OT: B is for Book

[Bill Wright]

I was looking forward to this programme, which the BBC describes as "a documentary following a group of children over the course of a year as they learn to read."

Since the subject was the teaching of reading in the UK it seemed likely that the programme would be set in a primary school. I imagined that the BBC would naturally chose a school with a catchment area typical of the UK: a mix of social classes; some rural and some urban intake; ethnicity about 90% white British. There are lots of schools like that: they aren't hard to find.

But no! This is the BBC. So the school had 90% coloured kids, 47 languages, and the first teacher we saw was wearing a hijab.She was, of course, an excellent, inspirational teacher. She would be, wouldn't she?

Much was made of the multi-cultural aspect, with the kids talking to the camera in their native language. This had nothing whatsoever to do with the ostensible subject of the programme.

I switched off. I will not be a party to the BBC's campaign of cultural coercion, so I will not consume their propaganda.

Bill

[harry]

The BBC should be closed down. Nothing but lefty propaganda, cookery programmes and drivel. You'll notice careful selection in all audiences and participants. All decent humour and comedy has been shut down in the name of PC. Also not reporting certain news items. Selective news to suit their agenda. It all started in Bliars time and has just got worse.

They haven't grasped the idea that people can find their own information on the internet now. The BBC became irrelevant years ago.

[Archibald Tarquin Blenkinsopp]

It makes collecting for the "Black Babies" more efficient.

Although it was a bit of a novelty, sticking One's pennies and half pennies into those cards was difficult. Distribution is so much easier now the recipients sitting at an adjacent desk.

Onward & upward.

AB

[spuorgelgoog]

I had to google that.

Owain

[damduck-egg]

What channel was that programme your house appeared on where one of the other participants suggested it wasn't that clean.

Hardly an intellectual production and one that could easily come under the drivel description. Bit hypocritical to take part in such a thing but that's you to a T really.

G.Harman

[Brian Gaff]

Unfortunately, for so many programs they tend to look for a wow factor and not ordinaryness. it has always irked me that when they, for example feature blind people its always one who has climbed a mountain or something else unusual, when in fact for awareness of the general public it would be much better if they just followed ordinary blind people and showed how annoying members of the general public can be. it could m be made in good humour but still put over the message. Instead we get the brave blind person or whatever, and never the normal who has to put up with cyclists and road works and dodgy drivers and shops whose assistants are brain dead. Not to mention the humiliation metered out by benefits departments and the inaccessible print everybody send them. Brian

[Peter Duncanson]

I haven't seen that programme.

It was set in "Kingsmead Primary School in London's Hackney".

I get the impression from descriptions of it that it was filmed over a period of time. If so such a programme would be cheaper to make if it is near where the members of the crew live.

Also, finding a suitable school outside the London area would have meant sending people scouring, what to them would be, foreign territory. How much easier and cheaper to choose a school close to home (from their point of view).

[whisky-dave]

Sounds like a typical London school to me.

yes they do go one about that sort of thing.

and while doing this NO ONE is learning English they tend to forget this, this sort of thinbg happened in my school buyt to a lessor extent as we weren't so multi-cultural back them.

[Bill Wright]

Yes you're quite right. The BBC should really only make programmes in London. After all, nowhere else matters does it?

Bill

[Peter Duncanson]

If they had made the programme in a school in Yorkshire there would have been complaints from elsewhere that it was unrepresentative: "None of the kids I know speak like that".

Of course if it has been made in "Geordie-land" subtitles could have been useful.

[Steve Walker]

They could just have easily made it using their Salford "Media City" studios and staff. Just a few minutes walk from Trafford, which has a mix of schools with predominantly white, predominantly black and mixtures in between to choose from. Of course they would never want to film anything in Trafford schools, because they overall have very good results, both primary and secondary ... and still have grammar schools!

[charles]

Studio staff aren't the same as location ones.

[spuorgelgoog]

I thought they'd got over piffling demarcation disputes.

Owain

[JoeJoe]

Are you sure it was made by the BBC in-house? Many of their programmes these days are only commissioned by the BBC, but then produced by private production companies.

[nemo]

I liked your inadvertent typo there Brian. 'humiliation metered out' suggests that every customer is required to receive a fixed amount of insults, thus ensuring that no-one goes away happy. A just description of a typical government department.

You have my sincere sympathy.

[critcher]

cant be many schools like that,the country is full of Johnnie foreigner, supposedly.

[spud]

Bear in mind that metro liberalism bears all the hallmarks of a religion now rather than a political standpoint. ie: they keep pushing their agenda in a barefaced fashion oblivious to how obvious it is that they're doing it, anyone who disagrees is vilified and shouted down (tolerance only applies to views they agree with), they won't even listen to counter arguments, facts that disagree with their philosphy are ignored or ridiculed and they have their own holy texts and prophets, eg the guardian and polly toynbee etc.

The irony is they genuinely think they're progressive and modern whereas in actual fact they've regressed to basest form of human belief systems.

Depends which bit of the country.

[Johnny B Good]

That seems to be an example of "The lowest form of wit".

On the contrary (as you would have realised if you had watched the whole programme).

Having finally gotten round to watching the recording, I think it was rather a pity that you let your prejudices get in the way of the programme's point and switch off prematurely.

I guess you just saw what you wanted to see and decided it was so much aligned to your views of the BBC as a propaganda machine that you felt obliged to (go off half cocked in this case and) have yet another off topic rant in this news group.

If you had watched the programme right the way through, I suspect you may well have saved your ranting energies for a rather more worthy cause than 'a mere storm in a teacup' affair that this programme presented.