I feel old...

[lady_t_220]

The parental units are arguing about the school system and the stupid statistics being spewed out by the government about the number of people they want to head on to university.
*shakes head*
They're having a nice big rant about highly respected universities being obliged to take on less able students to balance out the gov't set intake requirements (My God, you can't hog all the really clever people for your university, it makes all the others look bad...) and how exam grades from kids at private school are viwed as proportionally less worthy than those of state school kids. It's a big crock, naturally. Having been at both, the expected targets at a private school are also much higher than state schools. But they're still viewed as less worthy as it's easier to get high grades if you come from a private school. Because, y'know, the private school kids have "an advantage"... Being in smaller classes and having teachers who have the resources to actually teach things and all...
*rolls eyes*

All I say is that thank God I was home educated because no one has any expectations from you in that situation.
I've had people genuinely ask me how on earth I managed to get so many GCSEs... or indeed ANY GCSEs... and at such good grades (not to mention several years early) without a teacher... because obviously it's just not possible to learn without someone to teach and set you homework.

I give them my most withering look and tell them I had these amazing things that helped me.
They're called books, try reading one.

My college Geography teacher didn't believe me when I said it was possible to learn without a teacher. In fact y'know I don't think she believed I had any GCSEs at all (cause you all know I'm SUCH a great liar... and forger of official documentation as well, apparently... ~_^)
But that's beside the point. She liked treating us all like primary school children anyway, because she was totally barking mad.

And for the record, in text it's pretty easy to lie, but in person I lie about as well as Hugh surfs.

'Nuff said.

My bro's been nothing but a miserable git this past 2 days y'know. I know he's tired after picking up Rachie from Preston but he was like it before he even left.
He either really needs a break of he needs to stop hanging out with Richard.
Rich can be a sour bastard when he wants to be too, y'know. I think it rubs off on John because they've done nothing but argue with JR all freaking day...

Oh, and talking about Richard... funny thing o' the day.
There is a guy headed for a big, big shattering of his illusions, that's all I can say.
He's under the impression that just because he's a graduate and he graduated in computer related things and that he's a half-decent programmer that he's going to be able to waltz into a job after he's all done with Uni that has a 36K starting rate...

*closes her eyes and sighs*

And I don't know, maybe he can, but certainly not here. Not a chance in hell.
He said he's perfectly willing to muck around on the dole for 6 months and he's willing to go through the new deal if they make him (Hear my sarcastic laughter...? Do you hear it...?) and he thinks that they're going to let him carry on claiming dole...

I can't help it... I really really can't help it, I keep laughing at him. Because his sense of reality is so painfully far removed from what that whole situation is actually like that it's going to come as one hell of a shock to him.
Because once the new deal gets its claws in you there is no escaping it, and they're not going to let him keep picking vaguely at things here and there because everythign else is beneath his contempt.
It just doesn't work like that... because their job is to MAKE you get a job. I've been there. They don't care if you don't like the job, or if the pay sucks, or if it's demeaning or NOTHING at all like what you want to do or are qualified to do... they just want to shoehorn you into a wage bracket to get you out of the state system.
If he ends up there they will eventually beat him down until he's applying for minimim wage data entry... because if you don't then they cut your benefit. And they'll make him do exceedingly annoying team building excecises because obviously if you've been out of work for that long then you must have some hideous self-esteem problem or some kind of social disability... *rolls eyes*

I love the way he still has delusions... thinking that because he's done lots of relevant things at University that this counts as experience... and in a way it does, but it not paid experience... it's not a job... he's never HAD a job. Not even a paper round or a weekend thing... And if you've never had any job, most of the time people won't look at you twice.

Maybe he'll get lucky. It's not unheard of. Maybe in a year's time I'll be visiting his nice expensive house and see him at his nice, well-paid job and it'll all be great...
But on the other hand maybe... maybe he'll be hitting the earth with a bump.
I really really hope it's the former. I WANT it to work out for him. I kind of have my doubts that it will, at least if he stays here anyway, but there you have it.
Here is like nowhere... literally, it's all void. He won't stand a popsicle's chance in hell if he's looking for this wonder-job here. it's all minimum wage, it's all shop or factory or clerical. There isn't anything else.
He doesn't believe me when I tell him what long term unemployment is like. He doesn't believe me when I tell him that the DHSS will suck out your soul to the point where you are willing to do ANYTHING just to get the fuck out of there. He doesn't believe me when I tell him there's a chance that it's not going to work out like he wants and that maybe he should have a second plan...

But some people you can't tell these things to. So instead I shall wait with interest and see how it all plays out.
Maybe he'll get lucky. You never can tell.


And some days I wonder why at 3 years younger I feel so much older than him...