Ask me your questions on education

Comment by Giles Bradshaw on January 19, 2010 at 11:30 am

Regarding the idea of minimum qualifications for school teachers. Surely that only makes sense if there is a corellation between degree level and ability to teach.

What do you think about the idea blogged by @thinkPolitics which is to LOWER the qualifications required but then weed out the ones who in practice cannot teach?

I do think it is positive though that you are concentrating on teacher quality because this is the single most important factor.

Comment by Rick on January 19, 2010 at 11:39 am

One thing which we should be educating our children about far better, destroys peoples lives and blights society is addiction. When I was at school we were given no warning about the dangers of alcoholism, gambling addiction, prescription drugs etc. Would the Tories ensure that the curriculum is changed to better inform students of these hazards and not just focus on illegal drugs?

Comment by Lucinda Roberts on January 19, 2010 at 11:44 am

From my experience, the Army produce some of the best instructors and teachers – is there any way their teaching strategy cannot be adopted for those graduates or otherwise who may not have the required academic qualifications yet have the enthusiasm, talent and knowledge to be excellent teachers?

Comment by Lucy on January 19, 2010 at 11:45 am

Quite simply I would like to know your reasons behind these policies. As someone who wishes to teach in the future I’m shocked by a lot of these ideas, many of which go completely against what I believe based on my experience in schools both as a pupil and doing work experience. Did you spend any real time in schools? Was there much time spent with students in difficult situations and the teachers who try to help them? I would also like to know why is there no focus on English as a subject? Surely it’s a key element of anyone’s education? The unashamed bias towards maths and science utterly perplexes me. What about the children who struggle to learn and whose outlet is creativity? Do you not think you would be working against them? I’m also intrigued as to why you assume that only top graduates can be truly good teachers. I have been taught by people who were great as individual learners but could not teach or control a class of pupils for anything. Why do you think that ‘lesser’ graduates would be any less capable of teaching? In fact in worse schools I’d hazard a guess that people like that would flourish much more and engage with the children much better. Having just done some work experience in an incredibly rough and challenging school your ideas are not at all what I feel is needed and I’d like to know how exactly you reached the conclusions you did and why you think they would benefit our education system.

Comment by Margaret on January 19, 2010 at 1:12 pm

1. I’m pleased to hear about your plans to re-establish high standards in the teaching profession. Can we be assured that you won’t back down on your plans as soon as The Guardian, the BBC and the Labour Party attack you for them.
2. Is their any possibility that a Conservative government will abandon Labour’s attempts at brainwashing and social engineering and that the school curriculum will concentrate on education?

Comment by Richard Bullman on January 19, 2010 at 1:19 pm

David, before pretty much every election…. replay in your head, the words of Bill Clinton…it’s the economy, stupid!!

Comment by Richard Bullman on January 19, 2010 at 1:25 pm

Corse education’s important, but at this late stage of the electoral cycle, are you really saying you need a survey to work out the needs of education???

Comment by Richard Bullman on January 19, 2010 at 1:35 pm

Dave, here’s a tip for free!!..inflation has jumped, right!,.. so put it on record now that Clown’s huge induced debts will probably lead to an increase in BoE interest rates earlier than hoped!!…then if you are elected,…you can say with justification..not my fault sonny, which is true!!

Comment by ian wragg on January 19, 2010 at 2:11 pm

Where is the mention of bringing back Grammar Schools David. These are the real social mobility drivers.
We have selection in every other aspect of life, why not in education for the ones who can’t use position or money to get into good comprehensives?

Comment by Jack Hughes on January 19, 2010 at 4:36 pm

Dave,

What’s your take on propaganda in schools?

My daughters each get about 2 hours per week of nagging about healthy eating and carbon dioxide and bullying – when they could be doimg maths or writing stories or playing hockey… (learning)

Comment by Tom B on January 19, 2010 at 7:32 pm

My question is currently at #4 on the Draft Manifesto, and I and many others hope it will be answered on Friday.

