BBKA education

Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum

Help Support Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
This forum's strength is that it allows genuine free speech, and all shades of opinion.
Really, then try quoting anything from the BBKA forum or any links pertaining to it.
True democracy= utopia which doesn't exist .
Anyone with an opinion is therefore biased !!

John Wilkinson
 
This topic's got legs, I'll give it that.

Whilst poking around on another bee forum I came across this, posted by a moderator:

"A polite reminder that ad hominem posts are not encouraged on this forum and some have been removed, to ensure the smooth running of this thread."

And yes, it had me Googling what it meant as well.
 
Step one: Basic certificate issued by the BBKA.
Step two: compulsory registration overseen by the BBKA.

No thanks...

:iagree:

Even registering with Beebase, I note that there is what appears an innocuous question for 'how much honey do you produce' - seems pretty casual but there are stories to make you think on about this and it may disturb the sleep of many who believe the knock at the door would never come.
 
No BBG it's not ridiculous.
These markets are set up for small producers to sell direct to the public.
Part of the appeal to the consumer is that they are buying direct off the producer. They are advertised as such.

Therefore to stop stallholders simply buying in and selling on their chosen goods there has to be some rules.

I don't mind "proving" I'm a producer - if the organisation says BBKA basic is needed to prove this so what - any reasonably competent beekeeper can pass the BBKA basic and it doesn't cost much. Similarly in the increasingly litigious age things like a basic health certificate are common sense.

I wouldn't want to go to a local "producer" market and buy chinese honey - I can do that at Tesco.

Easy to get - then buy honey from Tesco and flog it with your approval shining across a BBKA certificate.


How about New Zealand lamb, meat that is 'found' cheap at slaughterhouses (like the vet who passed meat as fit and sent to schools for your children to eat - it was in fact abscessed or otherwise only fit to be condemned)

I was not complaining about the Hygiene Certificate

A hygiene certificate is not a guarantee of hygiene - Ramsey has one but he's always got his thumb up his nose on TV - there lies staphylococcus and streptococcus.

As said it's unecessary BBKA intrusion and petty officaldom with it under its arm
 
:iagree:

Even registering with Beebase, I note that there is what appears an innocuous question for 'how much honey do you produce' - seems pretty casual but there are stories to make you think on about this and it may disturb the sleep of many who believe the knock at the door would never come.

you can take something for paranoia, you know ! :biggrinjester:
 
"faux naif"?

- ho hum - just because an association runs courses that some people find useful is no reason to afford it "teflon" status. It's quite reasonable for people to make the choice to use the courses facility, but I hope that they are able to make an informed choice (with regards to the other things you have to "sign up to" as part of membership) - thanks to the openness with which matters are discussed here, they will at least stand a chance of actually knowing all that goes on, and are better equipped to make that informed decision.

This forum's strength is that it allows genuine free speech, and all shades of opinion.
As history shows us, one can look a bit of a plonker just noting that they have some jolly smart uniforms, and they made the trains run on time........

I was waiting for you to show up. Who said anything about giving them teflon status? Making an informed decision? from the man who's happy to post distorted stories, half truths and downright lies if means you get to take a pop at the BBKA over something, anything? Seriously I took you off ignore in the first place once I realised just how much entertainment I was missing.

It's actually no skin off my nose when I read the crap written about either the BBKA or Local Associations for that matter because they're frequently tarred with the same brush.

You're right you can discuss anything here, as long as you only want to take a pop at the BBKA. There's enough legitimate cause for complaint and criticism over aspects of the BBKA that it's not necessary to descend to this level of pantomime every time someone asks an honest question.

Position yourself as a critic of the BBKA by all means, I'm certainly not going to stop you, they're big enough and ugly enough to defend themselves but at least have the intellectual honesty to criticise them over aspects that need critique rather than just because you've decided to get a bee in your bonnet over them and therefore everything they do must have some nefarious intent.

You've become a parody and you drag this forum down to your level and beat it with your stupidity. I'm sure under the rhetoric there's probably a legimate point or two but the second you call them British Bee Killers or any of the other stupid names you've come up with you and whatever point you're trying to make immediately lose any credibility.

Adam nails it again, the level of spite over any discussion related, no matter how trivially, to the BBKA does the forum as a whole no favours and it's a shame. Obviously you don't give a fig roll what I think, but it's one of the main reasons that I don't have much time any more for this forum.

As might be obvious I quite like a robust discussion on a forum, but this isn't the first thread about education, the bit I'm actually interested in, that rapidly descended into a bash the BBKA discussion and it's just silly.
 
How can you give an opinion on something you haven't done?


It would be like asking a person who has never driven a car what they thought of the driving test!

I realise this is difficult for you and will try to make it as simple as possible for you.

I am not passing opinion on the content.

I am passing opinion on the level of qualification after so many years of study. I do this with experience from other syllabi and educational processes - YES, I know you can do it more quickly if you do more modules a year.

By the way, you have still not made a reply to the first poster.
 
Nellie,

There is an old saying 'If you can't stand the heat, get out of the fire'.

To be honest if there were no good reason, this forum would not have become so popular. Something to think about? It's poularity is because such items can be discussed without one being kicked off the forum.

