Education fiddle faddle

Wonder if you can still buy fountain pens and those ink cartridges that used to go in them. They will make ideal Christmas and birthday gifts for my grandchildren if Gove continues on his mad path.
Bring back Wackford Squeers - Dickens' Nicholas Nickleby, I think.

You mean they don't use them now?

I still do. I yearn for a mont blanc, but have to make do with a waterman I bought very cheaply in France years ago!

I so agree about Hon.Michael Gove.being a pillock.
I had a letter from him on the subject of 'grandparents contact'-nothing that I didn't already know. Said I can apply to court for contact-didn't mention that it can cost thousands and even then not guaranteed in face of intransigent mother.
What experience does he have to pontificate.

P.S I am pre-O level! Anyone remember 'School Certificate' and 'Higher School cert. in the 40s

I have got a Lamy fountain/cartridge type pen. It is undoubtedly more pleasurable to write with and easier than a fibre tip.
A couple of years ago I was doing a high volume of phone interviews and it was a godsend for scribbling all day.

I did all my scribbling when studying for my Masters with a Lamy. Loved it.

I took my degree exams with a classic Parker 51 with an italic nib, given to me by my sisters for my 21st birthday. By that time, I'd got over my turquoise or purple ink phase.

What do they use in school these days? Biros?

I have a Parker 51 somewhere but the rubber tube has perished and so I can't use it now always supposing I can find it!

We started with ink wells and wooden pens with nibs Does anyone remember the big ink bottles I think they were made of some sort of clay with cork tops that were used to fill the ink wells?

Depends anagram ...up until I left (no ...it was only a couple of years ago) our Yr5 and 6 were expected to use a cartridge pen ...we even supplied the pens and cartridges (those who wanted to use their own could)

We had taken the view that if we didn't give them the opportunity ...no one else would

And yes all our local secondary schools let them write with what they wanted ...too much effort to insist on one type

Thanks, Jacey.

I taught for a year in a horrible school in Norfolk where the children were made to use fountain pens. This was a golden excuse for them to get ink all over their hands and then ask permission to go and wash them. I got fed up with this and gave my classes permission to use ballpoints. Their handwriting couldn't get much worse anyway.

My best handwriting was done with a Rotring 2mm calligraphy pen. DH recently got hold of a vintage Conway Stewart. He refrains from leaving it in his shirt pocket as that caused the demise of his good Parker — once too often through the wash.

The shirts didn't do too well either.

I had a parker51 when I was young as well, it got stolen!

Dippy pens! I hated those that you had to dip into the inkwells as I always splatted on the page and had a permanent blue finger! Though I did like the smell of ink!

Those awful inkwells! Someone always seemed to have stuffed some blotting paper in them and the end of your pen would come out all clogged up with it....

I received a letter from Gove's department telling me that all children, regardless of income, have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument free in school - pull the other one Mike!!

What!!! In our school they have the opportunity but only because we are horribly generous with the budget when it comes to the music dep.
There is no ring fencing that I have ever heard of.
Maybe they mean the comb and paper.

Getting back to the thorny subject of Gove, I have just read the article in last Sunday's Observer about the "leak" last week that got Dave and Nick on the hop.
They reckon Gove is an ambitious little so and so who is playing straight to the party faithful. Not to mention the press, given his outburst about Leveson and the freedom of the press.
I revise my opinion of last week to "dangerous right winger".

JessM, fully agree - thought that when he was a journalist appearing on programmes like Tonight.

They may get free group tuition but do they get free instruments? Has Govey any idea how much even cheap, second-hand instruments cost?

Govegrind is aiming for PM I am sure of it. There will be right wing coup soon in the Tories to oust Cameroon andGovey will be in the mix..though not stupid enough to lead it as he will want to live to fight another day!

he's just too weird looking to be electable - isn't he? I thought Dave and George were too posh - and maybe they were, as they did not get a full majority.
Dave talking about "culture of entitlement" this week and whipping up anti-poor-people feeling.
I thought "entitlement" originally referred to the privileged who thought their children were entitled to designer outfits, posh schools, posh university places and a job from one of daddy's friends...

I hope you are right jess re Govey! Usual Tory divide and rule tactic this time it's the deserving and undeserving poor!
In my first teaching post in Battersea I was shocked to discover ( I was v naive then!) most parents from the very run down local estate would be voting Tory because 'that's where the money is' my arguments that that was where it would stay fell on deaf ears and resulted in the hung parliament of 1974!

Gove makes the Monster Raving Loonies sound credible.

Annobel