One of the duties of a teacher is to ensure that their young charges are not a liability to other workers when they go out into the big wide world. Especially when they are teaching them how to rewire electronic resistors.

James Hersey taught his 16 year olds well – he has been doing it since 1950. Faced with a 16 year old boy who couldn’t remember the black, brown, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, grey and white order of the wiring, he wrote down part of the rhyme he had been taught in the 1950s and handed it to just that young man.

The world has changed, Mr Hersey, 16 year olds are of a delicate disposition these days.  The young man rushed off to another teacher crying ‘Please Miss, look what Mr Hershey has written’.

James Hersey was sacked on the spot. The offence deemed too serious to wait for a tribunal or hearing with the governors. He was told the mnemonic was”inappropriate in more enlightened times” and that it failed to”demonstrate respect for diversity and promote equality”.

End of career for one experienced teacher. I guess that young man will ever after remember the order of wiring, and the world will be a safer place.

Mr Hersey had written:

”Black Boys Rape Our Young Girls, But Virgins Goes Without.”

The whole point of an electronics mnemonic is that you remember it, and avoid giving anyone else a shock – not that you avoid being shocked yourself.

Jeez! I’d better not tell you some of the mnemonics I had buzzing round my head ready for Law finals…….

The
Travelling Toper February 27, 2011 at
20:14

The only one I ever found of any use was Norwich. (k) nickers off ready
when I come home.

Ian B
February 27, 2011 at 11:27

I knew this, but as Black Bastards… I can’t remember for the life of me who
taught me it. I have a feeling it came from a teacher, but can’t be sure of
that. It looks like a situation where the teacher let his guard down, and some
nasty little bastard ratted on him. It seems many adults haven’t yet twigged
that we’re now akin to the old Communist societies where people constantly had
to be careful of not saying anything to anyone but a trusted circle, for fear
of it getting to the authorities. Living in such a society requires specific
survival tactics different to a free society. If your TV can pick up foreign
broadcasts from the west, you don’t discuss having watched them. Even to
children. Especially children.

I wonder what the status of Oh Be A Fine Girl Kiss Me Right Now Sweetie
is?

john malpas February 27, 2011 at 03:30

‘sacked on the spot’ – Yes – it would give the people a pleasant frisson of
WW2 military justice especially a la Freisler.
But there is a fault – you
may take the bread out of the man’s mouth but he still has a mouth..
A
suitable gulag for re education should satisfy the peoples feeling of
outrage..
Of course the sixteen year old who informed on the teacher should
also go to the gulag for sabotaging the education sstem. He did deprive the
school of a qualified teacher by his actions.

splotchy February 27, 2011 at 00:05

Mnemonics only work if they are outrageous, and thus shockingly memorable.
I recall an anatomy lecturer teaching a group of female students how to
remember the order of the 8 wrist bones (scaphoid, lunate, triquetra,
pisiform, hamate, capicate, trapezium, trapezoid – I mean, how can anyone
learn that?!), by suggesting: “Stanley’s Long Thick Prick Has Come To
Town).

That his name was Stanley and he delivered this missive with a rogueish
leer bothered us not one jot – after all, we just wanted to pass our
exams.

bogle February 27, 2011 at 08:27

Medicine is full of these! For the wrist bones I use: Sophie Licked Tom’s
Prick, His Come Tastes Terrible.

Or the 5 branches of the facial nerve:
Ten Zulus Buggered My Cat.

The ruder/ less PC these mnemonics are, the better you remember these
essentials for your given trade

Engineer February 26, 2011 at 20:04

The precious darlings had better never be allowed into a mechanical
engineering environment. Male and female threads screwed together, grease
nipples, stop cocks, ballcocks (or float-operated valves, except that nobody
ever calls them that)…

“Oooo no!” said to the nut to the bolt, “Not without a washer!”

