The future of education (if any)

[thundril]

Latest post of the previous page:

But Governments continue to encourage these academies with very few controls

Yes. And it's deliberate.
The people who finance these schools (whether govts or private funds) don't actually believe all that superstitious crap themselves. They want us to learn from earliest childhood to feel unquestioning obligation, duty, loyalty, to something or other.

The politically powerful (ie the economically powerful) don't really mind which loyalty we learn as children; as long as it carries the weight of moral requirement. This is what makes religious schools, and the Windsor family soap opera, worth financing.
We are supposed to learn that loyalty to some body, idea or cause, is in itself a moral 'good'.
Uncritical declaration of belonging isn't a sign of moral strength; it's a crippling habit of mind.

[Alan H]

One Nation; we're all in this together; social cohesion; localism... Government presses on with new Sikh free school despite council objections

[thundril]

THIS is interesting.

[Alan H]

Why have I never taught a Jewish child?

Is this the way to unite society – with faith schools teaching the supremacy of their ideology and how wrong the rest of us are, asks Dennis O'Sullivan, a headteacher with thirty-five years of experience in education.

[Alan H]

When it comes to tackling segregation, ending ‘faith’ schools is the closest thing we have to a silver bullet

The Prime Minister’s speech on extremism on Monday has received a mixed reaction; unsurprising given the sensitivity and complexity of the issue. However, as is so often the case, the mixed reaction was also at least in part a result of mixed messages. Specifically, the praise that should have been provoked by Cameron’s admirable emphasis on the need to tackle segregation in our education system was tempered by his contradictory reaffirmation of support for ‘faith’ schools.

[thundril]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/ho ... 15952.html
Thanks very much Tony Fuckin Blair and his representative on earth, D Cameron esq.

[Alan H]

Unbelievable. And Cameron will do nothing about it despite his rhetoric about radicalisation and his 'Prevent' strategy.

[Altfish]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/ho ... 15952.html
Thanks very much Tony Fuckin Blair and his representative on earth, D Cameron esq.

Integration is all about mixing, so why the f*%£ don't our rulers bite the bullet and realise that religious schools are divisive???

[Alan H]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/ho ... 15952.html
Thanks very much Tony Fuckin Blair and his representative on earth, D Cameron esq.

Integration is all about mixing, so why the f*%£ don't our rulers bite the bullet and realise that religious schools are divisive???

It's not as if it's a controversial issue: we have good evidence that segregation causes difficulties. Why do the Government ignore this? No, don't bother answering that.

[thundril]

Actually, divide and rule IS the point.

[Alan H]

Actually, divide and rule IS the point.

You mean have us all fighting each other, wondering where our next meal is coming from, fearing our neighbours/immigrants, worrying about our kids, worrying about job security/wage cuts... rather than worrying about those who governs us?

[thundril]

That's about it, Alan.
You heard the one about the banker, the baker and the immigrant?
The three are sat round a table. There is a plate in the middle, with twelve biscuits on it. The banker takes eleven biscuits, gives the last one to the baker, and whispers "Watch out for that immigrant. He's trying to steal your biscuit!'

[Alan H]

David Cameron: I want every school to become an academy

The Conservatives would like to see every school become an academy although they will not be forced to do so against their will, David Cameron will say.

In comments to mark the first 100 days of the Conservative government, the prime minister will say he wants to be more ambitious than ever about transforming the education system over the next five years.

He will say that a priority for this parliament would be helping schools convert to academies as all should be able to benefit from the status, which takes them out of local authority control.

Why are the Tories doing this? Or is that a stupid question?

[Altfish]

David Cameron: I want every school to become an academy

The Conservatives would like to see every school become an academy although they will not be forced to do so against their will, David Cameron will say.

In comments to mark the first 100 days of the Conservative government, the prime minister will say he wants to be more ambitious than ever about transforming the education system over the next five years.

He will say that a priority for this parliament would be helping schools convert to academies as all should be able to benefit from the status, which takes them out of local authority control.

Why are the Tories doing this? Or is that a stupid question?

To stop non-Tory councils running any good schools.

There is absolutely no evidence that academies are better schools.

[Dave B]

Going to have to say that since the local secondary became an academy the public behaviour of the kids has improved considerably.

I will admit that their new uniforms and the mission statement give it something of the air of a 1950s high school. Is this a bad thing? My main concern is that the local see is one of the sponsors and Humanism might be lumped under "atheism".

