My blood boils the instant I hear that stupid bloody phrase. WHY would children from 'deprived' backgrounds ( deprived being defined, as far as I can see, as not :having Sky/going on skiing holidays/speaking properly/eating veg and fruit/giving a toss about learning/The Arts)aspire to 'better' themselves through education? They, and their pitbull-keeping/daytime telly-watching/benefits-dependent parents, despise education in all its aspects. Labour regard proper education and a proper regard for it as a mark of the privileged/the elite so they hate it, too ( not for their own kids, of course) so want to reduce it to the lowest common denominator or just smash it up so that no-one can have it. These people Labour claim need help don't want to push themselves or they would!.They want fame on a plate, celebrity on a pizza, riches in a bap. Social engineering won't work. A lot more good would be done by following the example of many European countries whose education system is geared to employment and thus gives equal prestige to caring/practical training and qualifications as to more conventionally academic subjects. And you aren't going to get kids motivated in school if a) the parents couldn't give a monkeys/the teachers couldn't give a monkeys and the kids' peer groups regard working hard and being good at school as the mark of , at best, a nerd and , at worst, a total loser who deserves to be pulped.
The Tories batting on about restoring respect for teaching are only very slightly on the right lines. I, personally, think it is a BIG mistake to say that people have to have Grade B in English and Maths...I am sorry, but the people who are fab at one are usually crap at the other..all this means is that you'll get a load of all rounders. WHAT TEACHING NEEDS IS PASSION AND A REAL LOVE/FLAIR FOR THE TEACHING PROCESS!
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