Council Spending

[Marmora Man]

I have noticed number of posters in public places, funded by Southwark Council and Southwark NHS, encouraging students to do well in their current and forthcoming exams.

Is this a good use of scarce funds?

I accept many teenagers are reluctant to revise or study as their parent wish - I was the same, My own son is taking exams at present. Balancing encouragement, nagging, bribery and corruption to get him to buckle down and study as I think he should is difficult - and he knows me. The likelihood of a poster impacting on his revision effort and exam results is minimal.

[Loz]

Probably a end of financial year, spend-it-or-lose-it, silly season wheeze. The public sector is always chucking their unspent money about this time of year to ensure they maintain budgets for next year.

[lenk]

Loz Wrote:

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> Probably a end of financial year,

> spend-it-or-lose-it, silly season wheeze. The

> public sector is always chucking their unspent

> money about this time of year to ensure they

> maintain budgets for next year.

Similarly you often see a load of public service-based publicity posters (particularly police ones, fellow cowering residents of ED) regarding all the good work being done in your area when there's an election looming.

[jim_the_chin]

I'd be interested in seeing the evidence base for these types of posters improving performance

[HonaloochieB]

I think the effect is proportionate to just how much the individual loves Big Brother.

[lenk]

jim_the_chin Wrote:

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> I'd be interested in seeing the evidence base for

> these types of posters improving performance

That probably isn't the point of them.

[snorky]

I applaud any campaign that may help highlight the importance of exams and use the the brain for once - anything that tries a different tack from the constant media & marketing onslaught of images that seem to tell the inner city poor can only be consideredm a suiccess if they are Sporting success, cant be a bad thing

[RosieH]

I agree. I would imagine that they also form part of a bigger campaign

[Sporthuntor]

The council I can almost get, but the NHS? Why are they funding this? Weird.

[PeckhamRose]

If the council tells me to do something, well just ggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

[monyvibescu]

Well, I saw this poster and thought it was very touching.

A lot of kids work very hard getting through their exams (while facing a lot of peer pressure telling them it's not cool to be clever) and the only messages they ever get from the adult world are (i) a load of advertising/TV/music telling them to buy cruddy products and see themselves entirely in terms of personal appearance and (ii) officialdom/the papers/adults generally telling them they are a bunch of frightening yobs who ought to be swept off the streets. Maybe I'm being a bit sentimental about the average teen, but I'd have thought looking out of the window of a bus and seeing an advert saying "Good luck in your exams. We're proud of your hard work. Aim high!" might make you feel a bit better about yourself and more inclined to think it's worth putting effort into brainwork.

Sorry to sound pious but well done to whoever at the council thought of it. I bet if it had been a picture of a hoodie carrying a knife and a warning to keep your phone hidden when you're walking the streets, no-one would have complained it was a waste of money...

[snorky]

monyvibescu Wrote:

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> Well, I saw this poster and thought it was very

> touching.

>

> A lot of kids work very hard getting through their

> exams (while facing a lot of peer pressure telling

> them it's not cool to be clever) and the only

> messages they ever get from the adult world are

> (i) a load of advertising/TV/music telling them to

> buy cruddy products and see themselves entirely in

> terms of personal appearance and (ii)

> officialdom/the papers/adults generally telling

> them they are a bunch of frightening yobs who

> ought to be swept off the streets. Maybe I'm being

> a bit sentimental about the average teen, but I'd

> have thought looking out of the window of a bus

> and seeing an advert saying "Good luck in your

> exams. We're proud of your hard work. Aim high!"

> might make you feel a bit better about yourself

> and more inclined to think it's worth putting

> effort into brainwork.

>

> Sorry to sound pious but well done to whoever at

> the council thought of it. I bet if it had been a

> picture of a hoodie carrying a knife and a warning

> to keep your phone hidden when you're walking the

> streets, no-one would have complained it was a

> waste of money...

innit

[monyvibescu]

Having said that, the one thing I will not tolerate is youths who say `innit' all the time. Don't they realise it just means we elderly folk can't understand what they mean? Slovenly, I call it.

[snorky]

monyvibescu Wrote:

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> Having said that, the one thing I will not

> tolerate is youths who say `innit' all the time.

> Don't they realise it just means we elderly folk

> can't understand what they mean? Slovenly, I call

> it.

I am sure your elders and better were appalled when you talked about "far out" & "fab" when you were a nipper.

Bludz