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Original poster

School influencing political opinions on kids

110 replies

wonderingstar01 · 12/02/2015 21:09

At a recent options meeting at DDs school, two of the teachers presenting their subjects to a room full of parents and kids decided to voice their opinions about Michael Gove's changes to the Maths and English GCSE exam curriculum. One of the teachers really got on her soap box and spoke for a good 10 minutes about why the governments decisions were wrong. At the time I thought it was very inappropriate, regardless of the rights and wrongs of her argument.

DD comes home from school today to say they had a really good history lesson where their teacher told them that if the conservatives return to power again this election, they plan to radically change the curriculum which would affect DDs year from entering university. Including girls begin disallowed certain subjects, RE being abolished and replaced by daily church services, domestic science, needlepoint and looking after babies will be subjects reintroduced only for girls, non-christian pupils would read from a separate text in class and at the end of year 11 all the children would have their noses measured and if more than 5 centimetres they would be sent to a concentration camp in Germany.

Now I'm trying to understand how this conversation could have taken place in a positive way and for the benefit of learning, but I can't.

OP posts:
PopularNamesInclude · 12/02/2015 21:12

Sounds like a Gove-ian curriculum. You are aware he is no longer the education minister, right?

Callooh · 12/02/2015 21:12

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skylark2 · 12/02/2015 21:13

I'm wondering whether it's your DD who's really gullible or you.

Was the history teacher trying to make a point about those being the sorts of things that the Nazi party brought in when they came to power?

redexpat · 12/02/2015 21:15

Sounds like an imagine if this happened... because thats what happened in x period or country type lesson.

UpWithPup · 12/02/2015 21:15

make a point about those being the sorts of things that the Nazi party brought in when they came to power?

This. Surely?

TheFairyCaravan · 12/02/2015 21:17

I don't think that is influencing political opinion. Imo it's telling the parents and children what to expect if we get another term of Tories.

When DS2 had his options meeting 4 years ago, the teachers were telling us about the EBacc. The teacher who did our meeting wasn't over enthusiastic about it and pointed out what they thought were flaws. She pointed out the changes to exams and the curriculum. It confused the hell out of me as I had a child in Yr11 at the time.

Everything she said at that meeting was right, and I can't blame the teachers for being cynical and sick to the back teeth of this government. They can't know if they're on their arse or their elbow and as parents we should all be listening to that and taking note. They aren't trying to sway your political view, they are trying to give you a clear picture of the state of the education system in this country.

ClashCityRocker · 12/02/2015 21:18

There's a stick here, and someone has got the wrong end of it.

SirChenjin · 12/02/2015 21:19

I would be interested in a response to this. In the lead up to the indy referendum here, the teen DCs both experienced teachers (a handful, granted) informing them of the disadvantages of voting to stay within the UK, and extolling them to use their votes wisely i.e. vote Yes. I wanted to complain to the school, but wasn't sure if there were sufficient grounds.

LaurieFairyCake · 12/02/2015 21:20

Sounds like very innovative teaching and that it really got the pupils to think

ClashCityRocker · 12/02/2015 21:21

I was under the impression teachers weren't supposed to show a blatant political preference - not sure if that's right or not.

ClashCityRocker · 12/02/2015 21:22

I'm pretty sure, should the Tories get in, they won't be measuring noses of sixteen year olds to send them to german concentration camps.

Brandysnapper · 12/02/2015 21:24

SirChenjin my dcs teachers had been asked not to say how they would vote in the ref - it could be discussed of course but had to be in a non-partisan way.

Brandysnapper · 12/02/2015 21:24

The two events the OP refers to are clearly not linked.

SirChenjin · 12/02/2015 21:26

I would have expected the teachers here to have done the same Brandy - a few obviously decided that they were in a perfect position to bend the ears of 16/17 year old voters Angry

RufusTheReindeer · 12/02/2015 21:27

I agree with skylark

I think you will find that that is what happened in Germany during Hitlers rise to power

Wouldn't want to swear to it but the vast majority is nazi policy (as I'm sure people know Smile)

It's an example to make them think, it's a pity they used a real political party as I think the Nazi party were new at the time and I think it does show bias

TalkinPeace · 12/02/2015 21:30

PS dislike of Gove's policies spread to all teachers - left right and middle

Salmotrutta · 12/02/2015 21:32

Err, sorry OP but I think skylark is right...

CeliaLytton · 12/02/2015 21:34
Grin
bettyboop1970 · 12/02/2015 21:36

Hey, are you sure she wasn't referring to UKIP?

bettyboop1970 · 12/02/2015 21:37

Clash, yay yay Grin

Callooh · 12/02/2015 21:44

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HarveySchlumpfenburger · 12/02/2015 21:53

It's all Nazi policy. The point of the lesson is to gradually slip things in and see how many you can get children to agree are a good idea before they twig what's going on. The idea is that the view we have of Nazi Germany with hindsight isn't what would have been experienced by the German people in the 1930s. You can get surprisingly far with some groups of children agreeing that things are OK. Does seem like it's gone over the OP's DD's head though.

Callooh · 12/02/2015 21:55

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HarveySchlumpfenburger · 12/02/2015 22:00

Looks like it. Can't find the site where this lesson plan comes from.

It is possible it wasn't taught well, but the concentration camp think should have been a big give away, I would think.

NoMoreHappyMrsChicken · 12/02/2015 22:16

Rafals is right. This is a well used lesson to help pupils to understand why Nazi policy wasn't opposed in large numbers.

The teacher voicing concerns over Gove, well I think many teachers would be guilty of this. It sounds as though it was an informative, "this is what will happen" rather than a political rally.