Completely unrelated to this, can we have a Conservative statement on the growing public feeling of a need for economic protectionism with regards to foreign takeovers of the industries that are going to lead the country out of recession and back into a hopefully prosperous future?
I noticed a quote in The Guardian that said it best:
“the government has mortgaged our future and now through it’s policies is now selling off the very things that are going to pay down that mortgage”.

Comment by linda Freedman on January 19, 2010 at 8:00 pm

I agree with Ian Wragg. There is real meritocracy when the so
called academic are allowed to learn with their peers in Grammar Schools (whatever their background) and the non academic don’t feel discouraged by failing in exams which don’t suit them

What is wrong with young non academic children learning a trade or acheiving in the arts in specialist technical schools.

The Chinese have State selective schools and the system serves them very well. How well has this egalitarian comprehensive system served us these 30+ years?

Comment by Ray Turner on January 19, 2010 at 8:38 pm

Aren’t we losing sight of the fact that we don’t really need or want a nation of rocket scientists. We also need people to do ordinary under-valued, under-appreciated, under-paid jobs such as delivery drivers, refuse collectors, traffic wardens etc (there are thousands of such roles) and I don’t think you really need a degree to manage a branch of a car rental agency (for instance) do you…?

So hasn’t the country actually gone education mad, following Blairs stupid “Education, Education Education” mantra? I think that what we really need to deliver as a nation (and value properly) is Education, Employment, Experience, i.e. a much better balance overall…

Comment by Brian Gell on January 19, 2010 at 10:08 pm

Hello David, There should be two types of school. Those you pay for and those run by the state. There should be no religious or ethnic schools allowed. Why you may ask. Because the current system is just a breeding ground for future problems. Multiculturism does not work. It is only by mixing children from all faiths and ethnic backgrounds in one school that ghettos can be avoided. White,black, catholics, muslims, jews etc all go to one school. I can here the howls of dissent from my thoughts on the subject, but it is the only way to avoid future conflict between the communities.
I went to my school in 1944, yes private but we grew up in harmony with our fellow schoolchildren, who at the time were catholic, anglican, muslim, chinese, jews.
I would say that is is high time the government stopped meddling with education. Just leave the teachers and schools to get on with the job of education. Polititians should not be involved.

Comment by Stephen R Hillier on January 20, 2010 at 12:33 pm

Giles Bradshaw is spot on “Regarding the idea of minimum qualifications for school teachers. Surely that only makes sense if there is a corellation between degree level and ability to teach……. idea blogged by @thinkPolitics which is to LOWER the qualifications required but then weed out the ones who in practice cannot teach?”

I’ve been chatting to friends about this (“middle classes” who want Labour out but not convinced about us – i.e key voters!!) and they wholly agree. It is the abilty to communicate and enthuse that is important for teachers, not their qualifications. Your B-grade statement was at the top of the very 1st page and so incensed me with its stupidity that I didn’t get any further.
When are your policy makers (marriage tax-breaks – have you any idea of their turn-off amongst the general public???) going to consult real people.
I desperately want us to win the election but am getting more and more concerned…..

Comment by jenny on January 20, 2010 at 3:56 pm

I home educate mine and they are doing very well. However this government is attacking it, without evidence. I am doing it at no cost to the governmnent.
Regarding faith schools and the like, I don’t see where the evidence is that shows children are more intolerant, in fact rather the opposite. As a Christian, we believe in loving our neighbour as ourself. I don’t see that happening with the children in the state school. In fact a local resident here was taunted by school children, they showed no respect and thought they could get away with it because she was elderly. We teach that every human being is equal, it doesn’t matter on religion or colour.

Comment by johnb on January 22, 2010 at 6:26 pm

Based on what I read here, I share jenny’s concerns and convictions. We who educate at home need a government that is educated to the reality of education: institutions are necessary but homes are ideal for raising adults. I offer one source for folks to gain just such an education: http://www.nheri.org/.