Engineer February 26, 2011 at 20:12

Oh, and I forgot to mention that the part of many works in which large
machines are put together is usually called the Erecting Shop. I had a mate
who was apprenticed at Swindon many years ago as a Fitter Turner Locomotive
Erector.

I can’t help feeling that some of the PC brigade have just a bit too much
starch in their knickers.

ukFred February 27, 2011 at 20:36

Or the apocryphal headline from the days when there were asylums, “Nut
screws washers and bolts”

Livewire February 26, 2011 at 19:11

Confirmed that the second word has always been “bastards”, the rest is as
stated.
I also had to learn the colour test signal mnemonic which
is-
Will Young Canadians Go Morbid Reading Blue Books
White Yellow Cyan
Green Magenta Red Blue Black

Large electrolytic capacitors have always been known as “donkeys’
dicks”

But if you really want crudity, operate a programming station within
earshot of an all-female production line. We even got a demonstration of a
device one of the ladies had bought in a shop where they have to blank out the
windows.

Finally, my car sticker from the 80′s “Communications engineers do it with
super high frequency”.

Joe Public February 26, 2011 at 18:38

In my day we were taught “Sticks & Stones may break your bones, but
names will never hurt me”.

Perhaps it should be compulsorily added to today’s curriculum in order that
an entire PC brigade can be made redundant.

dak February 26, 2011 at 18:35

I’ve always (30 years+) used:

Black Beetles Running On Your Garden Bring Very Good Weather

So far, no electrocutions…

Spartan February 26, 2011 at 18:11

Great video Smoking Hot, that’s the answer to the PC Brigade.

Makes you proud to be British!

Phil MeGlass
February 26, 2011 at 18:03

PC is a distraction tactic – it’s an attack on our senses.
The idea is
that we’ll all get dizzy trying to ascertain what is correct and not correct
and while we are distracted with the nonsense of trying to dissect which words
and phrases are still acceptable we’re not spending time spotting the Sir
Fred’s of the world robbing us all of £13 million apparently legally.
That
this poor 68 year old white male teacher who has devoted his life to improving
the lives of others should find himself used as a lesson to the population is
an afront to us all.
A zero tolerance policy seems to have been adopted in
some areas like this and not in others where they are most needed.
That
this teacher has continued to contribute goodness beyond the accepted age of
retirement and then finds himself cast onto the scrap-heap – a social leper,
perhaps as a murderer might have been in earlier times is surely absolute
b+ll+cks.
One day in the future any one of us, Gladyolis may unwittingly
commit a similar unwritten crime and suffer a similar fate – woh betide anyone
who notices.
However, many can see through the reasons politicians would
like to give us political correctness to occupy our brain power and thinking
time.

Cascadian February 26, 2011 at 17:59

Allow me to introduce a further mnemonic TTCDTTCT

Them that can- DO, Them that can’t- TEACH, describing the truism
that if you are any good at any subject you would be out in the world
profiting from your knowledge and experience. Teachers are the obverse of that
coin, they know very little of economic value and must shelter together in
communes telling each other how essential they are (go look at the Wisconsin
teachers dispute for verification) and enforcing politically correct speech
patterns to exclude the barbarians.

Mr Hersey, was probably already aware of this. The education “industry” is
infested with more than it’s fair share of people who have no real-world
experience, and as such are too easily offended. When somebody of ability
breaks into the theoretical world he is a serious threat that could expose
rampant ignorance. As such and being a WOG (gasp, splutter!)-white old guy in
a feminized “industry”-he is a threat, he must go.

This is a microcosm of the english (and to a great extent western )
disease, feelings trump skills or knowledge. A good teacher is sacrificed to
political correctness. Meanwhile the economic decline accelerates, I wonder if
there is any correlation?

Smoking
Hot February 26, 2011 at 17:49

Ahh … that’s better

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWFq-v7TKdQ

gladiolys February 26, 2011 at 18:12

What a very good teacher! “I really don’t like children…”

gladiolys February 26, 2011 at 18:17

And the previous comment was not being sarcastic – I thought he was
genuinely funny and engaging.

