The Good Old Days

Everything was better in the Good Old Days wasn't it?

 It depends what you mean by the Good Old Days.  According to my 14 year old son it was when the boat yard at the prom had a playground area on it.  When I think of the Good Old Days I'm reminded of the variety show that was occasionally on the TV on a Sunday night with John Inman, Larry Grason or some other camp presenter convincing the audience to sing Down at the Old Bull and Bush.  When I compare that to Britain's Got Talent I think that maybe variety was better in the Good Old Days.

Are we designed to only remember the good things?  We don't discuss the Bad Old Days.  No one can remember a Summer as bad as this one.  Growing up in the 70s and 80s I remember long hot summers of freedom, roaming the local park, helping the boat man on the lake, walking to the local shop with my penny to get 5 sweets but that can't have filled in all my time.  What happened in the times I can't remember?  Have I just blocked out the rainy days, where I sat bored in front of TV or sat at my bedroom window making patterns with the raindrops?

In an attempt to stop myself hurtling towards Grumpy Old Womanhood I am trying to be less judgemental of how bad things are these days.

School days, seem to be the Good Old Days for most people.  "When I was at school we learnt how to do proper maths!"  "Children just can't spell now.  That wouldn't have been allowed when we were at school." "I don't know why teachers can't teach them how to tie their shoelaces?  We learnt how to tie loads of knots at school."

Michael Gove has fallen into this trap.  As Education Secretary though, this is quite a dangerous position to take.  If he believes standards to be falling then he thinks that returning to education of his childhood would make things better: O levels, Private Schools, King James Bible, learning of Roman numerals to 1000, removal of free school meals and corporal punishment.

Phonics is the latest government scheme to improve reading standards.  I don't remember learning to read this way but I do remember my little sister 'sounding out' words.  I remember it because it used to make me laugh.  "the c -------a-----------t . the c---a-----t, the c---a---t, the c--a--t--, the c-a-t. the ca-----t, the ca--t,  the cat, oh the CAT! CAT! IT'S A CAT!"  Reading always seemed to take a very long time.  The problem with phonics is that English is not like Spanish.  It doesn't follow the rules.  The English language formed from so many other languages and how things are pronounced varies depending where you live in the country; bath, scone or bus.   Then there are the words that are pronounced in two different ways depending on context.  Words like,  read:  "Yesterday I  read a good book," or "This blog is a good read," or wind: "I have wind from all the cake I've eaten today," or "I like to wind up the allotment Nazis by leaving weeds on my plot," or record: "I record my thoughts in my diary," or "I have a great record collection but nothing to play them on."

 But I think I have worked out why phonics is so popular with Mr Gove.  When children from Essex want to write, "I loath Mr Gove."  they will phonetically spell and what they will write is: " I LOVE MR GOVE!"