Comment by Ken Ross on January 23, 2010 at 1:13 pm

we dont care about labour party failings so please stop referring to them, focus on what will happen in the future – the manifesto is disorganised and does not clarify what you will achieve, lacking in substance and too much waffle

Comment by Bill Howie on February 2, 2010 at 9:49 am

Ken Ross comments are pertinent…and my hobby horse is Grammar Schools…lets get some clarity in the manifesto on the future of these excellent institutions. All three main parties are waffling on about what could be, but what are the Conservatives positive plans? The manifesto must spell out WHAT THEY INTEND TO ACHIEVE, stand by their promises once voted in, and get on with it.

Comment by Annabel Tall on February 11, 2010 at 5:16 pm

Can we make sure that when we “end the bias towards the inclusion of children with special needs in mainstream schools” that it is only applied to the very small number of children for whom a mainstream school is totally unsuitable and not to the large number of vulnerable disabled children who are now being very sucessfully included in schools and who otherwise would be living forgotten and at great expense on the fringes of society.

Comment by Sally on March 4, 2010 at 8:20 pm

Will the Torys ensure that for once, instead of punishing pupils who do badly, they try to stratch and make full potential of studnets who want to do well and are academically bright? For example Grammar schools and sets, more rewards, too much time is spent ignoring those who are good to lavish attention on those children who feel the need to waste their and others education.

Comment by Donna on March 9, 2010 at 8:02 pm

I too am looking at home educating my two children and am wondering what kind of safeguards the Conservatives can offer us home edders in the light of the Badman report. all too often people that chose to withdraw or, as in my case, not send their children to mainstream schools are demonised as child beaters and lay abouts when in fact we are doing the best for our children, especially in the light of the failing of our education system. This Government would be in a whole lot more trouble if they made the 80 thousand or so home educators put their children back into the schooling system – the already overstretched and underfunded schools would just not cope!

Comment by tim on March 31, 2010 at 11:30 am

David – if you’re listening! there are millions of votes avaliable in education over the next few weeks but have to really be careful about specific and controversial things and go back to what every parent in the country (who do not send their chldren to private sshool) is interested in… Parents at every middle england school gate hate all the nonsense about ‘learning styles’, ‘learning to learn’, ‘systems of teaching’, ridiculous management consultant style diagrams that headteachers send out in newsletters about the latest theories etc.. – Parents want to get back to simplicity that their children are being taught the subjects and not modern and often transient theories and ‘systems’. It’s a ‘back to basics’ thing in education. HOWEVER the important thing is not to do all this stuff which you have been doing about peoples right to set up schools etc,, – whilst these are good ideas in long term – they are completely irrelevant in terms of getting votes – nobody apart from politicos care about that! – my children who are 7 and 8 will not be going to one of these new schools – firstly because by the time any were opened they will probably be finished schooling!.. also the stuff about focussing on maths and science – people dont like it – i’m Oxford educated etc, but dont want my kids focussed on any particular subject – i want them to learn all subjects – Just like every other parent at the school gates. You have a lot of specific education ‘ideas’ but very few of them are vote winners, they are just pretty much irrelevant. Poeple want to know what will be changed in schools from May. I can garentee that any pledge for example to open lots of academies in the next 10 years or whatever, will win you not one single vote – not one! so what’s the point!….

There are millions of families with school age children like me. PLans for the future to open different types of schools are irrelevant. PLans to ‘focus’ on science etc are frightening as I dont want that for my kids, nor does anyone else.
Talk of removing ‘red tape’ doesnt excite me – if teachers have to work long hours and have shorter holidays to do the red tape – then I dont care about that.
Talk of headteachers ‘freedom’ to make their own decisions – thats worrying for people like me – I’m not entirely confident about my local headteachers – I think they need to be TOLD by Goverment that they should drop lots of the modern trends and ‘go back to basic teaching’. i dont think it should be up to them – what if my headteacher likes all that stuff? there’s no other school in the area and I cant afford private.

