Educating the East End

[Lilka]

Anyone?

I was head girl. Natch

Love it - makes me so glad I'm a primary teacher rather than a secondary teacher though!

Joshua looks so proud.

Shinelle's going to do great things. In a few years, when she has her confidence, she'll be a worldbeater!

Were they snogging well happy for josh though

Were you picked by teachers or your peers, LordNoob?

Yes really Mrs DeVere. I have worked in many schools, taken classes in secondary schools, and talked to a lot of teachers and there are some children in class whose behaviour monopolises the teachers' attention to the detriment of the other children. In that sense, what the first two episodes of this programme showed was pretty accurate in my experience.

The kids singled out as "good TV" aren't necessarily occupying all the attention of the teachers in reality though. That's the point about editing.

Fair enough BOF. It's possibly unfair to use these particular named children to illustrate a point. But it is a fact that kids who act up in class detract from the learning of the rest of the class.

So a pupil who swears at a teacher is head girl and rewarded by all the teachers applauding her. Yet again another example of how bad behaviour is rewarded That would've been expulsion when I was at school I'm pretty sure it would be at ds's school tbh!

I hope someone tells the head it's not acceptable to use the term 'mental' in the way she did.

I agree DameDiazepam

If this episode showed one thing, it was that the whole Head Boy/Girl system is more of a popularity contest about than appointing the most suitable person. The Head Girl (whose name escapes me already) just wasn't Head Girl material. She seemed a nice girl, but a paragon of virtue she was not.

However, it was great to see Joshua the underdog be voted Head Boy. He was great.

Was your post to me Mrs D?

diving It would certainly appear that Joshua became head boy on the strength of his campaign (including the use of puppets in his video, which the teacher didn't seem to think was a great idea). Even the head teacher hadn't noticed him before the elections. So I'm not sure you can say it was a popularity contest.

I love the programme. I think the students and teachers are shown sympathetically and with balance. The teachers make mistakes just as the kids do, but overall, the environment comes across as caring and nurturing.

No, you're right fascicle, Joshua managed to win despite being unknown and that was great. Maybe girls get by on popularity and boys get by on merit...

I think showing so much disrespect to members of staff is totally unacceptable whether it's in Buckinghamshire or the East end.

"Maybe girls get by on popularity and boys get by on merit..."

Yes, because it's totally logical to extrapolate that from one TV show .

Ok

Well, you had already told me

I can't believe any adult would watch this and think they are getting a full and balanced view of what really goes on in the school and in the lives of those kids.

Not a full view, but I think the school and the people within it are being shown in a balanced and sympathetic way. The individuals focused on - students and staff - come across as likeable, caring and human. If I lived in the catchment area, I would consider sending my children there.

I think the way they select head girl/boy is possibly a stroke of genius and probably leads to the selection of a far more accessible and realistic role model than the usual route of teachers choosing a high achieving, impeccably behaved all rounder.