[Altfish]

Going to have to say that since the local secondary became an academy the public behaviour of the kids has improved considerably.

I will admit that their new uniforms and the mission statement give it something of the air of a 1950s high school. Is this a bad thing? My main concern is that the local see is one of the sponsors and Humanism might be lumped under "atheism".

But the change of status to 'Academy' is irrelevant. A council run school can have a change of staff and governors then implement a new mission statement and commit to a robust uniform policy.

[Dave B]

Going to have to say that since the local secondary became an academy the public behaviour of the kids has improved considerably.

I will admit that their new uniforms and the mission statement give it something of the air of a 1950s high school. Is this a bad thing? My main concern is that the local see is one of the sponsors and Humanism might be lumped under "atheism".

But the change of status to 'Academy' is irrelevant. A council run school can have a change of staff and governors then implement a new mission statement and commit to a robust uniform policy.

Agreed, there is probably a range of options and combinations. The school had opted out of local control years ago so perhaps this was a "formalisation" of status and becoming an academy gave them more flexibilty. Previously there were problems with drugs, racism and bullying, this seems to have reduced.

I wonder how many "tradional" schools have leaders and staff who have the required drive and ethos and get the necessary support. Too few I fear.

In the final analysis, which won't be available for years, whatever improves the experience and education of the kids counts. Troubke is, by then, politics and ideology will probably have changed things over again and the kids, and the nation, will suffer less than ideal outcomes.

[Altfish]

The issue becomes exaggerated because, as you have just described, the school begins to get a reputation of being a "good school". This then attracts the pushy middle class parents who want their kids to go there. These kids tend to have access to books and education at home and therefore the school further improves because it self selects the brighter kids.

[Dave B]

The issue becomes exaggerated because, as you have just described, the school begins to get a reputation of being a "good school". This then attracts the pushy middle class parents who want their kids to go there. These kids tend to have access to books and education at home and therefore the school further improves because it self selects the brighter kids.

Unfortunately this is a "natural" phenomena. Back in the 50s the new local "comprehensive" school got truck loads of resources and was the "must go to" school.

Within two years the "rivalry" between the streams made it the place to avoid. Despite, or maybe because, of going to the bog standard sec. mod. I am afraid that I am in favour of giving kids every possible chance, even if this seems elitist. I am so sorry that bright kids get trapped in "bad" schools and it is so hard to improve their environment, improve all the schools.

To add to what you said, Altfish, I am guessing that the "better" schools attract the "better" teachers.

[Alan H]

The issue becomes exaggerated because, as you have just described, the school begins to get a reputation of being a "good school". This then attracts the pushy middle class parents who want their kids to go there. These kids tend to have access to books and education at home and therefore the school further improves because it self selects the brighter kids.

Unfortunately this is a "natural" phenomena. Back in the 50s the new local "comprehensive" school got truck loads of resources and was the "must go to" school.

Within two years the "rivalry" between the streams made it the place to avoid. Despite, or maybe because, of going to the bog standard sec. mod. I am afraid that I am in favour of giving kids every possible chance, even if this seems elitist. I am so sorry that bright kids get trapped in "bad" schools and it is so hard to improve their environment, improve all the schools.

To add to what you said, Altfish, I am guessing that the "better" schools attract the "better" teachers.

Well, they have more money to spend...

Form Full Fact:

Academies receive their funding directly from the government, rather than through local authorities like other state funded schools.

There are two types: converter academies (those previously with ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ Ofsted grades that have converted to academy status) and sponsored academies (mostly underperforming schools converting to academy status and run by sponsors).

Comparing the most recent Ofsted grade of each type of school, converter academies are the most likely to be good and outstanding while sponsored academies are more likely than maintained schools to be graded requires improvement or inadequate. But this is to be expected as converters were high performing, and sponsored low performing, to begin with. [aka regression to the mean]

School performance in sponsored secondary academies increased more quickly than in similar schools. The improvement was greatest in schools that had been academies for the longest, implying that the effect of academy status has a gradual impact on improving performance. There’s little evidence available which looks at primaries.

[Alan H]

Michael Gove's right-wing think tank's whizzo wheeze: take money away from schools if their students don't make the grade, so the worst performing schools will subsequently have less money to spend on education. Fine schools whose pupils fail to pass GCSE maths and English, says thinktank