Zaphod February 26, 2011 at 19:46

He’s amazing, isn’t he? Recommended viewing!

Châtelaine
February 27, 2011 at 10:12

Absolutely!
I had a big laugh with my Sunday morning coffee.
I
recommend to stop the video before taking a sip, though …

Trooper
Thompson February 26, 2011 at 17:40

gladiolys,

re: role models and teachers, if you check the figures, you’ll find there
are less and less male teachers. One reason for this is because many man don’t
want to have to deal with all this PC nonsense and allegations of being a
kiddie fiddler.

Zaphod,

it’s harder than I originally thought. Here’s the best I can do:

Black Bread: Russia’s Original. Yeltsin Grabs Bottle. “Vodka!” Grins
Widely.

honestbroker February 26, 2011 at 17:38

You could always try a different mnemonic: ‘Bashful Boys Rarely Oggle Young
Girls, But Virile Guys Will

That’s probably not perfect, either. But I haven’t given it a great deal of
thought. I’m sure it would be possible to create an alternative that does the
job equally well.

In fairness to Mr Hersey, he intitially declined to offer the mnemonic, but
the boy badgered him and eventually he relented. I kind of see the point, but
I do think sacking him was an over-the-top response.

In hindisght, the ideal solution would have been to devise an alternative
(and acceptable!) mnemonic that did the job as well. I’m sure it wouldn’t be
that difficult.

Zaphod February 26, 2011 at 17:37

There are too few inspirational teachers. Those who are, are usually
renegades.

Engineer February 26, 2011 at 19:56

…..or sacked.

Noodles February 26, 2011 at 17:04

I agree that a mnemonic should be shocking and memorable but to be honest
its not difficult to remember the order if you know the colours of the rainbow
and have half a brain cell…the fact of the matter is as a teacher (which I am)
you have a responsibilty to the children and to their parents and that is an
inapproriate rhyme. would be very angry if my children were taught that by
someone trusted with their care…added to this having actually taught with Mr
Hersey the man is a racist to quote, when a girl mentioned she was going to
india for the summer he replied: nah I wouldn’t go back there, they’re all
filthy and they wash in the rivers where they poo. This was to a student who
in fact had indian ancestry. I also had to teach a menstration lesson with him
and he was extremely inappropriate in the teaching of that. I agree the world
has gone PC made but i don’t think this is a case of it. Teachers are role
models and that is a shocking example of tolerance

Babel6 February 26, 2011 at 17:11

“honest its not difficult ”
“rhyme. would be very ”
“teach a
menstration lesson”
“gone PC made but i”

…
You’re not an English teacher, I hope.

Anna
Raccoon February 26, 2011 at
17:18

Babel6 – straight to the bone……

Zaphod
February 26, 2011 at 17:34

Oh, come on! Noodles may not be able to communicate, but does that
make her a poor teacher? Er…

I wonder if her definition of a racist makes any sense.

I’m sure she won’t mind this gentle critcism. She is free enough with
her opinions of a colleague, at least while anonymous. Or perhaps Mr
Hersey knows her by her nickname? Can we assume she has tackled him
about his attitude? I bet she has reported him before now. Have you,
Noodles?

woodsy42 February 26, 2011 at 22:01

“if you know the colours of the rainbow and have half a brain
cell…”
I have a whole one, but some days the halves don’t
agree.

SadButMadLad
February 26, 2011 at 17:21

“they’re all filthy and they wash in the rivers where they poo. ”

It sounds more xenophobic than racist.

So the quote in the new film “West is West” the sequel to “East is East”
where the young lad asks for the loo and is shown an open field is not
racist because it’s said by a person of Asian extraction.

