Is Rishi Sunak utterly thick?

[noblegiraffe]

Today he actually went ahead and announced his plans for everyone studying maths till 18.

And all everyone commenting on this on the news or social media has been saying today is "but this is mad because there aren't enough maths teachers to teach the qualifications we already have".

And teachers including maths teachers, are going on strike again next week because the government refuses to pay them properly. The government also failed to meet its maths teacher trainee recruitment target last year and will again this year.

This announcement just gives everyone the wonderful opportunity to point these governmental failings again and again.

Why the fuck would anyone with any political sense announce a policy that cannot happen and gives everyone the opportunity to point out that it can't happen because the government are shit?

Just why?

I don't think politicians educated at elite schools realise that there are people who will not achieve because they never see the full range of abilities or circumstances which may prevent achievement.

Not all of their maths is that fantastic. Which education secretary said that all children should be above average? 🤨 And Johnson displayed a poor understanding in those leaked text messages.

They would be much better off reducing teachers' workload so that they can teach more effectively.

Like book keeping and geometry for trades

I dunno, the Daily Mail headline on this was that Rishi said children should learn to calculate the angle of a free kick in football or the speed of a racing car.

Sunak isn't thick, he just thinks that all state schools are like Milfield and Winchester College.

Just as he thinks everyone has access to a Nanny and that his wheeze of giving us all extra money for childcare will get us back to work!!!

Remember this is that guy who doesn't know how to fill up a car at the pumps.

So from the same government that brought us Brexit, (have they done the math on how much it has cost the country yet?) we are expected to believe that the latest gimmick is a good idea?

Surprise surprise.

Not thick but tone deaf/doesn't really give a shit.

I'm sure all the anxious, stressed, neurodiverse and otherwise 15 year olds with unmet needs and currently missing school would be really motivated to get into school by having to do maths for another three years. Fuck off Rishi.

So a kid doing A levels in Art, Sociology and Film Studies has to do some sort of Maths as well? @Socialdistancechampion When would they fit this in to their existing (full time) study load (maybe one topic in every A level could be removed?) and who would teach if it's that easy to fit in?

I wonder if that is because he incorrectly calculated the angle to hold the nozzle at to successfully deliver fuel?

Maybe it’s so we can teach kids how to use contactless to pay for stuff in actual real life shops?!? 🤣

He is but the electorate are thicker. He knows how to play the game. Make a big noise about policies which appeal to the prejudices of the majority in run up to the election, nothing will com of any of this but the old music will stay in people's minds and they'll hum the tune at the ballot box. Suella knows the game too, hence her being massively and publicly racist and fascist right now - she won't actually be able to do anything she's mouthing off about, but it doesn't matter - they've made the noises and ticked the boxes for people who want "something done" about immigrants and arts graduates.

Don’t worry, they will be losing a general election next year so we won’t have to put up with this nonsense for much longer…

Unless you recruit and retain more maths teachers and get maths right at primary this is a pointless exercise.

So he's talking bullshit to cover the stench of sleaze?

This has wound me up mainly because maths isn’t for everyone! There is no shame in learning a practical trade. Not everyone wants to or can learn maths and it just turns them off education altogether. I know an apprentice carpenter who did terribly at school and struggled so much that he hated it and bunked off at every opportunity. But he’s a brilliant apprentice and loves it so has never skived off or even called in sick. Rishi has no concept of the differences in people. I don’t know what planet he lives on. When I was at school, the kids who weren’t very academic had to do the core subjects but in the afternoons they learnt trades. It meant they didn’t bunk off, they were less disruptive in their core subjects because they had to endure less of it. It was a great system and I don’t know why we don’t do this anymore.

You have to know if you've made an error in the calculation though

I think it is the integrity and accountability that Sunak was so keen to tell us about on his first day.

At least he knows what a woman is hey.

I know it's already been said, but maths is already compulsory to 18 if you've not achieved a GCSE pass (either functional skills or resits). The problem with this policy, is for those who have got a C or above but just don't want to study maths anymore. Why should maths have this special status but no other subject?

Obviously it is important for STEM but I think maths is already the most popular A level subject, so there are probably enough students studying it to a higher level already. I think the conservatives also announced they were bringing in another qualification as not everyone can do A level maths, but there is already the Core maths?

Am confused.... currently students have to continue studying maths and english till their 18yrs if they don't get a grade 4 gcse....

Is he now saying, that no matter what grade you get , you have to continue studying it?

What about the students who get grade 9....

And that brilliant carpenter will need maths.

Maths is not just calculus and quadratic equations

So maybe he needs to be a bit more explicit. So many don't even have basic arithmetic and that is necessary for so much

@IamAlso4eels @jgw1 I'm aware of that (business as usual for the Tories!), I just don't see how it relates to my comment.

He won't just need it for his trade but if he becomes self employed he'll need enough to have some financial savvy

There’s an announcement he’s about to be investigated for a conflict of interest, this is mere distraction.

Must say Johnson was certainly more inventive each time he needed to distract, Rishi just says maths.

I think you are confusing Sunak with someone who knows what they are talking about.
After all this is a man who can wander into an illegal party in the middle of the day at work in a time of immense crisis and think nothing odd about it.

Is he utterly thick? Maybe. Its hard to tell when people go to schools so deeply committed to disguising thickness, isn't it

I was about to come on and say the ‘solution’ will be to have crappy apps built that will be owned by one of his donors. Another £10bn given to his backers.

Similar to his childcare announcement where he ‘forgot’ to declare his wife’s financial interest in the ‘solutions’ chosen.