Centre of Cities Annual Outlook report

Most politicians have a good degree - but would you want them to repair your car or wallpaper your lounge. Yet it is they and their similarly educated advisors who determine education policy. I agree that educaton should develop life skills and not just training in what will give the individual the highest salary. Though I was in the 'academic stream' in my years at Woodlands I opted out at 15 to find work I could enjoy. I found a career in photography and 56 years later still enjoy practising my skills.

I have to agree with you both of you but I cant see change happening. Government and media have brain washed the children to get rich quick be it a lawyer for the clever or turn to drug dealing for least clever. When my children and my self was young we were asked what job would we like, doctor, nurse, fireman, hairdresser, now ask most children they would say x factor, what a sad society we have allowed it to become. No matter what we suggest for the best in teaching it would be ignored. Science and maths for eg science is taught then after is told when questioned later by pupils after their exams , teachers reply what they were taught is nt right... Maths is taught the wrong way too, I ask my self is this done purposely to bring in cheap labour, or for the top public schools just to get the jobs, as their is nt enough jobs to go around. A few years ago on radio it stated our teachers are being taught wrong here in England, yet it continues. Visiting a close family member this past week in hospital here in Coventry, next bed to her is a teacher who has come from New Zealand ,who says the amount of pressure and work put upon her has caused her illness, now she fears for her job not being their, spending so much time in hospital.

True about X Factor, a programme I detest. Kids want fame and fortune right here and now with as little effort as possible..Think of true stars like Tina Turner who clawed her way up to the top by guts and hard work...Norman

It's difficult to teach "life skills" if you haven't any yourself A budding teacher probably leaves school at 18, having been there for about 14 years ; they go to, say, teacher training college for a few years ; having obtained their qualifications, they then take up their first appointment in school, and probably proceed to teach for a further 40 years So, in their 60+ years of life, they haven't been outside the classroom for 56+ years (ie from birth to starting school) - apart from their long summer holidays It's a big bad world outside the classroom, and the teacher has little experience of it

Midland Red, you describe it exactly. Not quite sure the extent of modern " Life Skills", but I am sure they outweigh the modest requirements of the era when my father taught 1920s(?) to 1960 (s). But as far as I am aware ( apart from roughing it during the bombing) he had very little exposure to "real life" certainly as a maths teacher he would have taught compound interest, but I am sure he had no vision of the effect in the amassing of large sums for the provision of business capital or Insurance even for his own inbuilt pension, never mind private ones. In fact in our household "discount" was a dirty word. I was certainly taught no life skills and when I left the Merchant Navy (I loved the life), I worked in one of the largest mercantile businesses, but learned little of "Commerce" , so I left to find "Real Life", joined a building firm, got my ONC Building at the tech and HNC at the Lanchester and worked as a Surveyor in the building industry for over 30 years, whether that was "real life" or not, I don`t know, but I am sure I left school with no real career advice, no ambition other than to play sport and why did I need a national Insurance number? and what was Income Tax? - why me? edit.I forgot to add - advice on career from my father - "for god`s sake don`t go in for teaching"

It may be off topic, but very cogent. I would also add that many businesses which start off and remain one man bands, particularly ones involving hand manufacturing fall into an insuperable nexus. "If you are producing you are not selling" and if "you are selling you are not producing" We operated a "successful" (in terms of customer quality) for many years and were recommended for amalgamation by 3I`s, the only criticism was the "Top Line" we operated in a niche market, where we worked to deadlines (never missed one), but we couldn`t grow ourselves. (mind you good job we didn`t amalgamate the other firm went bust)

But on the other hand a business start up with a million to invest is more like to succeed than one with only £5000. Many start-ups start with a lot less. And when it comes the time for larger businesses to pay their bills they hang on to the money for as long as they possibly can which drives a lot of small businesses under.