I’m from the Middle East but I don’t like the overpowering smell of curry
being cooked. Am I being racist for saying that it’s a bit of a “pong”. If a
white person walks past a Indian’s home holding their nose are they
racist?

When racism now includes ethnicity so you can be racist for calling a
Frenchman a “Frog” or an Italian an “EyeTie” does it mean that you are also
racist calling a Welshman a “sheepshagger”?

At the end of the day, a teacher is supposed to teach. Role models come
from parents. Children should be taught to have independent minds not taught
to parrot the words of teachers who are generally (though not exclusively)
of the left leaning persausion.

gladiolys
February 26, 2011 at 17:28

All adults are role models. Some more so than others, agreed, and some
better than others, But if parents were our only/main role models, are you
sure we would be better off?

SadButMadLad February 26, 2011 at 17:52

The only role models that can be appointed are parents. All other
role models are chosen by children themselves, some good some bad.
That’s why you have David Beckham as a role model – because he is a
celeb, very good at football and iconic. But parent’s can guide their
children’s choice of other role models.

gladiolys
February 26, 2011 at 17:58

I don’t agree role models can be “appointed” by parents. My role
models were absolutely not my parents (long, boring, story), but
neighbours and absolutely teachers that I did indeed choose for myself
– despite my parents wishes. But none of them were “appointed”, and if
they had had my parents’ approval, I would have run from them.

Cascadian February 26, 2011 at 18:16

Not one, but two teachers lecturing on menstruation, and one an
electronics teacher! And apparently teachers are entrusted with the care of
their pupils… long gone is the expectation that a teacher might actually,
you know, like, TEACH

You have clarified why a big cut in the education budget would be
desirable.

Gloria Smudd
February 26, 2011 at 18:24

Cascadian February 26, 2011 at 18:16
Not one, but two teachers
lecturing on menstruation, and one an electronics
teacher!
*********
You get my vote for Comment of the week,
Cascadian.

Cascadian
February 26, 2011 at 21:52

Blushes. Why thank you Gloria.

If and when we let electronics lecturers teach human physiology you
will get something like this:

The Sex life of an Electron

by Eddie Currents

One night when his charge was pretty high, Micro-Farad decided to
seek out a cute little coil to help him discharge.

He picked up Milli-Amp and took her for a ride in his Megacycle. They
rode across the Wheatstone Bridge and stopped by a Magnetic field with
flowing currents and frolicked in the sine waves.

Micro-Farad, attracted by Millie-Amp’s characteristic curves soon had
her fully charged and proceeded to excite her resistance to
a
minimum. He gently laid her at ground potential, raised her
frequency and lowered her reluctance.

With a quick arc, he pulled out his high voltage probe and inserted
it
in her socket, connecting them in parallel. He slowly began
short
circuiting her resistance shunt while quickly raising her
thermal
conductance level to mil-spec. Fully excited, Milli- Amp
mumbled
“MHO…MHO…MHO”

With his tube operating well into class C, and her field
vibrating
with his current flow, a corona formed which instantly
caused her
shunt to overheat just at the point when Micro-Farad
rapidly
discharged and drained off every electron into her grid.

They fluxed all night trying various connectors and sockets until
his
magnet had a soft core and lost all of its field strength.

Afterwards, Milli-Amp tried self-induction and damaged her solenoids
and with his battery fully discharged, Micro-Farad was unable to excite
his field. Not ready to be quiescent, they spent the rest of the evening
reversing polarity and blowing each others fuses.

One can only speculate how Mr. Hersey would contribute to a
discussion of menstruation. Though cycles and frequency-Hz, come to
mind. Noodles, who may or may not be a teacher will not understand this
and deem it to be inappropriate. C’est la vie.

BTW you are looking gorgeous as ever.

Gloria
Smudd February 26, 2011 at
22:52

V. funny!

ivan
February 26, 2011 at 22:58

The Radio Amateurs Handbook circa late 50s.

