Dear Schools: let the parents decide what's best

"I was educated during the holidays at Eton."

Osbert Sitwell

When the National Union of Teachers appointed themselves moral guardians - as well as judges, jury and perhaps executioners - last year by objecting to ‘British Values’ being taught in British schools, I suggested the state was engaged in thought-control. With the insane decision to declare Jon Platt and any other parent who takes their children on holiday in term time a criminal, I’m proven right.

The single line of justification for the state robbing families of their money for daring not to attend school for two weeks is that it affects students' exam performance. Newsflash: it doesn’t. The only data that supports the “grades affected” argument comes from the government itself and was conveniently released shortly before Platt was defeated in court.

As a teacher myself, all my experience and instinct tells me the following are the significant factors affecting student performance:

1) The natural intelligence and aptitude of a child.
Smarter students will catch up on any work they’ve missed. “Middle” students will endevour to do so. There may be a small case here for not taking “middle” students out of class for too long shortly before a major exam, but more on that later.

2) The stability of the student’s home life.
And guess what? The annual family holiday is usually symptomatic of a happy, stable family which will have far greater influence on a child’s academic performance in the long run. It’s also proven that a change of scenery and a break in routine can aid long-term memory-retention.

3) The attitude of the pupil’s parents.
This is where it becomes crucial that all parents are not tarnished with the same brush. I’ve dealt with lazy, despicable parents. I have vivid memories of one parent in particular whose children used to miss at least one day of school each week. When I attempted to speak with their mother about it, she laughed. Everything about this parent sent out a message: she was lazy, she wanted to do what she wanted, when she wanted and her children were baggage. Her two daughters would regularly finish bottom in any test.

These are the kind of parents who deserve fines. These are the children that teachers should be indignant over. To suggest that families who want to spend two weeks’ quality time together, perhaps learning a little of a foreign language or visiting a famous landmark - isn’t that educational in itself? Aren’t British schools drooling over ‘diversity’? - deserve the same punishment and labeling as negligent parents isn’t just incorrect, it’s insulting.

From the limited amount of time I’ve researched this it seems most teachers are falling down on the side of the state. This is no surprise, not only do they not want to bite the hand that feeds, some have also happily wandered down the path the British educational system seems happy to follow: the path that places the schools as moral jury, deciding carefully what is right or wrong, moral and immoral, important or unimportant. I still believe parents get first call on that.

There is of course one caveat in the fining system: there are several exemptions in place such as vacations of "religious importance" among other things. In this I see a wonderful opportunity for teachers supporting the fines system to show their dedication and compassion: colleagues, why not give up half of your Easter holidays holding extra classes for those who missed out during term? It would be the perfect chance to back up all the wonderful talk of dedication and concern you espouse so often, and the students go unpunished for missing previous classes. Everybody wins!

What time can we expect you in?

John Platt has a Facebook Page for people who support his fight against school fines.

Archive 6 - Freedom of study

Should politics and ideology ever be allowed to stifle scientific investigation or academic studies?

Of course not.

One of the arguments against any form of national pride in Britain has been the common wisdom from liberals that the British and/or English are a “mongrel” bunch, mixed of Norman, Danish and Anglo-Saxon blood. I clearly remember my Religious Studies teacher telling my class this in Grade 8. With the left citing this “fact” as some kind of magic wand that makes any form of national pride irrelevant. Like most liberal arguments, it is a total non-sequitur. Firstly, pride in culture and history has nothing to do with race unless you are some kind of Nazi, or a liberal.

And secondly, we now know it’s not true.

The excellent study in the Daily Telegraph shows that even in the global age, Britain still has remarkable tribal make up, at least in rural areas (note carefully the conditions of the study). It’s a fascinating insight into our history and geography.

Even the researchers themselves admitted the findings surprised them greatly. If we had left “common wisdom” to decide for us, the research would never have taken place at all. This is why we question everything. This is why we should listen to common knowledge and consider it, but never take it as gospel (unless it actually is!).

And we should certainly never be censored or shouted down in academic buildings by associate professors or ignorant students. Question the motivation of those who do.

Archive 5 - Censorship and free speech in schools

Imagine you take two groups of students of equal aptitude. You take one group and tell them: “Find the best economic management system for your country. Consider every system, every philosopher, every study and every possibility.”

You tell the second group: “Find the best economic mode l you can but you will not think about the Keynesian model! You will not discuss it, question it or condone it. If you discuss the Keynesian model in any way you are a badstudent!”.

Which group do you think have a greater chance to produce a better model? Why?

Freedom of speech and freedom of thought are vital. High school economics students might be presented with a scenario similar to the one I just gave. Kindergarten classes might not be ready for classic economics just yet but the principle remains the same. As parents teach their kids right and wrong they have to be careful to also encourage inquisitively. A teacher also bears a responsibility to nurture that wonderful childhood characteristic. Always ask “Why?”.

Groups that stifle freedom of speech and scream down anyone they disagree with are enemies of academia and mental development. The laws that regulate speech in the UK – and in the country where I live- are far from perfect. But they have been built up over many generations and are not subject to the political whims of the day. Nor should they be. That’s why, regardless of personal views, I was pleased that the video of Tommy Robinson speaking at Oxford Union was uploaded to youtube.