Education, Education, Education.
What a load of old nonsense that proved to be.
We were promised a brave new world, not just in education but across the land. It was 1997 and we were assured that ‘things could only get better’. It was a great idea but was it true?
I hope, that like me, you remember the hope and optimism that heralded the dawn of a new era of policies with, at least, a nominal social bias. For eighteen years great swathes of our society had been left behind by a system skewed in every way to placate and reward the middle and upper classes. We were ready for change. We knew things had to be different the moment that the creed of selfishness that personified the Thatcher and Major years began to hurt their own. The sad truth for the British is that change was only available at all when certain, much coveted, constituencies in a mythical place called ‘middle England’ began to feel the first stirrings of a discontent that had been the lot of their compatriots for nearly twenty years.
Government in Britain knows that power is in the gift of a startlingly small group of voters and consequently the formula becomes depressingly simple. Appeal to the lowest common denominator of this group and power will follow.
For those of us who do not live such an idyllic life things are starkly different. We are duped into the grand idea that top rate tax is an affront to civilised society. Well, hold on a minute and return that idea to the garage… Have all the dummies out there who won’t vote for a party that pledges to raise the top rate of tax ever considered how likely they are to ever end up paying it? How many of your friends earn over £100,000 per year?
Sorry people, but you just don’t get it, do you?
Let’s hope I can stir your righteous indignation by pointing out that the very rich don’t actually bother paying any tax at all. And, for some reason (!!!) these people are never the ones who are investigated for avoidance…. No, that privilege – along with most other applications of the law – is the preserve of the little man.
So, after eight years of Mr Blair and his rag-tag band of followers (I do not include most Labour MP’s in this) must have some sort of legacy…. So, what is it?
Actually, it’s all a little disturbing and doesn’t look too good if you have any aspirations towards fairness or equality.
The gap between rich and poor is now wider than it was under Mrs Thatcher. (please think about that fact as I remember the horror stories during Maggie’s time about the fact that we had reached levels of inequality not seen since Victorian times… Now it’s worse.) You should be ashamed, Mr Blair.
Education was the rallying cry in ’97, so what’s the reality there? The only thing we can be sure of in a system that endures more changes than a chameleon glued to a traffic light is that the Government would be classed as failing if judged by the same criteria.
Today it is revealed that the working classes are missing out on university…. Now, that’s a surprise to everyone except all those who said that fees would prove off-putting to those without money.
What about schools though? Lot’s of money has been spent in schools… Credit where credit is due. There does seem to be a bit more cash swilling about in the system but the evidence would point to the usual New Labour problem… It’s all fur coat and no knickers. Test results are up. 16% for a ‘C’ grade at GCSE in maths…. If results weren’t up in the face of such a statistic then we might as well go back to living in a primeval swamp. In primary the SATS seem to show improvement. Yes, they do. Sadly this reflects two specific things, neither of which has any connection to the long term success of our young people. Firstly there is the problem of schools who, often, quite openly cheat. (In some respects it could be argued that cheating is necessary to maintain the reputation of the school. After all, either admission or proof of failure won’t get you the help needed it will merely assure a school pariah status.) Secondly – and more importantly – the concentration on testing and measurement at ages when young people need to develop, explore and understand the world around them is nothing short of a colossal short changing of our own people. Personal development has been sacrificed on the altar of statistics and for that we should all be ashamed.
Schools are, of course, supposed to be under greater scrutiny than ever with regular Ofsted visits and widespread accountability. If only…
On this subject I can speak with unaccustomed authority. I have worked in school (for several years) and have seen inspections and, supposed, accountability at first hand.
Inspections first: These are a joke. Warnings of inspection – where I worked – were signals for full staff meetings where people were threatened about their conduct or conversations with inspectors. Disruptive pupils were removed for the period of inspection. Buildings got the sort of once over previously reserved for a Royal visit. Documentation that was intended to be part of the school life was fabricated simply for inspection. Lessons were changed and staff and pupils were carefully selected and vetted (I got the full vetting procedure, being told what was permissible to say and what was not) before being allowed anywhere near an inspector. In short, it was a different school for the duration of the inspection with predictably ludicrous results in the final report.
So what of accountability? Well, this comes primarily through the governing body – comprising staff representatives, parents, local councillors etc – but they can only act upon what they’re told. If this isn’t the truth then there is really very little means of establishing the real facts. I know from experience that a failing school can quite effectively hide the fact behind skewed statistics and outright falsehood.
Education, Mr Blair? 5/10
None of this touches upon the war in Iraq or the other conflicts that Mr Blair has been so eager to sign up for. I find it hard to adequately express my contempt for the foreign policy of this shabby excuse for a government so you can fill in your own blanks on that one.
Sadly for the Labour Party (the real one) the future looks bleak. At present we have a sickly ideology perpetuated by a man who seems an increasing stranger to reality. The New Labour project is just that – a project. It is an ideology without foundation and as such it is doomed to crumble and fall. There may not be much left in the rubble for a rebuild if the party cannot bring itself to save the rest of us and remove the chief architect while there are any of us left with a faith in the future.