Cascadian
February 26, 2011 at 23:11

Thank you Ivan, indeed the humour is far beyond my capabilities at
such short notice, I copied from the internet where there was no
proper attribution.

Zaphod February 26, 2011 at 16:43

Okay. We have a lot of talent assembled here. Who has thought of a better
mnemonic for the resistor colour code? It’s gotta be memorable.
I use
resistors and wires every day, so I’ll test it for you.

Normal Person
February 28, 2011 at 20:07

Boys Bottoms Rouse Our Young Gays But Viagra Guarantees Women

woodsy42 February
26, 2011 at 16:41

What lot of fuss and upset about very little! Why do these do gooders have
to blow a molehill into a mountain, it only makes it worse. Of course the
rhyme was unnacceptable by modern standards but I understand it was not taught
to a class, it was relayed (partially) to one pupil out of the classroom. We
don’t even know the color or backround of the pupil, he may even have been
black for all I know, and from memory 16 year old boys were not all tender
sexual innocents even 40+ years ago.
Maybe a mild repremand was called for
but instant sacking was not, although I’m at a loss to understand why he
couldn’t realise the order goes from darkest (black) to lightest(white) with
the rainbow colours in between. But maybe Richard of York is non-PC
nowadays.

JuliaM February
26, 2011 at 16:52

“Maybe a mild repremand was called for but instant sacking was
not…”

I suspect the sacking was for not throwing himself on the mercy of the
wise PC judges and grovelling.

As Blognor Regis points out, there’s something unbearably
Orwellian in the terms they use to describe his unwillingness to recant:
“The committee is concerned that Mr Hersey has demonstrated only partial
insight into the inappropriateness of the ‘rhyme’ in the 21st
century.’”

Translation: ‘Uppity bastard refuses to admit his heresy!’

Engineer
February 26, 2011 at 19:51

Or, to put it another way, “This person refuses to think as we think he
should think, and any opinion but ours is wrong. Therefore we shall sack
him.”

I think there are one or two people on this thread being way too
precious – that was a mnemonic to remember some colours, not an
instruction in how to conduct oneself in life. Giving the teacher a mild
ticking off may have been in order, but sacking suggests some sort of
malicious undertone or backstory…….was someone in authority settling a
score, perhaps?

ukFred
February 27, 2011 at 20:00

Who would you rather be left with in the event of an electrical
emergency, Mr. Hershey or one of the humour-bypassed twits who sacked
him?

Gildas theMonk
February 26, 2011 at 16:40

FUBAR is my favourite. I feel it sums up everything nicely!

Joe Public February 26, 2011 at 16:33

And Urban Dictionary will explain SNAFU and its close relations
TARFUN and FUBAR

Zaphod February 26, 2011 at 16:14

“Richard of York gave battle in vain” for the rainbow? Not very memorable.
“Venus in blue galoshes yodelled outside Redcar” works better, but it’s the
other way round from the resistor colour code.

gladiolys February 26, 2011 at 16:20

We learned the “Richard of York…” in junior school in the 60s before we
studied either the history of England or Shakespeare – but it has stuck with
me since then anyway.

SadButMadLad
February 26, 2011 at 16:13

@Witterings – “Mr Hersey said he only wrote down part of the rhyme, a
mnemonic, when pushed by the student, but the student guessed the missing
words.” so it could be just as likely (without any evidence either way) that
Mr Hersey didn’t write down the word rape but the boy did and the teacher
still got sacked. Hasn’t this happened many times before where a child cries
“abuse” at a teacher, the teacher get suspended, two years down the line the
teacher is exonerated but by then its too late. The GTC accepted that it
wasn’t said in full and it was outside school but still decided to penalise
him. So basically if any teacher says something ever so slightly sexist,
racist, ablist, agist, or non-PC in private then they can be sacked.