Bye, RAB
 
personally I think all new beekeepers should join a local association.
The practical help and advice you get is second to none.
Not joining due to politics is a little like cutting off your nose to spite your face.

I was a member for a few years when I started keepeing bees and even got my first nuc from a fellow member.

I still bump into members from time to time and chat but associations are not for me in the long term.

:iagree:
 
By the way, you have still not made a reply to the first poster.

erm, I haven't made any comments about the module exams 'cos I haven't done any of them!

isn't it always better to speak from a position of experience?, or a position of ignorance?
 
at least have the intellectual honesty to criticise them over aspects that need critique rather than just because you've decided to get a bee in your bonnet


Made me laugh never mind the rest!! lol
 
Nellie,

There is an old saying 'If you can't stand the heat, get out of the fire'.

To be honest if there were no good reason, this forum would not have become so popular. Something to think about? It's poularity is because such items can be discussed without one being kicked off the forum.

Bye, RAB

The internet's a big place and having the so say national association hide its forums behind iron gates plays a big part I'd suggest. If you actually go back and read some of the threads from a couple of years ago then I think you'll find there's plenty of blame to spread around across everyone involved. But I'm not interested in "my forum's better than your's" arguments. The level of bile and vitriol involved in any mention of the BBKA does concern me though especially when it concerns education.

The notion that other organisations asking for the only national amateur certification in bee keeping is some kind of nefarious plan by the BBKA to control who can keep bees and where is frankly stupid.

Do none of you people live in the real world? Never ever come across the notion of certification? I guess you could posit that the IT department in the company down the road from me is secretly in cahoots with Microsoft because they want a guy with an MCSE to support their servers but I'd be more inclined to think that maybe it's an easy piece of paper to be able to wave at the interviewer that says "I might have a half a clue what I'm talking about".
 
Admin:
personally I think all new beekeepers should join a local association.
The practical help and advice you get is second to none.
Not joining due to politics is a little like cutting off your nose to spite your face.


If I ever receive support/help or advice from my local association...I'll let you know and hold a party!!! My £40 will go on the bees next year...:)
 
Admin:
personally I think all new beekeepers should join a local association.
The practical help and advice you get is second to none.
Not joining due to politics is a little like cutting off your nose to spite your face.


If I ever receive support/help or advice from my local association...I'll let you know and hold a party!!! My £40 will go on the bees next year...:)

our local association, Norfolk BKA, regularly hold free demonstration days and parties!! :)
sorry yours doesn't Queens, but they ain't all the same.
 
Last edited:
I cant answer for others but I am sure I dont.
I spend the evenings on the internet instead.

Regards the basic certificate,can I buy one online,I know I can get a health certificate for about £25 without leaving home.
Maybe the BBKA should consider it,an online multiple choice exam with a low pass rate and at £100 a pop.

As a practical assessment might be a bit tricky. Robot beekeeper via a webcam maybe? :D

As for the modules, suggest it, know I'd be quite happy to just be able to do it online, not exactly rocket science to implement either. You can do the rest by just by downloading the syllabus and working your way through it. We tend to do it as a workshop for those that are interested but nothing to stop someone doing it on their tod and just taking the exam at the end of it, know a few people who take that approach too. As for the fee it's a whole £17 for the modules and £10 for the Basic if memory serves me right.

Sorry to interrupt the flame war with actual on topic discussion we now return you to our scheduled session of
:beatdeadhorse5:
 
Nellie you were fast becoming a BBKA education troll.
Glad to see you want to move on with the original topic.

Not everyone wants to take exams,I realise its the lifeblood of the BBKA but for many beekeepers reading a book and self teaching is all they want and need.

If they get stuck they can always post on this forum..
 
you can take something for paranoia, you know ! :biggrinjester:

Oddly enough that was exactly what around forty or so laughed at when I aired my views at a meeting three years BEFORE the Inland Revenue made retrospective tax demands of between £3K and £14K in the late 70s.
 
Exams aren't for everyone, but certainly some people will benefit from them as an incentive to expand their knowledge and challenge their views. I speak as someone who has gone through the bulk of the BBKA examination system. Does it matter that they count for nothing on your CV? It didn't to me: I did it because I enjoy it. It has helped me develop into a much more rounded beekeeper than experience alone could have taught me. There are weaknesses and I am sure that every beekeeper will have a view on what should be changed about the BBKA examination system: I certainly think it should be changed and updated. I fully appreciate that many people dislike the concept of examinations, but nonetheless enjoy beekeeping and progress in beekeeping well. Of course there will be beekeepers who have not attained any certificates who are very good beekeepers, just as much as there will be some who have passed exams who are not great beekeepers. If you want to try exams, go for it. If you don't fancy exams, don't resent others who may want to: beekeeping is supposed to be fun after all! Exams are a route to improving your standards, but by no means the only route.
Although some within the BBKA suggested that beekeepers should hold the basic as a licence to keep bees, I cannot see that ever being feasible as the number of beekeepers who go down the exam route has always been the minority. For the vast majority, exams therefore are unnecessary, but some (myself included) certainly have (and do) benefit from them.

COI: BBKA basic assessor and tutor for the correspondance course. BBKA member, but not necessarily agreeing with everything they do.:coolgleamA:
 

Latest posts

Back
Top