tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19662178.post2318520918225570263..comments2023-04-09T16:07:39.987+01:00Comments on Wrinkled Weasel's World: When Education is run by the School BullyWrinkled Weaselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291551539649118631noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19662178.post-43838633148614932312009-09-23T17:59:16.703+01:002009-09-23T17:59:16.703+01:00At school in West London in the 1960s and '70s...At school in West London in the 1960s and '70s, I had many Polish friends. Their parents, like mine, were refugees, washed up in Britain after the war. They came from all walks of life; peasants, workers, urban middle classes, minor nobility. But all my Polish friends, classmates, whether their fathers worked at the Walls' factory in Acton, or on building sites, or as minicab drivers, or consulting engineers or surgeons - <i>all</i> of their UK-born Polish children went on to complete higher education. Girls and boys. And this was at a time when only 8% of UK 18 year-olds went on to university or polytechnic.<br /><br />What marked my Polish friends from the Brits was that <i>class</i> did not affect their parents' attitude to education. <br /><br />This is Britain's Achilles' heel. <br /><br />The gulf between the working class and the rest of society in Britain is so huge - so endemic - so ingrained - that we might be talking about different species. <br /><br />It is all about motivation. Where does it stem from? Is it genetic? Or learned? Or does it peter out once basic wants are sated? And what's the lesson here for policy makers?<br /><br />"Run! Run in the corridors!"Michael Dembinskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05657728002439035765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19662178.post-48849587001861636132009-08-12T23:13:13.128+01:002009-08-12T23:13:13.128+01:00They're different stats, though. The Adonis qu...They're different stats, though. The Adonis quote suggests that 1/5th of kids in London were getting a 0 in their Reading SAT (KS1). The Times article suggests that at KS2 SATS, one in five were merely not reaching their expected levels (which are far, far above "0" - "0" is way below the expected grade, even for KS1).<br /><br />I don't doubt that standards are not brilliant - at least, certainly not in line with the increase in spending. But if you're looking for evidence, this is not it.Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01411532185094303370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19662178.post-17982633739339722582009-08-04T20:04:24.731+01:002009-08-04T20:04:24.731+01:00When my parents were growing up in New Zealand (th...When my parents were growing up in New Zealand (they are early 70s) the only people who went to private schools were "special needs" of varying types. There was no demand for private education because the state education was good. They came here, (my mum was a teacher) and they realised that if they didn't want us to have behavioural problems they would have to educate us privately.lilithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05011676751221508167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19662178.post-33206983430785067102009-08-04T18:27:21.223+01:002009-08-04T18:27:21.223+01:00Agree 100% Mr. Weasel. This will take at least two...Agree 100% Mr. Weasel. This will take at least two generations to iron out - whenever it starts to be addressed, that is. This must be the worst, most incompetent government this country has ever suffered. All ideology, no experience, no pragma, no sense. <br /><br />Take 'em all out at dawn and shoot 'em.Elby The Beserknoreply@blogger.com