@Joe Public – Or there is this one “Better Be Right Or Your Great Big Plan
Goes Wrong”

In fact Wiki mentions the rape version (in multiple variants) so it
must be OK because kids are allowed to use Wiki as an authoritive source now a
days.

How about some politically incorrect mnemonics to counter this repression;
sarting off with some mild ones.

E.G.B.D.F is a mnemonic for the treble clef – Every Good Boy Deserves
Favour, or should that be every good person of any* gender has a human right
to demand favour.
DIARRHOEA – Dash In A Real Rush, Help,Or Exploding
Ar*e.
Stalactites and Stalagmites – As Tights come down Mites go up.
God
Bless You for the green/brown/yellow spotting order in snooker – now offensive
to atheists and Muslims.
OBAFGKMRNS – Oh Be A Fine Girl, Kiss Me Right Now
Sweetheart for the spectral class key sequence in astrophysics
(Hertzsprung–Russell).
TFBUNDY – Totally Fucked But Unfortunately Not Dead
Yet
PITA – Pain In The Arse

Some here – http://www.bookrags.com/quotes/English_medicine_mnemonics

* Note that I said “any” to encompass transgender human beings too.

ukFred February 27, 2011 at 19:56

I’m glad I went to school in the 12960′s when the geography teacher was
able to tell us, “The English think that the foreigners begin at Calais, but
we know that the wogs begin at Carlisle.” And this teacher was not making a
comment about skin colour. He was a typical lowland Scot who hated anything
and everything English.

Smoking
Hot February 26, 2011 at 16:09

Ed P … yeah, as long as you know the colours of the rainbow in the first
place.

Joe Public
February 26, 2011 at 16:16

And, to go from Infra- to Ultra-.

Ed P February 27, 2011 at 18:19

I knew a colour-blind electrician once. He was OK with the old mains
colours (red, black & green), which were logical and easily
distinguishable. But brown & blue were not so easy and after one too
many errors and shocks he retrained as a Diversity Coordinator, where his
ailment was a boon.

Bill February 26, 2011 at 16:08

Reading betwixt the lines which usually pays dividends when reading
anything in the MSM and reading from more than one source which is the only
way to gain any sort of balance to such things it seems the old chap was set
up by the young scamps.

When you consider what physical acts against the person people of all ages
get off with in court this decision is just plain stupidity played out in the
meejah to ensure the ‘right message goes out’.

Zaphod February 26, 2011 at 16:07

The alternative is, “Bye bye Rosie, off you go, british very good weather.”
Not nearly so memorable. And the first “Black” is helpful, as there are three
colours beginning with “b”.
A good mnemonic should be either shocking, or
ridiculous.

I understand why he would get a bollocking, but sacking is a waste of a
teacher.

So what is the actual problem? Are we worried that students will take on
the philosophy expressed in the mnemonic? I remember how to spell “necessary”
with “Never eat chocolate, eat salad sandwiches and remain young.” It has had
no impact on my consumption of chocolate, none.

Or is it the use of “rude” words? Kids already know all the rude words,
honestly.

In music, are they still using “Every good boy deserves favour”? Is
everyone happy with that? Could be a problem there.

Joe Public
February 26, 2011 at 16:12

“necessary”

One Collar, two Socks.

Normal Person
February 28, 2011 at 18:54

Every good BOY…..?
That will upset the sensible shoes—make it “Being”.
Come to think of it, that will also keep the campaigners against animal and
alien discrimination happyl.

ftumch February 26, 2011 at 16:01

“The question is: as a nmenonic, does it work? Is it easy to remember?”

It is. I haven’t been an electrian for 20 years, but still remember this
from when I was first taught it in the 80s. And, yes, it was “Black bastards…”
not “boys”. One reason it is so memorable, is it’s rude non-pc’ness.

Googled, and found an alternative: “bad boys only race young girls but
violet gives willingly.” Not only does this sentence make no sense, but the
first two Bs do not inicate which is Black, and which Brown.