SO…. to cut a long rant short – there are a million votes in telling all the parents at the school gate that you are going to remove a lots of the modern trends and management speak nonsense in schools.

AND – there is a risk that 90% of your education promises are at best irrelevant to parents and at worst frightening.

Best of all – its FREE – save money on promising academies and just promise that you’ll stop all the stuff we dont like….!

Too much politics in your education promises. not enough vote winning basics.

Comment by Jayne Edwards on April 13, 2010 at 12:46 pm

I trained as an IT teacher 2 years ago, in Wales, after working in IT for almost 15 years. To date there are few jobs in Wales for IT teachers but hundreds in England. During my teaching practice at 2 schools in Wales, IT teachers were drawn from other subjects, for example, maths or business studies. I have cringed many times listening to these teachers giving incorrect information to schoolchildren. If we are to be leaders in technology, does that mean just England or does this include the rest of the UK? As an aside, I have returned to my old occupation in IT due to the fact that i cannot get employment as an IT teacher in Wales

Comment by Martin on April 25, 2010 at 12:54 pm

What about adult education?

I teach in the adult arena and have heard nothing about the Conservatives plans for it.

Under Labour we are promised that the skills Funding Agency will not deal with any existing provider whose contract is below a current certain value. This means that many local smaller, decicated training centres will go out of business and adults will be left with the only option of travelling miles to the local colleges that man adults won’t want to attend as they are to big frightening.

Under Labours plans there will be no choice for adults who want to be better educated – how about the Conservatives?

Comment by Vicci on April 27, 2010 at 3:28 am

David Recently many of my friends have told me that their EMA payments have stopped. They claim they have been told it is because no payments will be sent because if the Tories win the election EMA will be abolished. Whilst in college I relied on EMA and ALG to pay not just for supplies but also for transport and even small amounts of food for myself and my brother as our mother is incredibly unreliable. It was very difficult for me to get these payments under labour and the lack of financial support I was given whilst getting qualifications so I could become a decent hard working tax paying citizen was what made me determined to use my vote for change. Is this rumour Labour scaremongering? I was hoping to vote Torie but could not do so if this was the case…

Comment by James on April 29, 2010 at 9:13 pm

“We will… remove political interference from GCSEs and A-levels”, can you explain what you mean by this please?

Comment by ste on May 24, 2010 at 12:28 pm

what is happening to ema because pepole are saying that it might be getting canceled

Comment by neil on July 30, 2010 at 6:23 pm

David
the labour party put in place funding for 15 hours per week for nursery school places.
the problem is not all parents want 15 hours and the hourly rate paid by the government will not pay for teachers to teach the children as the nurserys are not allowed to top up these hour to a comercial rate. the out come is that lots of nurserys are closing becouse the are not viable onn this sceam.
it would be better to cut funding per hou by say £1 (saving the country money) and lett the nurserys top up the fees to the comercial rate, thgus keeping staff employed and still having the maximum child places so people have the chance to go back to work on flexible work hours.
keep up the good work regards Neil

Comment by jenni henderson on November 18, 2010 at 10:33 am

As someone who wishes to go in to teaching, I am wondering whether or not to do so now more than ever. I have always wanted to teach and yet the rise in tuition fees, and the fact history is now an unwanted subject in certain places I am not sure that I would be able to get a job teaching in colleges or secondary schools. surely history is a subject we need to study. the whole world is built on some sort of history. why mess with a curriculum. yes it needs sorting but it needs to be up to the schools as well. y should we not learn about our history and about important and harrowing topics that all need to be understood. as politicians go some of you have law or history or both of these degrees but you do not seem to be bothered that a younger generation may not be learning about our history any more if your policies go through. think about it, why not give the future generation the same chances you have had.