to say this enraged mum has finally told the truth about crap schools?

[auntyitaly]

New Times blog from AN Mum, ranting about the grim primary. No idea where she is or how she got the job, but she seems to have bested most of the experts. Or am I being a bit bitter?

Witty mum on the rant

I read it. It seemed reasonable to me. Her daughter is at a shit school and rather than sit back and just whinge about that she's tryingt to inject a bit of life and fun back into the school.

The very first comment I read is obviously from a teacher having a pop at her for having a pop at any school/teacher.

My dc's primary is very antagonistic and controlling towards parents wanting to get involved in raising funds, having any say in the curriculum, or organising activities. But the school is great in other ways - and has an outstanding OFSTED rating to prove it.

All I could think was how lazily selected the library shot at the top is. What is the relevance of two twenty somethings gurning fighting over an effeminate teenager?

Bit of a nothing article IMO.

Ahhh, typical. Novice prima donna mum, one year into her kids schooling and thinks that she's the PTA version of Mr Chips.

There is a reason why schools don't welcome these types with open arms. That reason is that: They Are Annoying.

Oh btw I am not a teacher but a parent

Inert, mind you

I don't understand why a school wouldn't welcome PTA involvement. Maybe I'm naive, but at our school the PTA organises fundraising activities which are popular in the wider community, and uses the money to buy equipment for the school. What's not to like?

But I still don't get the idea that this woman has somehow hit the nail on the head about some endemic problem. She mentions other primaries that she wanted to send her children to, which presumably don't have the same issues.

"And teachers strike me as incredibly defensive over any criticism of their profession to the extent that they just don't listen."

Most teachers would love to do the kinds of things that parents want for their kids, the kinds of things that would radically improve education in this country. But government policy and OFSTED tie hands - and they are the two reasons why our education system is failing kids, in spite of the dedicated, high quality teachers that are in the profession.

It doesn´t say anything interesting about the school or why no one wants their children there, though.

"Ahhh, typical. Novice prima donna mum, one year into her kids schooling and thinks that she's the PTA version of Mr Chips.

There is a reason why schools don't welcome these types with open arms. That reason is that: They Are Annoying"

That's a really positive, welcoming view of parents who want to support their DC's school and education.

No wonder so many middle class ones who can afford it, just don't bother and go private instead.

Nobody is saying that parent's shouldn't express an opinion on their children's education .

But this woman isn't some lone voice in the wilderness who has posted a withering indictment of our benighted education system. She is a parent, relating a series of anecdotes about bad experiences at her own child's school. If I were to start blogging about my dds' fantastic state primary, that would be just as valid.

ERGGH! I DISOWN THAT GROCER'S APOSTROPHE! .

Supporting the school doesn't really involve slagging it off in The Times though...

And as a parent who has been doing the school run thing for 9 years I've seen these idiots come and go. And when push comes to shove - i.e the school needs help with trips, or needs reading volunteers etc.. the middle class cake baking/tea making PTA'ers are never the ones who lend a hand.

Well exactly trick. It doesn't exactly speak to the heart of the matter does it?

And if I hated my kids school that much I'd pull them out of it rather than write about it in The Times

Well no-one's stopping you Trefusis.

in fact, you could do so and then propose to the times that they publish it as a counter-weight.

[career advisor emoticon]

Can you imagine the flak I'd get, though, for my unrelenting smuggery?

Nah, I'll stick to sniping from the sidelines.

That's a really positive, welcoming view of parents who want to support their DC's school and education.

No wonder so many middle class ones who can afford it, just don't bother and go private instead.

Indeed. My son's school is private, and there are many such middle class parents and they raise lots of money for the school are constantly organising things, run the school fete, communicate with all the parents in a given year, etc.

Well, it might not be Noel Coward does Urban Primaries but I maintain my belief that we should back up, not bitch, any woman who gets to write as a parent about the issue of education, not sidelined into regurgitating recipes for cupcakes with interesting toppings.

Mind you, I bet she wears Boden.

"and there are many such middle class parents and they raise lots of money for the school are constantly organising things, run the school fete, communicate with all the parents in a given year, etc.
"

Snap someguy

At a state school too.

You can't extrapolate anything from her blog about education as a whole.

It doesn't ring true. Broken windows, children not allowed to read - if any of our DCs were in that school we'd be lobbying our councillors and MPs and calling in Michael Gove for a photo op, not blogging and fundraising for the playground.

There's probably a grain of truth there, but written up until it's become pretty meaningless.

That much I agree with, aunty.

That being the case, it's a shame that she has (so far) used this opportunity to spout a series of personal anecdotes. All it amounts to is:

"Despite being middle-class, I was forced to send my child to the school that no-one wanted their children to go to, because it had a reputation for being crap. And it turned out to be crap. Here are some anecdotes about how crap it was. The End."

It is not at all rare to see a parent write about their experiences in newspapers. In fact, it seems to be all journalists do these days: write blogs about their family life. "gets to write as a parent"- that's what they do day out and day in. The Guardian is the worst, but the others are not far behind. It is all personal anecdote these days. Investigative journalism clearly has gone out of fashion. And heaven forfend that a journalist should actually write better than any one of us could manage. What we = the readers clearly want is someone we can identify with.