JuliaM February
26, 2011 at 16:48

” One reason it is so memorable, is it’s rude non-pc’ness.”

Exactly!

Trooper
Thompson February 26, 2011 at 15:52

The question is: as a nmenonic, does it work? Is it easy to remember?
According to the story, he was asked how he remembered the colours, and that’s
when he told the kid, who is 16 years old, and should be able to deal with
such matters without going blubbing to another teacher. The problem with kids
these days is they’re kept away from adults for so long, that they have no
idea how to adapt to a work environment.

Gildas theMonk
February 26, 2011 at 15:45

I’m sort of on the fence on this one, as per usual!

Joe Public
February 26, 2011 at 15:52

Old Chinese (?) proverb: He who sits on fence usually gets splinter in
arse.

Gildas
theMonk February 26, 2011 at 16:06

I thought it was just piles..

Smoking
Hot February 26, 2011 at 15:38

Sorry, but it’s still used today. lt may not be written down but it’s still
there although ‘boys’ is not the word. Think of the word describing children
without fathers.

l learnt it at college although the meanings of the words held little if
any relevance. Black was obviously black (0) and the next was brown (1). You
spent time working out the numeric value … nothing more. The class was mixed
race and all students used it and despite all the protestations will no doubt
continue to be used. That is until ones thoughts can be read.

Ed P February 26, 2011 at 15:18

How old is this teacher? When I learnt the electronic colour code in the
sixties, no such rhyme was needed. It’s just the rainbow colours with black
& brown before, grey & white after – not difficult to remember at all,
as (artistically) brown sits naturally between black & red, as does grey
before white.
Now, remembering the strings on guitar tunings…

PT February 27, 2011 at 08:52

…. or classification of stars

Normal Person
February 28, 2011 at 18:48

The Teacher is 68. I am a bit younger and was taught almost the same
mnemonic. The pathetic prats who are up in arms over this matter may wish to
lead a crusade against the medical profession and engineer the sack every
doctor, surgeon and nurse whose mnemonics are peppered with outrageously
sexual, sexist, homophobic and racist ditties that work mainly because of
their “sauciness”. I wonder who would be upset that a surgeon is muttering
about Lesbian’s positions or Fat Farting Fannies when he is deciding where
to cut as long as he remembers the right spot?

esmerelda February 26, 2011 at 15:13

Mnemonics are a way of remembering things – not statements of fact. I was
taught “Some Men Have Easy Occupations ” in geography as a way of remembering
the great lakes of Canada. Whilst the statement may well be true in some
cases, it did not make me go through life believing in the statement, only
that it jogged my memory when it came to recalling the names of the lakes.

Joe Public February 26, 2011 at 15:07

Would he have been sacked if he’d written:

”Black Boys Rescue Our Young Girls, But Virgins Goes (sic) Without.”

WitteringWitney
February 26, 2011 at 15:07

I note from the BBC report that not the whole mnemonic was written down,
that he had been ‘egged on’ by the student and also it was not in the
classroom environment.

Is not the point that if a teacher is good at his/her job, imparts
knowledge, does it matter really how they do that?

Consequently I am with you on this Anna. Just where does this madness end,
because it is no more than ‘thought control’ of the people by the state.

gladiolys February 26, 2011 at 15:07

Ivan – of course mnemonics have to be memorable. Mr Hersey was, however,
teaching a 16-year-old boy in 2010. Everyone these days talk about how young
people are sexualised etc – do you think it appropriate for an adolescent to
be taught by use of a pithy saying that equates rape with a race, and implies
virgins are missing out? In today’s mutli-ethnic world? With the confusion
displayed by so many young people display around sex (I support two, as a
volunteer for two different projects – believe me, sex is the thing that
confuses them the most)?

I

JohnRS February 26, 2011 at 15:35

Given the recent (well documented) behaviour of certain groups of Yoofs
in the East Midlands in their encounters with English girls – maybe the
mnemonic wasn’t so far from the truth after all?

