Strike Against the Cuts

Wacko!

A survey conducted by TES has received massive publicity. It shows 49
percent of parents supporting corporal punishment in schools. The more
significant finding which the tabloids did not cover was that more
than eighty percent of parents opposed cutting education spending. I
can't imagine why the gutter press was not interested in that one!
I have taught successfully without the use of corporal punishment for
32 years. It is many years since corporal punishment was allowed in
British schools and in many cases the people who are condemning the
'feral youth' of today did not actually get caned themselves.

A sign of the times was when a Sussex private school wanted to utilise a
loophole in the law and carry on caning (sounds like a good film
title). They found the only place they could purchase canes was a sex
shop which could also have provided whips and bondage gear. When this
got into the papers they thought it was not quite the image they
wanted to portray to the public.

The most difficult of the pupils I have taught have been beaten by
their parents. And a fat lot of good it seemed to do them.

This does not surprise me. My brother was caned on his first day at
secondary school for fidgeting. His school had substantially more
physical punishment than mine yet by any standard the behaviour at his
school was worse. Perhaps the culture of bullying was passed down from
teachers to pupils. I saw the school bully at my school outside the
head's office on numerous occasions. Did he cease being a bully? No he
became a bully with a sore backside.

If anyone chooses to suggest that my classroom must be a haven of
licensed wrongdoing, do spend five minutes there before drawing such a
rash conclusion. After all I would have sought an alternative
occupation if things were like that - you know an OFSTED inspector for
example :)

The caning issue is being used as a diversion from the real problem in
education: a problem correctly identified by parents who
overwhelmingly oppose the cuts. Gove and co really do want to turn
back the clock: unqualified teachers in dilapidated schools for the
poor and only the best for the rich. Of course many of the old
Etonians in the cabinet will have felt the cane. And it cannot be said
to have improved their behaviour one jot.

Colonel Blimp's Academy

One of Gove's more hare-brained schemes (and there is a lot of
competition) is to have a free school run by army officers with no
training in education. This will teach the 'feral youth' to behave of
course.

Let us remember James Collinson, 17, Geoff Gray, 17, Sean Benton, 20,
and Cheryl James, 18. They all died from gunshot wounds in unexplained
incidents at Deepcut Barracks. Altogether there were 100 allegations
of sexual abuse and bullying at Deepcut. The police investigation was
deeply flawed because the military closed ranks.

The Commons Defence Select Committee report accused the Army of
failing in its handling of bullying.

The Adult Learning Inspectorate said the armed forces' own data showed
about one in 10 military personnel suffered bullying or harassment.

"Much of this is condoned as 'traditional', even though it is
officially forbidden," it said.

"The newest recruits, women and people from minority ethnic groups are
particularly vulnerable."

Still Gove will claim this is all in the past and couldn't possibly
happen in the future. To quote Mandy Rice Davies, "he would say that
wouldn't he?"

So send your children to Colonel Blimp's Academy. It'll toughen them up.

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