Losing Teachers and Good Quality Education for our Children - GOVE!

[smellylittleorange]

I just want to rant - over the past few days I have been reading on various threads about Teaching staff who are walking away or considering leaving education all because of the negativity from the Government and Gove and it really upsets me. It upsets me because some of you are obviously so passionate about your work but feel you have nowhere to go/can't work with the system. I want my child to be taught by valued and inspired teachers - what will be the state of education in a few years time when this man has finished destroying it?

[BoffinMum]

"No location is as undignified as being ?in the centre?, somewhere the lowest common denominator and the highest public spending meet" ... an arid region where no principles can take root, no insitution can be sure of its foundation, no banner can be firmly placed. For that reason, it is a particularly shameless place for politicians to be ... The natural inhabitants of the centre are those politicians of easy virtue, prepared to massage public opinion but never challenge it"

Michael Gove, The Times, April 1999.

[BoffinMum]

I think we can safely say our public opinion is being properly challenged, don't you?

[TwasBrillig]

I think he has an incredibly low opinion of teachers, and a low understanding of what teaching is about. Sadly I don't think either are likely to change as he isn't able to listen.

[Copthallresident]

Well he evidently also has a low opinion of pupils, and by extension parents, so pupils, parents, teachers, that leaves a rather small constituency of support, since on the whole the 20-30s won't much care, and a fair few of the rest are grandparents, even my very right wing in laws who were "disgusted" at Thatcher's betrayal are "disgusted" with him.

[Elibean]

Boffinmum

[warwick1]

I think you are probably correct habba this is very much a political thread. Open minds not welcome it would seem.

[Talkinpeace]

My mind is open to reforms that enhance front line services.

I think PIckles is an arse - BUT - he removed the ringfence from many grants which was undeniably a good thing that undid a stupid thing of Broons. PIckles has enforced increased transparency - in a bullying way admittedly - but again a good thing.

Gove's good thing was to unpick the grade inflation ski slope and to remove the BTec anomalies.
Gove's other good thing has been to force colleges and employers to relook at apprenticeships rather than just increasing University numbers.
Sadly Gove's BAD thing is that he - having talked about devolving power - cannot stop fiddling and interfering.
He's like a helicopter parent wanting to cut up the playdough because the kids are too young, rather than letting them learn.

[nlondondad]

The problem that this thread is running into is that when a topic really matters, and people are passionately engaged in it, and most people feel able to have an opinion, it starts getting heated and , in places ill tempered. Yet what that really proves is that the topic is worth discussing and should be discussed. And actually the OP said that what they were doing was having a rant anyway with an implicit invitation to join in...

I do think the question "why are people so upset with Mr Gove?" a good one, so I think I will now ask it on a new thread.

[Copthallresident]

TalkinPeace "Gove's good thing was to unpick the grade inflation ski slope and to remove the BTec anomalies."

This is the problem with Gove though, and the reason people are getting upset. He doesn't address the issues with well thought out plans that people can understand and see are fair I don't think there are many people who did not think the grade inflation problem didn't need tackling BUT the way he did it last year was hamfisted and showed absolutely no respect for the young people it affected. It affected pupils in an inconsistent way and for some it will affect their chances to compete with others for jobs and university places. It has left teachers struggling to know where the goalposts are.

He didn't look at the current state, issues and desired state and come up with a plan to achieve the desired state that was fair and understood by the stakeholders, teachers, universities, employers, pupils, parents... He just fired off some soundbites at OFQUAL and the result was what one of our local Tory Councillors described as a fiasco, with a lot of 16 year olds left upset and struggling to regain the confidence their schools and teachers had worked so hard to build up. Remember this affected all schools state and private, so that's a complete whammy. The Head of my DD's top indie has made it clear that as a result they have lost all confidence in the UK examination systems and are shopping around to find the best way of insulating their pupils from the effects of this sort of ham-fisted political interference.