Them and us - why posh Tories who claim to care about social mobility haven't got a clue

[breadandbutterfly]

...and are patronising bastards to boot.

See:

www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/apr/09/social-mobility-suzanne-moore

Esp enjoy the comment at 9 April 2011 9:32AM -

"The Camerons know how to 'work' their connections, too. David Cameron got his first job as a researcher for Tim Rathbone, his godfather and Conservative MP for Lewes.

Three months later he went to Hong Kong to work at the conglomerate Jardine Matheson - Daddy was stockbroker to the chairman, providing a fast-track into the business world.

When the young Cameron was due to attend a job interview at Conservative Central Office, a phone call was received from Buckingham Palace. "I understand you are to see David Cameron," said the caller. "I am ringing to tell you that you are about to meet a truly remarkable young man."

It has been speculated that the mystery call was from Captain Sir Alastair Aird, Equerry to the Queen Mother and husband of Cameron's godmother. The Airds vigorously denied it. Others have suggested the caller might have been Sir Brian McGrath, a family friend who was private secretary to Prince Philip. But he, too, though named as a referee for the job, denies it firmly".

You couldn't make it up could you? They're all in it together.
"

Let's stop the opt-out? What a miserable, spiteful attitude.

If you think the parents of seven per cent of the nation's children - many of whom are struggling financially and have no flaming contacts at all - have this much influence then you need to learn a little more before coming out with such sweeping recommendations.

and actually, I dont buy the lots of kids with SN either.

I think that sudden rise is down to teachers and schools getting a nice bonus for every one in the class.

Ok, so gooseberry are you saying that private schools don't select on the basis of money or ability? Because that really is silly... Of course if all schools could do that...

But I agree that things need to change- that comes down to management of schools at every level.

Porto

I agree in part however we dont need to return to Thatchers time with no books and water coming through the roof in many cases.

A good teacher beats any other thing, still with the Tories telling them they are (in many cases) shite that will help.

This generation of children was failed by education policies which saw many successful methodologies as oppressive and basically, abandoned them. Policymakers then introduced by stealth a curriculum which left the education of the most basic educational requirements to parents, while the fun stuff, the environment, the dressing up, the posters, the discussion groups, was left in school hours. If children had parents who didn't care, who couldn't help, who wouldn't help, who were busy, who were working, who were single, who were ill-educated, they were simply lost, dumped, fell by the wayside.

Porto that is true, interactive whiteboards are lovely but not altogether essential, unlike good teachers and books.

grammar schools.

I'm saying you need to focus the drive on improving state schools. Trying to abolish private schools is wasted energy. How is that going to improve all the failing comps in crappy areas, where there's no input from the "elite"? If my private school were abolished, I'd home school.

Let's stop the opt-out? What a miserable, spiteful attitude.

Excellence for all not advantage for the few.

If you think the parents of seven per cent of the nation's children - many of whom are struggling financially and have no flaming contacts at all - have this much influence then you need to learn a little more before coming out with such sweeping recommendations.

Utter balls, I dont doubt that some people struggle to send their children to a public school to avoid mixing with the hoi poloi but most are just the offspring of the well off and rich who want to buy advantage.

Gooseberry they count but the language of debate here is sometimes that "you millions voting or sympathetic to Labour" are at one ideologically with the one or two people who've wrestled control of the party. I think Cameron is very like Blair/Mandelson - has the power but not necessarily the heart of the party (which is still split anyway).

Quite bloody right Porto. And "we don't have time to listen to children read"?

Make time.

Gooseberry that doesn't bear any relation to what goes on in schools, that's pure Daily Mail !!

For example, one of my local state schools has a reception class of 30. 6 of those alledgedlly have SEN, which the school gets a nice cash bonus for.

Instead of splitting the class and hiring another teacher, they hired four TA's.

Why? and why is this allowed

It was not just one or two people. It was an ideologically driven embrace by policymakers, educationologists or whatever you call them, curriculum designers, teacher training colleges, a huge industry devoted to dumbing down our children's education.

If my private school were abolished, I'd home school.

That in itself is suspect, we dont want our fragile child mixing with the "rough" kids

Instead of splitting the class and hiring another teacher, they hired four TA's.

Why? and why is this allowed

tut tut, the Tories want schools to run themselves with no elected council control.

"It was an ideologically driven embrace by policymakers, educationologists or whatever you call them, curriculum designers, teacher training colleges, a huge industry devoted to dumbing down our children's education"

Sorry. what was??

"Gooseberry that doesn't bear any relation to what goes on in schools, that's pure Daily Mail !!"

You are assuming I have never sent my children to a state school, never had any conversation with any of their teachers, never helped in a school, never looked in my children's bags, never checked their timetables, never had to teach my children their times tables, never looked at curriculum documents, never been to a parents evening, never listened to children read who have never had their book bag opened at home, and have lived through twenty eight child-education years with absolutely no clue about what happens when they walk through the school gate.

Gooseberry, now that is bollocks, sorry. I take offence at that - implying that all those who work in state education have a political agenda rather than a professional one.

Which curriculum change are you referring to? The National Curriculum? The National Literacy Strategy? What/when was this ideological change that had kids wearing dressing up clothes and not reading??

Wook: the damage done to state education. I was responding to this:

"Gooseberry they count but the language of debate here is sometimes that "you millions voting or sympathetic to Labour" are at one ideologically with the one or two people who've wrestled control of the party."

"It was an ideologically driven embrace by policymakers, educationologists or whatever you call them, curriculum designers, teacher training colleges, a huge industry devoted to dumbing down our children's education"

Total bullshit.

No doubt you also think exams have dumbed down as well because some kids are working hard and passing them.

I can only assume that people who think children have not being failed by education must "blame the parents".

When children aged six and seven have six and a half hours of school five days a week and there is not enough time to learn a times table then something is seriously wrong.

There is hope now because about three years ago it was recognised that some of this crap was utterly destructive and there has been a return to focussing on the basics.

No good for this generation already passed through though.

Yes I absolutely do think they have dumbed down. It is not bollocks. A couple of years ago more than a hundred thousand children aged eleven had the educational achievement of eight and nine year olds as they passed to secondary. The complaints continue from employers and universities about remedial education and training. If you think there is nothing wrong with the curriculum and the state system then it's hard to imagine why you might want to abolish private schools or change the system at all.

Look at the backlash against free schools. Some highly motivated parents want to establish access schools and the resentment and spite is still there. So much for claiming you want those parents to be a driving force.