BBC.
A teachers' union conference has voted for an escalating campaign of industrial action over "ideologically driven attacks" on state education.These are the same people who stand shoulder to shoulder with climate change fanatics, have pressed forward multiculturalism and along with politicians have been responsible for the decline in education standards in the UK to the point that over 20% of school leavers have difficulty with reading, writing and basic math.
The NASUWT teachers' union, meeting in Birmingham, unanimously backed proposals which could mean strike action in schools in the autumn.
Delegates supported a motion which accused the government of a "vicious assault" on teachers.
A government spokesman said striking would only damage children's education.
Saturday's conference heard warnings of "predatory" plans for privatisation.
I'm wondering if perhaps we should hive off the education services in the UK to the private sector, we'd certainly not be doing any worse and at least the private sector would make sure the kids coming through the system were fit for service when they came out. Certainly they'd introduce streaming where you can't progress to the next stage unless you understood the previous one. Rather than moving up a year whether you were able or not.
Education in the UK is a shambles, yes there are a few bright spots, but they tend to be the equivalent of an oasis in the desert, few and far between. Years of political interference from the government and left wing dogma from the teaching unions have ruined a better life for our kids, what should be treated as a valuable resource has been squandered on the altar of alternative teaching methods, multiculturalism, lack of disciple and political correctness. Even the exam system was tampered with to make things easier and make it appear that things were constantly getting better, when it was obvious to anyone from my generation that it wasn't.
Perhaps it is time for change, though I doubt any changes I would be in favour of the unions would like. Perhaps it's time to make teachers self employed, rather than servants of the state and dominated by unions. Let their pay negotiations be defined by results rather than national bargaining and allow the termination of a contract to be decided in months rather than by industrial arbitration.
Perhaps it's time to remove the bondage of the state and the teaching unions from education...
Now that's change I think I could live with.
2 annotations:
"...Let their pay negotiations be defined by results..."
I'm pretty sure that would cause a massive change in teachers' attitude to the number of non-English speaking pupils in their classes.
It would probably cause more teaching of reading, writing and arithmatic, and less of CAGW and other novelties that ease the boredom of teachers (though detrimental to the pupils).
Whenever this topic crops up I am always reminded of the CH4 documentary which showed:
- how so many teachers could not do even basic maths;
- how children were now poor in maths due to the increasing numbers of such teachers (who obviously weren't being fired because State teaching in the UK is for the benefit of teachers, not for pupils to learn).
Dear Mr Quiet Man
Had Mrs T 'privatised' education when she first became prime minister we would now be reaping the benefits of a full generation of pupils educated according to the demands of the customers - parents on behalf of their children - rather than the pretensions of politicians, bureaucrats and politicised 'educators'. There would be no place for teachers’ unions in a system of essentially private schools. There would only be schools delivering sound basic educations with multiple emphases and specialities, some good, some bad and the vast majority, and probably all better than the average of today.
A huge missed opportunity and a generation substantially gone to waste, save for a few good state schools, private schools and home schoolers.
DP
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