My eagerness to evangelise about university has thrown up something of a paradox in my head, although it is one which is easily solved. To enter higher education, we all must reach certain standards: universities give applicants conditional offers, which means that they are denied entry if they do not reach them. While I agree with this system, where does it leave inclusion? It is elitist. Surely uni cannot be both inclusive and discriminatory.

Yet this is to neglect the fact that there are many different types of intelligence. Just because one cannot pass exams doesn’t mean one is an idiot. Indeed, to a certain extent, I think that academia is too lingo-centric, too focussed on literacy. While I personally believe writing is the best way to get across large bodies of information, it is not the be all and end all of communication. It relies on the ability to access an arbitrary code: why should this ability be the yardstick for intelligence? I see no real reason why assignments cannot be spoken, given in symbols like Bliss, or even danced, provided that they are judged by the same criteria as all other assignments. I believe all students should be expected to reach the same standard, but how they show this should vary according to ability. This is admittedly still discrimatory inasmuch as it still stipulates that there is a standard that must be reached: to remove such standards would be farcical, as it would remove all incentive. People would not push their selves if they knew they would get in anyway. Mind you, I see no reason why criteria cannot vary from person to person: do not judge a man by thee standards of other men, but by how much he improves. After all, school should not be about competition, but self improvement: what is valid for one is not valid for another.

Hmm..interesting. yes, I think that standards are necessary, but they should not be absolute. As long as one does their best, that is what matters. Say one person got 73% without trying, and another got 42% although they had tried their hardest, surely the 42 is better. It may not be a masterpiece, but one should be proud. The main problem with special schools is that kids aren’t taught to push theirselves. It is the people, not the numbers, that count.