To think that each our government members should spend the day walking in the shoes of the people they represent.

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The most obvious, from my point of view, being the delightful Mr.Gove. I think that he needs to spend some time in a bog standard secondary comprehensive, teaching a full timetable for a week and doing all of the marking, parent evenings, meetings etc.

This is not because I think teaching is the hardest job in the world but because I don't think he has a clue as to who our kids are. He makes decisions and spouts his expectations of what he thinks our kids should do and be and then stated we should make a return to Victorian values! He tells the teachers they don't do their job properly, but I don think he actually knows what our job is. I think a stint teaching might bring him back to the 'real world' a little.

I don't think it's just Gove who should spend some time at the coal face, he is just my own particular example.

Aibu or is anyone else fecked off with being told what's right by people who haven't got the first clue?

It's about them not understanding the reality of delivering policy at the coal face.

Incidentally, my mind went a total blank at trying to think up something for Nick Clegg to do......... What is he for?

Eric Pickles living on a housing benefits for a week...

HOW WOULD HE SURVIVE!?

I agree Snoopdogg, the 'more Etonians than women' thing is particularly potent.
Out-of-touchness is always problem but this time round it is unusually bad.

NICE
on his fat reserves

Euphemia
did you see that the budget for it is £475,000
they could hire a few useless management consultants for that!

I agree Snoopdogg, the 'more Etonians than women' thing is particularly potent.

It also worries me, that no members of the Labour Party Shadow cabinet have ever run a business. And we wonder why budgeting was a problem under the last government?

Career politicians are a problem all round... doesn't matter what their background is. We could do with politicians coming in from a number of different and varied professions.

Why does he need to walk in any ones shoes I a parent and I think the stand red of many state schools is shocking if I had the money to go private I would.

And as or class devide snoppdogg Michael gov is adopted born into a broken family and adopted off when small so maybe even knows more about hardship and loss than most

David Carmon despite his wealth had a profoundly disabled child who sadly died

Hands up any one who thinks a child's death dose not qualify you to know pain and suffering I bet he would swap all his millions to have his little boy back

Just because someone rich now dose not mean they know nothing after all they live in the world

My fil is very well off even a toff if you like he was born into a family with 12 siblings no indoor bathroom and only 3 rooms a bedroom a kitchen and a alge front room

Many children in the uk will never be that poor don't judge were someone is until you know were they came from and how they got their

My MP is a woman but is so busy writing chicklit and appearing on "Have I got news for you" that I doubt if she has time to walk in anyone else's shoes.

They'd probably steal the shoes . . .

Maypole, I think you've missed my point. It's not about knowing suffering. It's about actually knowing (in Goves case) the system that he is trying to 'fix'. If he did he would realise that Victorian values w

Oops. Sorry.

Won't work nowadays. Not with kids growing up with the technology avaliable to them that changes the entire way they think, concentrate and learn. Not in a school where a parent alows their son a day off to play modern warfare because it's just been released. We need to be forward thinking to compete. Not trying to return to a bygone era. He needs to spend time in schools, teaching, educating himself.

Devils advocate here

I think some posters on here could do well to spend a day in our governments shoes too. I think it must be a hideous job.

You know what, I'd gladly see what it's like. It's not a bad idea.

Michael Gove was adopted at 4 months old, I doubt that gives him an insight to life in a broken family. My df was also adopted at the age from a very similar background and wouldn't for a second presume to know what it is like in a broken family because of it.

Gove spending a week in a school would be amazing, however I'm sure it would turn it around to show how awful state schools are, and how they must be turned into academies immediately.

no one is saying it isn't a hideous job, simply that if they had a better understanding of how the system worked they might come up with some better ideas for improving it.
It's pretty simple, and not a new concept.

Why not, job swap. However, it's them making decisions about us and for us without knowing about who we are and what we do on a daily basis. It's them that needs to know in order to do their job effectively. As I said, not about my jobs harder than yours.

This week I was training a strike breaker to do my job on 30th. He was stunned by the work involved, shift times, knowledge needed. He said he was 'terrified of the implications' if he makes a mistake on strike day and will be feeding back about the lack of understanding around what my colleagues and I actually do.

He works officey type hours in London - wher they know VERY little about day to day operations. It is shameful really.

No, they already did this with that television programme where they lived on the income of single parents on benefits- and found they couldn't manage to so all of them were sneaking in extras and cheating. Then what do they do- cut/freeze child benefits anyway. So obviously it makes no difference.

I'd like anyone who reads the daily mail to be forced to live on the income of a single parent on benefits though, soon shut up about how easy it was then, and probably stop voting in such twits.

Gove is state school educated. Adopted. His father was a fishmonger and an ardent liebour party supporter. Brought up in Aberdeen. He's also striked, many times when a junior reporter.

Hardly out of touch with reality or an old Etonian.

So you think Gove's in touch with the reality of the country's education system, troisgarcons?
Do you think his ideas on teacher training and addressing behaviour in schools make good sense and are informed by an understanding of education and children's needs?

IMO he hasn't demonstrated much of an understanding of these things - and I couldn't give a fairy fart what school he went to or aht his parents did for a living.

Its the old assumptions up the thread that every politician is born with a silver spoon, went to Eton and on to Oxford (fair enought Gove did happen to go to Oxford).

I'm sure he's well acquainted with the comprehensive system having gone through it.

He's also worked in the real world before becoming an MP - thats always hepfful for a reality check. He's no stranger to strike action either.

He's marginally better than that shower of shite we had in power before.

troisgarcons
Gove was at state school till he went to Robert Gordon College - a private selective school
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Gordon%27s_College

he knows burger all about how the real world lives

troisgarcons Gove went through the comprehensive system rather a long time ago. Hardly an up to date reference point! Also there are a lot of wealthy people in Aberdeen so not sure what your point is there...

Regardless of how he compares to others who have been in power or are in power now doesn't change the fact that a little up to date exposure to things would probably help him do his job better. It would help anyone.

So everyone that has been through the state system 30 odd years ago is qualified to be education secretary then are they?!