Is the NEU starting to....lose it a bit?

[Kokeshi123]

Am raising my eyebrows and scratching my head at what is being reported on Twitter right now. It seems like a smallish bunch of really hard core activists have wrestled hold of the agenda.

An end of exclusions? All exclusions? Really? Even for students who bring in knives or firearms, or sexually assault teachers or other students?

There also appears to be a very strong push to basically get rid of GCSEs and A-levels.

This coming after the NEU'S weird lack of support for the teacher in the Batley case.

I am pro-union, but I can't help noticing that other teachers' unions like the NASUWT appear to be capable of acting like normal responsible organizations.

I think NEU's calls for an end to box-ticking exams and a move toward externally moderated teacher assessment can only be a good thing and an end to exam-factory education. Most anyone who gives a hoot about education can see the merit in this. The UK system of education has been in a downward spiral, they're right that now is a great time to try to fix it.

The NEU have always been a bit mad, I reckon, or at least the NUT side, not sure what happened to the ATL voices. They do say they've been supporting the Bately teacher though.

I am strongly against the NEU's stance on behaviour management, they are of the Paul Dix school of thought and also lent their support to 'ban the booths'.

This 'no exclusions' thing seems to be particularly bonkers though. Mary Bousted was saying last year that the NEU were not supportive. The NEU accounts on twitter are also very quiet on the issue.

Mary Bousted doing damage limitation has said that they will take the interpretation of no exclusions as no exclusions from education, not no exclusions from an individual school.

twitter.com/psymonbee/status/1380488523514478592?s=21

@EllieNBeeb

I think NEU's calls for an end to box-ticking exams and a move toward externally moderated teacher assessment can only be a good thing and an end to exam-factory education. Most anyone who gives a hoot about education can see the merit in this. The UK system of education has been in a downward spiral, they're right that now is a great time to try to fix it.

Ah yes, then schools can return to that mythical state where every child is motivated by a love of learning rather than the prospect of a qualification.

Who says you don't get a qualification from actually learning, as opposed to memorising random garbage, and with teacher assessment? Who says actually teaching our children to think can't also come with a qualification? They aren't mutually exclusive.