The Scottish Government

What undermines faith in politics, Ministers and the National Conversation are bare faced lies like telling Scottish students you would "dump the debt monster". In a TV interview, the Education Secretary says they never promised that at all. Shame on you, Fiona Hyslop! Dump the debt monster, dump Hyslop!

Students entered into dialogue with Ministers before and received nothing but gestures. It doesn't fill me with confidence when it comes to anything else the SNP do. Politics is broken and it will take more than a one way conversation to fix it.

There is a system ready and available that will help identify the skills gap and source the training and or education that will be required to fulfil it. It will give a timescale which will help to plan a way into employment, career develope, help new business start-ups and also help SMB develope and expand. I have read all that you have discussed about what is needed to re-dress and it is all there but no one is listening maybe you should look at then comment because even the First Minister has and you can read what he has to say about it.

Tommy, West Lothian, (114) wrote that schoolchildren should learn about “Protestant Scotland, John Knox, Covenanters, The Reformation.....” - well of course I agree children in Scotland should learn about the Reformation, the Covenanters, etc. Anybody, of any religion, who doesn’t know that about these things, simply can’t understand Scottish History. But children should be taught to study ALL of history with their critical faculties engaged, none of that “our glorious heritage” stuff, which is NOT history.

Tommy asks “Would it be fair to say that most Catholics through generations would be mostly Nationalists and therefore support a Nationalists agenda?”

No, it certainly wouldn’t. If anything, from the date the SNP was formed, it has mostly relied upon protestant support. I have even seen a graffiti proclaiming “SNP ya proddy bass”. It is the Labour Party which has, traditionally, got many Catholic votes. That is gradually changing, and it is a change to be welcomed. Yes, it is true that some Catholics of Irish descent are IRISH-Nationalists, but many of them seem to have no problem with singing Irish “rebel” songs then voting for Labour politicians who are firmly unionist in a Scottish context. Your suggestion that Scottish Nationalist equals Catholic is sheer nonsense.

Tommy also says “Scotland's Education should be fair and well balanced within society, it's time for a debate on Education and the facts about our history not just the SNP fantasy lands of Wallace and Bruce, funny they never mention Unionist History, wonder why!” - Tommy, by your own bias in that comment, you have clearly shown that, if you had your way, Scotland’s education would be anything BUT “fair and balanced”. There is no discrimination against “Unionist History” in Scotland’s education system. If anything, it is the other way round. When I did my honours degree in history, one of my teachers was Professor Chris Whatley, one of Scotland’s foremost historians, and a staunch Unionist. If anything, the Unionist viewpoint was _over_ -represented in the university curriculum. The problem is not a lack of “unionist” history. The problem is that there is simply not enough teaching of Scottish History as such.

Well done for abolishing the Student Endowment fees. You are absolutely right that the fear of debt for young people can be a big disincentive (and also for parents)

Keep up the good work!

Agree with you (116) Alec .
Had my own business as well, same problems. Yet young ones understand they can get more money from the government benifits. Why work? Do they know where that money is coming from? I also wonder if the government realise where their money come from sometimes.Is the World upside down? It seems the government have to start doing some real action for the sake of the future of Scotland.

I have worked as a tradesman,manager,apprentice trainer and have set up and run my own business.Over the years I have seen the decline of quality apprentice training and the support given to busness people who wish to train them. Small to medium sized business are finding it easier and cheaper to bring in imigrant labour through agencies that train our existing workforce. Sucessive governments and I am sorry to say our politicians have lost touch with with the real requirements of Scottish industry with excecption of the large multi-nationals. I did recently try to give something back by offering to do some part time trades training through a scheme run by your government but my 40years on industrial experience meant nothing learn direct Scotland did not even bother to contact me. How is that for life long learning and what does it say about the people who are running the organization on the governments behalf. I would be happy to discuss my ideas with one of your researcher.

I hope you listen otherwise we have the skilled jobs to make our children future bright

Regards

Alec

I would very much agree that history should be better taught in our schools, and be compulsory perhaps to S3 but probably at least to standard grade. I would also add to this that latin as the basis for many languages, should be similarly treated. In Holland when I was working/living there, most pupils not only learnt latin, but 4 languages - Dutch, German, English and one other - usually French or Spanish.

I am however glad to see less emphasis in modern English teaching on puctuation and even grammar, and more on emphasis on the ability to speak and communicate. I would like to see this go much further, covering perhaps general semantics, language in thought and action. Also such subjects as assertiveness - being able to assert oneself, ones own needs, ones own opinions, without undue aggression.

