A PERSPECTIVE ON SCHOOLS.
The announcement of a proposed PFI funded school in Lowton gives a perspective of what is wrong with this governments attitude to education (and everything else)
They seem to think that buildings are at the heart of education and everything else, paid for by PFI of course thus sadddling the taxpayers with debts for years to come.
A LITTLE STORY OF MY EDUCATION.
I started school in 1944 and learnt to write on a slate. We had to make a piece of chalk last a week and then we could have a book (cut in half) and a pencil. There was no school secretary or phone but if we misbehaved we were caned, as I was. We sat facing the teacher and had to pay attention.
There was a small playground but we had a football field by the council tip, the "mucky alley" as we called it. Health and safety would have had a fit nowadays but we came to no harm.
By the age of 7 we all knew our tables and by nine knew fractions and decimals. Everybody could read.
Technical drawing was taught at age eleven and started quite a few on their career as draughtsmen and engineers.
I later went to Grammar School and had lessons in (horror) asbestos huts which were so cold that we wore our coats in lessons. It was only later that we moved to new premises.
If buildings had a significant effect all my fellow pupils at primary school and grammar school would have been failures.
Instead they progressed to jobs as tradesmen,engineers, the professions and several becoming university lecturers.
In spite of the admittedly poor classrooms all made the best of themselves, and kept on the right side of the law.
I often meet fellow pupils who benefited from these methods in these spartan conditions and they are well rounded successful retired people.
My experiences have left me believing that it is not the buildings, but the teachers and the school system which are important, and that modern teaching methods are to blame for the shocking deterioration of educational standards.
The only solution this government has is to throw money at the problem and allow private firms to make a huge profit, to be paid back by mortgaging our children's future. The same goes for the NHS.
So in my opinion new "Super Schools" are not the answer. Proper teaching and discipline is.
BTW I was not a model pupil and was often punished for my transgressions and was once told by the Head that "your trouble is that you are agin the government"
I STILL AM.
