Can't say I totally buy into this grammar school nostalgia, but still, at least they have the right enemies. With the Boy King launching his Jihad against grammar schools, the BBC - totally by coincidence, I'm sure - posts a piece by an unidentified 'mother' detailing how the evil middle classes manipulate the admissions system for grammar schools so the ordinary kid in the street doesn't have a chance. Boo hoo!
Trouble is that the article doesn't make a lick of sense. OK, Libs, rich folks are manipulating the admission system for good schools. Well, here's my answer: let's set up an objective test of ability for post-11 education. I don't know what we'd call it, but at least it'd be a better predictor than counting oboe lessons. Which is more or less what we have now in decent non-grammars.
That's missing the wider point though. There's only this desperate rush towards decent schools because the government allows shameless rigging of the market - you know, the sort of thing that's highly illegal in just about every other context. Education's important, but so's food and you don't have to live off baked beans just cause you didn't get your name down for Tesco early enough.
See, that's what sticks in the throat about the BBC's attempt at class war. If the BBC really wants to target a privileged class manipulating the education system for their own ends, why doesn't it investigate the teaching unions ?
Not in this lifetime.
Trouble is that the article doesn't make a lick of sense. OK, Libs, rich folks are manipulating the admission system for good schools. Well, here's my answer: let's set up an objective test of ability for post-11 education. I don't know what we'd call it, but at least it'd be a better predictor than counting oboe lessons. Which is more or less what we have now in decent non-grammars.
That's missing the wider point though. There's only this desperate rush towards decent schools because the government allows shameless rigging of the market - you know, the sort of thing that's highly illegal in just about every other context. Education's important, but so's food and you don't have to live off baked beans just cause you didn't get your name down for Tesco early enough.
See, that's what sticks in the throat about the BBC's attempt at class war. If the BBC really wants to target a privileged class manipulating the education system for their own ends, why doesn't it investigate the teaching unions ?
Not in this lifetime.
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