Our dumbed down education system (update)

Further to my earlier post about SATS for 14 year olds that a 8 year old should be able to answer, I see in the Daily Mail that:

"As part of a controversial A-level in popular culture, pupils will learn about the tradition of kissing in cinemas and ponder such questions as "is skateboarding better than polo?".

The qualification, being offered by the country's biggest exam board from September, also entails a study of celebrity body images and allows pupils to write about clothes and hairstyles.

One assignment requires them to "explore the relationships between cinema-going and dating" with the aid of source material like The Drifters hit Kissin' in the Back Row of the Movies.

Another asks students to describe the cultural significance of their bedrooms and friends.

The A-level in "communication and culture" is billed by the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance as "excellent preparation" for higher study.

...

Coursework topics for study in 2008/09 include "retail therapy".

Students can opt to compile a project titled "explore the meanings of shopping', where they will have "clear opportunities to engage with primary sources" - like "shopping mall food halls".

Meanwhile pupils opting for "popular music as cultural communication" can investigate sources such as "CD recordings".

Further areas of study include the cult of celebrity, body modification, forms of communicating including texting, computer games, graffiti and street art.

Students will be encouraged to explain the difference between "high" and "popular" culture while tackling the poser "Is skateboarding better than polo?"

And they will also be invited to discuss why their mobiles or iPods are "important" to them.

Critics condemned many of the topics covered as unsuitable for A-level study.

Nick Seaton, of the Campaign for Real Education, said: "Many parents and employers will consider this a waste of school time and expect an A-level covering 'culture' to concentrate on great literature, art or music."

The A-level replaces AQA's A-level in communication studies, which features on lists held by some universities of subjects considered poor preparation for degree courses.

An AQA spokesman said the syllabus had been approved by the exams watchdog Ofqual.

"Communication and culture is a dynamic area of study with a strong contemporary orientation," she said.

'"A central theme of the specification is an exploration of the meanings and practices of everyday life.""

I despair, I really do. Giving 'A' level students a worthless 'A' level is not kind it is cruel. The academic students will rightly spurn such a qualification and those that do decide to take an 'A' level in popular culture will find that employers treat this qualification with the appropriate degree of scorn.

"But I got a 'A' level, C grade and I cant get a job 'cept in McDonalds"