.
I’ve probably said it before, but in the 1950s I went to an all-boys secondary school in London where the discipline was red-hot. All of us knew where the invisible but definite lines of conduct were drawn and no-one was surprised with the punishment that followed when any of us crossed them.
The school, ranked in those days as a technical school, was proud of its educational achievements. Many pupils excelling in the trades and arts streams went on to go to various colleges or apprenticeships while some of the more academic ones went on to university if their parents could afford it.
And then the government started tinkering with the educational system, and so-called ‘comprehensive’ schools were brought in to replace the secondary schools.
In my case, our school was closed and we joined a brand-new comprehensive school into which boys and girls from three other schools in the district were merged if not thrust. And then the whole thing went to pot so far as I was concerned. Discipline went out of the window for a start and, in my view at any rate, standards slowly declined. The merging of three schools into one was followed fairly swiftly by a chronic teacher shortage and in my last six months there I was effectively an unpaid teacher, earning a glowing last report from my headmaster but very little else.
Ever since then, the government has continued its tinkering with the educational system and its standards and I just do not believe any of the figures that are produced from time to time that suggest standards are rising. You have only to look at some of the examination questions posed in secondary schools all those years ago to see the gap which has arisen. To take one example, in November 2008 the Royal Society of Chemistry reported there had been a ‘catastrophic slippage’ in standards of science taught in schools, which left children with a superficial understanding of chemistry, biology and physics. You don’t have to look far for similar comments on other subjects.
One indicator in the decline can be seen in the dress of pupils as they leave school. Those emerging from my local comprehensive look a dishevelled or suggestive disgrace. These scruff-bags contrast with the neat and tidy uniforms of the boys and girls attending the local grammar school. Perhaps this indicator is a trivial one but, nonetheless, it points not only to the standards but the discipline in the two different schools.
Where is all this leading to? It is because of two reports that have surfaced.
The first is to do with those busybodies in the EU where the Council of Europe says that smacking violates a child’s human rights. It appears that while smacking is banned in our state and private schools, the law does not cover part-time educational institutions, such as Sunday schools, private tutors or adults in the home. The Council wants Britain to enforce a smacking ban across the board, criticising our traditional parenting practices which it says is based on ‘authority’.
It’s interesting, isn’t it? A parent, private tutor or someone in a Sunday school can administer a short-sharp shock, but not school teachers. Of course, many will argue that there are many other ways to discipline a disobedient or non-compliant child and this is undoubtedly true. On the other hand, there are some children that may need a sharp reminder now and again as to who is in charge. Anyhoo, my point is that the EU want us to remove yet another aspect of a parent’s authority.
Turn then to a report from the Sutton Trust whose research has found that children’s exam results in England were more strongly linked to their parents’ education than in many other countries. Now isn’t that a surprise? In other words, the parents may have been better educated than their children!
The Trust warns about what they call the ‘social segregation’ in England’s secondary schools and recommends that the government creates ‘more balanced intakes in secondary schools and pilot innovative approaches to improve attainment for the poorest children’. I seem to have heard something along those lines once or twice before.
I am not an educationalist. I’m just a grumpy old fellah fed up with experts constantly tinkering with all aspects of our lives. I’m fed-up with constantly seeing loutish behaviour and a lack of respect, not only from children but from adults as well. I’m fed-up with graffiti, litter and indiscipline. I’m fed-up with constantly hearing about a person’s ‘human rights’, most often applied to criminals, illegal immigrants and those who don’t want to do an honest day’s work. I‘m fed-up with hearing that the police are frustrated in their efforts by a timorous Crown Prosecution Service. Most especially, I’m fed-up with the van driver who damaged my car last evening while I was in the supermarket and who quickly drove away though, fortunately, not before his number plate was taken by someone.
I really am sounding like a grumpy old man and, indeed, I expect I am. On the other hand, we surely cannot go on the way we have done for the last few years.
