My friend teaches at an academy. The place where they serve the lunches – you know, the big space once known as the canteen – is now referred to only as a “restaurant”. The apparel formerly called a school uniform, which the students still wear, is “business dress”. The teachers have been given a handbook of new-speak terminology to memorise, so they don’t make the mistake of calling something by its actual name. (Sorry, I don’t mean teachers: I think they’re “learning consultants” now. I can’t remember exactly: by the time my friend had got to this bit of the story, the blood had drained from my head because I was banging it against the wall and screaming so loudly at the ghost of George Orwell that I couldn’t hear.) My own local academy doesn’t let any student touch another student, ever. This is great if you want to make sure nobody gropes or punches anyone, but a bit weird if someone wants to high-five a friend because they aced a test, or put their arm around someone who’s crying. When did we turn education into an unfeeling business? The Lib Dems will always be remembered as the party who promised to scrap tuition fees, and who lied. And if it was Labour who introduced them, it was the Tories who pushed the numbers even higher. Miliband says he may reduce fees by a third, if we put him in power, possibly… let’s wait and see. I’d vote for a party who got rid of them altogether. I’d campaign for them in the streets.
Posted on: Sat, 11 Oct 2014 18:23:58 +0000
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