bank’s stress tests minimum requirements.

The Chief Financial Officer of RBS concluded by saying that the UK banks “continue to make progress towards the stress-resilient bank we aspire to be and 2017 represented another year of material improvement”. At least we can look forward to some good news in the new year.

José Mourinho’s Uncertain Future

Fidelis Olaniran
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José Mourinho’s Uncertain Future

In recent weeks, there has been a lot of speculation on the destination of current Manchester United boss José Mourinho. José has expressed that Manchester United will not be his last job and that he cannot compete with the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson or Arsene Wenger when it comes to longevity.

Image result for jose mourinho

So far, José Mourinho is having a successful season at Manchester United. (source: Reuters) 

This statement reflects his managerial career, where he has spent no more than 4 years at any one club. Before taking charge at Manchester United, Mourinho managed rivals, Chelsea for 2 years. José still hasn’t signed an extension or new contract, even though Manchester United are planning to offer him a lucrative deal aimed to keep him at the club for a longer tenure. However, the notion of Mourinho remaining at the helm of the club was thrown into the wind, when he openly praised Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) for being “Special”. This is leading many to believe that he will make a summer move the French capital. France poses a unique challenge for Mourinho. Ligue 1 is the only competitive league where Jose is yet to win a domestic trophy. Over the years, we have seen the ‘special one’ dominate in the top tier leagues of  Spain, England, and Italy. PSG’s recent summer transfers have resulted in the squad being labeled as one of the strongest in Europe. For José, this is possibly a very attractive proposition. However, José continues to vehemently deny that he has on the move: 

 

“I have no intention of joining Paris Saint-Germain”. José on PSG move (source: The Metro) 

The main question is if José Mourinho does leave for PSG next summer, which manager will have the ability to cope with the pressure that comes with being Manchester United boss? Individuals like Carlo Ancelotti, Frank De Boer or even a Manchester legend like Ryan Giggs are strong potential replacements. However, we are just reaching the halfway point of the season and a lot will change in the coming months. 

Female Genital Mutilation vs. Western Culture

Common Sense Contributors
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Female Genital Mutilation vs. Western Culture

Female Genital Mutilation i.e. FGM is an ongoing topic for discussion that has brought to light a lot of controversy in the area of circumcision. FGM also known as female circumcision is a worldwide cultural practice carried out in over 28 countries in Africa such as Sudan and Somalia, where 98% of the females are subjected to carry out the practice. The practice is said to be a symbolic representation of female chastity. An assurance of safeguarding both a woman’s purity and the honour of her family. In some parts of Nigeria (and other parts of the African continent), female circumcision symbolically represents ‘the cutting out of the devil’ (the clitoris) because it is the most sexual pleasing part of the female genitalia. This to many sounds barbaric and in fact inhumane which is why it has been a criminal act in the UK since 1985, as it was seen as a form of violence against females.

FGM has become one of the most talked about topics in British politics which is why, for the general election that just passed in June, parties such as UKIP promised to confront and deal with the continuity of FGM in the UK. They announced plans for ‘mandatory annual medical checks for girls in ‘at-risk minority’ (read: black) groups in a bid to stop female genital mutilation in Britain.

UK Independence Party’s Integration Agenda

Statistics show that from April 2015 to March 2016 there have been 5,700 new cases of FGM in the UK, 18 of the cases where undertaken in the UK, including 11 women and girls who were also born in the UK.  FGM is an ongoing battle here in the UK as many families still get skilled cutters from their home countries to cut their daughters. This is against the law, which is where the major issue is. People with customs such as FGM feel it is fair and necessary for them to practice it wherever they wish, regardless of the law, but no cultural practice should be above the law. In years to come, this problem will hopefully be completely resolved as many movements and talks about FGM have risen over the last 32 years with the objective of re-educating the minds of the people in the UK and around the world. However, the major question still stands whether circumcision should be allowed at all for both males and females in the UK.

If you or someone you know is at risk of FGM, get in touch with charities such as NESTAC and FORWARD.

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