[HPFGU-Movie] UK Schooling/Comic Relief

[GulPlum]

Lynda wrote:

>Richard, I'll personally feed your flobberworms for a MONTH if you can put
>this on your site so we Americ. . .er, Yanks (I'm a Southerner, it hurts to
>say that!). . .er, we non-BBC receiving types can see it too!!!!  Aw, rats, I
>just read your subsequent post saying you won't be putting it up.  Ah well. .

But have you read my post subsequent to *that* with the list of MP3s? :-)

Here it is again: http://plum.cream.org/HP/misc/comicrelief.htm

BTW My Flobberworms are all dead anyway from a surfeit of Honeyduke's Best 
Chocolate (I bought a whole box of the stuff last weekend).

>Er. . .I guess I'm still not clear on your school system.  How do you go to
>grammar school when you're in high school??  Grammar school over here is
>usually grades 1-6 over here usually, although our local system has k-4 in
>grammar school, with 5-8 being in middle school, 9-12 in high school.

Terminology problem again. What was it GBS was reputed to have said? 
"America and England. Two countries divided by a common language".

Over here, your "grammar" school is "primary" school. Over here, Grammar 
schools (of which very few remain following the upheaval of the education 
system in the 70s) are secondary schools (i.e. age 11-18). The system as it 
existed between the end of WWII and the beginning of the 70s involved an 
obligatory exam at 11 called the Eleven Plus (a test of English, maths and 
IQ, basically). If you passed, you went to Grammar School; if you failed, 
you went to a Secondary Modern.

Grammar schools are, to all intents and purposes, state schools run along 
the lines of private schools - large emphasis on classics, high discipline 
and significant academic content.

Secondary Modern schools' main purpose was <enters cynical mode> to keep 
kids off the streets <end cynical mode>. Less cynically, there was less 
emphasis on academic excellence, and the attempt was to get kids interested 
in *something*, either academically or some kind of trade.

As I said, most Grammar schools disappeared when the Eleven Plus stopped 
being compulsory in (I think) 1973; some local education authorities still 
provide an element of selection at that age, although most don't, and kids 
have a choice either of a private school or the local Comprehensive (e.g. 
Harry and Dudley).

I'm sure that Susan will give us more about her own experiences, of how 
that system worked for her in practice... :-)

>I also find the term "revise" or "revision" interesting when referring to 
>studying
>for exams (at least, I THINK that's what it means -- we call it "reviewing"
>or "studying").  "Revision" *sounds like* you're "changing" it somehow (if
>you revise a term paper, for instance, you're editing and polishing it -- how
>do you edit and polish stuff you've learned in a class???)

Again, it's just another one of those words that has a slightly different 
intonation on either side of the Atlantic. Your definition is perfectly 
correct, but what you're "revising" is your knowledge, not the paperwork. :-)

>I am thoroughly enjoying all these explanations of the school system over
>there, which are helping the Hogwart's setup make much more sense to me (so
>it's not THAT much off-topic!!!!)

My perspective is that it's "more" off topic for this list that it is the 
main one. I do agree that an understanding of the finer points of British 
education is helpful in illuminating some of the details in the books, but 
I don't really see them as being much help with the movies....

I would have posted this to the OT-Chatter list, but I know that someone 
else would have answered your question here anyway. :-)

(Besides, this list is pretty quiet right now, so I'm not *that* bothered, 
although I wouldn't be surprised if one of the Mods popped in an dropped a 
Howler or two...)

--
GulPlum AKA Richard, who is reading through all the material on that French 
site Anne mentioned in another message. Any comments/translation will 
probably turn up on the main list rather than here.