Though I don't see that any of these would in themselves tip the balance in favour or against independence, the confidence and understanding this would breed would enable people more to be able to decide for themselves what they wanted, for themselves, their children, and their society.

I do admit a bit of sneakiness here, as I am personally confident that such better GENERAL education, awareness, understanding and self-assertion would inevitably lead to independence in the long run, regardless of what happens in the next 5 years or so.

Presently our education system is geared to producing ants, who are expected to take their appropriate place in the anthill, gathering and protecting for the sake of the nest, though in human terms this tends to mean labouring for very little reward, to produce huge rewards for the few. I suspect a lot of young unrest, apathy and total disillusionment is due to rebellion against this idea of being an unappreciated and unrewarded ant, and I'm afraid my sympathies are with them in many ways - after all, which of us really wants to be an ant in the first place?

All people fought and died to give our today's, for many remembering our past is very important as the SNP try to whitewash our Scots/UK identity !

All cultures, all creeds, faiths, origins etc died on the battlefields for what, to let Alex Salmond's tartan tories separate us all?

On battlefields there was none of this Rangers/Celtic crap, none of the Nationalist/Unionist crap, Proddy/Catholic bile...

You can have different beliefths from one another but dividing us all will destroy Scotland and take us backwards.

All our traditions and history should bond us through a child's education not divide us. We should not forget our past just because Scotland has become diverse, we should work towards common goals linking Scotland with the other 3 Nations, standing proudly, shoulder to shoulder, remembering the sacrifice that has gone before us.

The problem is that children today do not understand or recognise who gave us in world wars one and two, for us to be living in peace today.

Our Education in Scotland for a generation has failed to safeguard our historic relationship with the rest of the United Kingdom. This must be corrected.

When a very high percentage of our children today cannot explain the facts of how Scotland has developed over the years then we have a problem within our society. This will only get worse unless there are significant changes.

I fully understand and respect that Scotland is made up of many cultures, but to deny any culture their history through education in proportion to society must be surely covered by European law?

If anyone can show me that their children in Scotland have been taught about the following then I maybe wrong, however we both agree that there is an issue:

Protestant Scotland, John Knox, Covenanters, The Reformation, Glorious Revolution, Monarchy, Act of Union, World War 1 & 2

A thought....

Would it be fair to say that most Catholics through generations would be mostly Nationalists and therefore support a Nationalists agenda? There must be thousands who believe in the history of the Jacobites, Bonnie Prince Charlie, William Wallace, Irish War of Independence and that's their rights to do so.

Would it also be fair to say that the rest of society go to state schools or private schools?

This being the case we must have a significantly higher proportion of society who are ignorant to their historical identity.

Scotland's Education should be fair and well balanced within society, it's time for a debate on Education and the facts about our history not just the SNP fantasy lands of Wallace and Bruce, funny they never mention Unionist History, wonder why!

112. kev
There were over 60 million military and civilian deaths during the Second World War, compared to perhaps one or two hundred thousand in total during the Afghanistan and Iraq "conflicts".

A third world war, without nukes, would likely have lead to a similar death toll. Many people, including myself, believe that WWIII was prevented by the nuclear deterrent, and that as potential "cannon fodder" after national service which I didn't have to do in the changed times, in a Soviet invasion via Germany while the regular armies dug in, I myself would likely not be alive to inflict myself on this list.

The Soviets were as afraid of us, as we were of them, and with as much reason. A point to remember in today's cycling times of Cold War resurgence.

If Iraq for instance, had had an effective nuclear deterrent, including long-range delivery systems (big rockets!), there is little doubt the Americans, us, and others, would not have engaged in the recent conflict, whatever its rights and wrongs.

#112 Kev

The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq had my backing, and if memory serves, the backing of a mojority in the country and in Parliament. With hindsight perhaps Iraq was a step too far but it was with the right intentions. We can learn from this and adopt a different approach in future.

If we want to back off of humanitarian armed intervention then I assume the situation in Sudan and Zimbabwe, and others will be allowed to reach their unnatural conclusions with the unnecessary loss of innocent lives.

If that is the new found will of the people, so be it, it is a democracy after all. However if you are are not prepared to support a majority opinion why should the majority support you?

The state of recruitment in the armed forces suggests that we we will soon have a standing army unable to meet any additional calls on their services.


The question of the nuclear deterrent applies to other more potent potential threats, which may have escaped your attention, but are nevertheless just as worrying.