.
I’ve probably said it before, but in the 1950s I went to an all-boys secondary school in London where the discipline was red-hot. All of us knew where the invisible but definite lines of conduct were drawn and no-one was surprised with the punishment that followed when any of us crossed them.
The school, ranked in those days as a technical school, was proud of its educational achievements. Many pupils excelling in the trades and arts streams went on to go to various colleges or apprenticeships while some of the more academic ones went on to university if their parents could afford it.
And then the government started tinkering with the educational system, and so-called ‘comprehensive’ schools were brought in to replace the secondary schools.
In my case, our school was closed and we joined a brand-new comprehensive school into which boys and girls from three other schools in the district were merged if not thrust. And then the whole thing went to pot so far as I was concerned. Discipline went out of the window for a start and, in my view at any rate, standards slowly declined. The merging of three schools into one was followed fairly swiftly by a chronic teacher shortage and in my last six months there I was effectively an unpaid teacher, earning a glowing last report from my headmaster but very little else.
Ever since then, the government has continued its tinkering with the educational system and its standards and I just do not believe any of the figures that are produced from time to time that suggest standards are rising. You have only to look at some of the examination questions posed in secondary schools all those years ago to see the gap which has arisen. To take one example, in November 2008 the Royal Society of Chemistry reported there had been a ‘catastrophic slippage’ in standards of science taught in schools, which left children with a superficial understanding of chemistry, biology and physics. You don’t have to look far for similar comments on other subjects.
One indicator in the decline can be seen in the dress of pupils as they leave school. Those emerging from my local comprehensive look a dishevelled or suggestive disgrace. These scruff-bags contrast with the neat and tidy uniforms of the boys and girls attending the local grammar school. Perhaps this indicator is a trivial one but, nonetheless, it points not only to the standards but the discipline in the two different schools.
Where is all this leading to? It is because of two reports that have surfaced.
The first is to do with those busybodies in the EU where the Council of Europe says that smacking violates a child’s human rights. It appears that while smacking is banned in our state and private schools, the law does not cover part-time educational institutions, such as Sunday schools, private tutors or adults in the home. The Council wants Britain to enforce a smacking ban across the board, criticising our traditional parenting practices which it says is based on ‘authority’.
It’s interesting, isn’t it? A parent, private tutor or someone in a Sunday school can administer a short-sharp shock, but not school teachers. Of course, many will argue that there are many other ways to discipline a disobedient or non-compliant child and this is undoubtedly true. On the other hand, there are some children that may need a sharp reminder now and again as to who is in charge. Anyhoo, my point is that the EU want us to remove yet another aspect of a parent’s authority.
Turn then to a report from the Sutton Trust whose research has found that children’s exam results in England were more strongly linked to their parents’ education than in many other countries. Now isn’t that a surprise? In other words, the parents may have been better educated than their children!
The Trust warns about what they call the ‘social segregation’ in England’s secondary schools and recommends that the government creates ‘more balanced intakes in secondary schools and pilot innovative approaches to improve attainment for the poorest children’. I seem to have heard something along those lines once or twice before.
I am not an educationalist. I’m just a grumpy old fellah fed up with experts constantly tinkering with all aspects of our lives. I’m fed-up with constantly seeing loutish behaviour and a lack of respect, not only from children but from adults as well. I’m fed-up with graffiti, litter and indiscipline. I’m fed-up with constantly hearing about a person’s ‘human rights’, most often applied to criminals, illegal immigrants and those who don’t want to do an honest day’s work. I‘m fed-up with hearing that the police are frustrated in their efforts by a timorous Crown Prosecution Service. Most especially, I’m fed-up with the van driver who damaged my car last evening while I was in the supermarket and who quickly drove away though, fortunately, not before his number plate was taken by someone.
I really am sounding like a grumpy old man and, indeed, I expect I am. On the other hand, we surely cannot go on the way we have done for the last few years.
.
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