Touched a nerve has it, maybe?

gladiolys
February 26, 2011 at 15:41

What particular nerve? I’m definitely not black, and I’m double
definitely not a youth. I don’t like blanket statements generally, but
racist statements get my goat. White men rape too, and not only within
their own ethnic group. I’m sure you would be well peeved if such a
mnemonic implied white men raped asian girls.

JohnRS
February 26, 2011 at 16:45

As the Great Communicator said “There you go again”

Kinda proves my point.

gladiolys
February 26, 2011 at 16:59

I honestly don’t know what point you think you are making.

JuliaM February 26, 2011 at 16:46

“I’m sure you would be well peeved if such a mnemonic implied
white men raped asian girls.”

I wouldn’t. As long as it meant you didn’t run the risk of getting
the wiring incorrect!

gladiolys
February 26, 2011 at 17:00

OK – I think I can go with equal opportunities offensiveness.

ivan February 26, 2011 at 14:55

It is amazing to see the number of brainwashed people there are. Most of
them have given on on THINKING and COMMON SENSE and now follow the PC line in
all things.

A mnemonic is just that – something to remember the facts with and the more
outlandish it is the better it will be remembered – the object of its use.

Most of the mnemonics I use today (from the 40s and 50s) would not pass the
PC test, but then, why should they, they are a tool to do a job.

The loony left and the wet right need to learn that the only way forward is
for everyone to give up on PC and go for personal responsibility. They never
will because that requires THOUGHT and schools gave up teaching how to do that
too many years ago, but it is the only way the country is going to reverse the
present slide into third world status.

Richard Allan, may I ask your reasons for the statement ‘That’s
unacceptable’ considering it is just a tool to help a person
remember.
gladiolys, have you thought about it and not reacted as you have
been taught? After all why did the GTC bring up the sex angle except to get
the knee jerk reaction that has been programmed into most people?

gladiolys February 26, 2011 at 14:22

Mr Hersey is quoted by the Mail Online as saying: “I also have an issue
with the GTC claiming the rhyme was somehow sexual because rape is not a
sexual act.” It is, and a violent sexual act at that.

The mnemonic is totally unacceptable on many levels and Mr Hersey does
appear to be ill-suited to teaching today’s teenagers. Teachers are meant to
be more than fact transmitters – they are also meant to be role models.

I am surprised by the tone of your article. I would have thought you could
see past the “political correctness gone mad” angle.

Anna
Raccoon February 26, 2011 at
14:26

gladyolys – I happen to agree with Mr Hersey – rape is not a sexual act,
it is a violent expression of power and bullying. I am surprised that in
these enlightened times you see rape as an expression of sex.

gladiolys
February 26, 2011 at 14:58

Rape uses sex as a weapon to express power and bullying. It is not sex
as an act of love, or fun, or play, or intimacy. The rapist tries to
destroy all those aspects of sex for the victim. But it is still sex.

What is worse, in Mr Hersey’s mnemonic, the part that says “Virgins Go
Without” implies they are missing out by not being raped. It is vile.

JohnRS
February 26, 2011 at 15:32

Gladiolys, when did you have the humour bypass exactly?

I think you’ll find this wasn’t intended as a lesson in life skills
to the numpty who had difficulty remembering a few simple words in the
right order- other than to try to preserve it.

The world needs to get a grip and grow up. This childish obsession
with deliberately misunderstanding a few words and then using it as an
excuse for wreaking havoc on someone has gone way to far.

Maybe the numpty should just have been allowed to kill himself- would
that have been a better outcome?

gladiolys
February 26, 2011 at 15:35

Sorry. There’s me thinking rape is not funny.

Richard Allan
February 26, 2011 at 13:53

I would have sacked him for doing the same, or certainly withdrawn my kids
from the school unless he went. That’s unacceptable.