*** OFFICIAL BREXIT SUNLIT UPLANDS and #MEGA THREAD ***

[Poopadoop]

Yes, I'm not spoon, I'm not saying tax is theft. I'm down with tax. But the balance has to be right so we don't overtax businesses and in turn stifle the economy.

I'm not talking about corporation tax. Taxing rich people puts money back into the economy instead of them piling it into a bank in the Cayman islands.

So just have the tourists in one place, London, instead of going to various places around the country? You think this is better?

That makes sense if you assume the only thing that brings tourists to the UK is the royal family. Kinda doubt that's true though.

People came from around the world to join a 20 hour queue.

So? They'd come from around the world for a football game too. Should we give Ronaldo a few palaces too?

They're coming for a lot more... the property, the history, the city, and maybe for a glimpse of any of the Royal Family.

Surely that means the main family, not the cousins and random dukes and barons or whoever else is on the gravy train. You can keep Chuck, his wife and the direct descendants around, give them a nice place to sit, and get rid of the rest of them.

Ok so let's get rid of the bullshit tax exempt status, but keep schools where teachers can earn what they are economically worth instead of what the state deems their value to be.

Here's a better idea: give every kid a quality education whether their parents are rich or not. Have programs for the gifted ones. Have help for the learning disabled. Don't make any of it depend on how much wealth a kid's parents have.

[The Bean Counter]

Here's a better idea: give every kid a quality education whether their parents are rich or not. Have programs for the gifted ones. Have help for the learning disabled. Don't make any of it depend on how much wealth a kid's parents have.

Education research these days advocates for mixed ability classes being optimal for all students. That surprises me, but that's what Mrs Bean tells me (she reads a lot of it). Question though: why should gifted kids have their own special program just because they're smart?

It's unlikely that the standard of teachers working in private education is higher on average. They aren't held to the same standard of assessment and their value add isn't high. Life is easier though, when you start with a bunch of kids that have to be smart enough to pass an entrance exam, all of which have academically motivated parents and lessons are being delivered in good facilities. I'm not comfortable with private education, but we'll try and get Mini Bean into the free, selective grammar school if he's bright enough.

[MadMojoMonkey]

Question though: why should gifted kids have their own special program just because they're smart?

As someone who went through the gifted program throughout Jr. high and high school, here's my take:

The point of school is to educate someone. In order to educate someone, you need to expose them to material that challenges them. I was not challenged in my classes.

Any typical hour of my high school experience:
I enter the room and find out what the assignment that will be assigned that day after the teacher is done lecturing.
I complete the assignment during the lecture, finishing the assignment before they're finished teaching it.
I goof off on my graphing calculator until the lecture's finished.
I show that I've complete the assignment and have the teacher sign my hall pass so I can l GTFO of that room instead of sit there playing with my calculator for another 30 minutes.
I go to the gifted class and actually engage my mind.


The classroom does not reach everyone. As a society, we either let those children get nothing from the school except daycare, or we create programs and alternatives to meet their needs.

[OngBonga]

£10k a year is not poverty. That's roughly what you can expect if you claim basic benefits.

£10k a year is poor by UK standards, but if you're defining this as poverty then idk what to say.

£20k a year is 2/3 the national average, and is what you can expect to earn on the minimum wage full time. It's also what you can expect on benefits if you're disabled or mentally ill. If 2/3 the average of a large global economy is "poor" then I still don't know what to say.

Let's just give everyone a million pounds so nobody is poor any more. Well, actually all we do there is massively increase inflation and create a new threshold for "poor".

Screw it, let's confiscate castles and sell them, that should make 100 people not poor for a year or two.

[The Bean Counter]

As someone who went through the gifted program throughout Jr. high and high school, here's my take:

The point of school is to educate someone. In order to educate someone, you need to expose them to material that challenges them. I was not challenged in my classes.

Any typical hour of my high school experience:
I enter the room and find out what the assignment that will be assigned that day after the teacher is done lecturing.
I complete the assignment during the lecture, finishing the assignment before they're finished teaching it.
I goof off on my graphing calculator until the lecture's finished.
I show that I've complete the assignment and have the teacher sign my hall pass so I can l GTFO of that room instead of sit there playing with my calculator for another 30 minutes.
I go to the gifted class and actually engage my mind.


The classroom does not reach everyone. As a society, we either let those children get nothing from the school except daycare, or we create programs and alternatives to meet their needs.

My experience was the same as yours, but without the gifted program. But modern teachers would argue that a good teacher challenges all kids in one lesson. And there are benefits to the smarter kids reinforcing their knowledge by helping the least able kids along. I don't know how true that is, but that's the current thinking. But it's difficult to change my own opinion based upon my own experience which is that I just wasn't challenged until further education.