My Flight of Fancy
What I think about education policy for what it’s worth
Imagine how it would feel if education policy was taken away from the government and placed in the hands of professionals who understand what it takes to motivate, nurture and develop talent in our young people? A world where the CBI, leaders in health research and educators formulated a 25 year strategy to take our country into the future — a future that our country can be proud of, a healthy future.
A flight of fantasy I hear you cry!
It is what keeps me up at night. Yes I’m bothered about the lack of resource, yes I’m bothered about the crisis in teacher recruitment and retention and yes, I’m bothered about the injustice for our most vulnerable children — but what bothers me most, what really keeps me up at night is the lack of joined up long-term strategic thinking that is absolutely crucial if we are going to convince the hundreds of disillusioned and demotivated educators that it really is worth investing their careers, indeed their lives, in what I believe is still the most worthy of professions. A profession I have been a part of for over 25 years and have seen the political football that it has become.
Our profession has become an electoral tool in the armoury of governments of all persuasion; teachers and our schools have become the cause and then the solution of any number of social issues we are grappling with in society. Almost everyone has an opinion about how we should do our job and our job is becoming more and more about “raising standards” and less and less about developing citizens for a future that will look radically different from today. How many would have the same opinion of a Doctor, a Dentist, a nurse or a lawyer?
If we follow the analogy, would we really trust a group of civil servants in Whitehall with the nuts and bolts of taking out our teeth, or operating on our loved ones?
What if instead, we created a system, completely without any political allegiance/alliance or semblance of governmental influence that was designed to construct an educational experience that delivered what this country needs now and will need in the future. A focus on the real issues that we face. A system that recognises our planet is in danger of extinction and needs young minds that are inspired and motivated to make a difference. A system that is stable and not at the whim of the policies of whichever secretary of state we happen to inherit and one which is joined up with health, businesses, the public and private sector. More importantly, a system that is regulated to ensure we deliver on our needs as a country and not one that allows manipulation of outcomes by design and for political gain.
Just imagine how motivating it would be to enter a profession that you knew was going to make a real difference to the future of our country. One that was respected and revered because the long term investment in both strategy and resource was delivering citizens who felt a sense of purpose, belonging and allegiance to their country. Where you arrived knowing that despite the challenge of resources you were able to embrace the technological, political, social, health and economic dynamics in an intelligent, thought through fair and just way. A profession that people were clamouring to be a part of rather than one where people are leaving in their droves; reluctantly I might add.
Is this really the stuff of dreams? I don’t believe so. We are broken as an education system and the cracks are widening as more and more of our children are excluded, off rolled, suffer with chronic mental and physical health issues and unable to function effectively. We have been divided as a profession through generations of divisive policies but at our common core is the drive to make a change to the lives of young people.
What will it take I wonder?
