My blood is boiling. I came into education because I felt there were problems and they we should all be doing something to make our children's education a better experience. And, for a while, things seemed to be improving.
There was a massive shortage of teachers in 2002 because of the way we undervalued what they did and the farcical pay that such professionals were paid. At the time, I thought even I would be better than none. Thankfully, by the time I had obtained my qualifications, the teacher shortage had largely been sorted: they were being treated more like the professionals they are and salaries had started to reflect their value to society. I know my limitations and at my age, going back to 60-70 hour working weeks would have been extremely hard, even if it could be achieved. I recognised that I would be retired long before I could reach the high standard of many of the experts I had met. I love working with young people but had to decide to leave the teaching to professionals and to those with the time to develop such expertise. As a cover supervisor I facilitate learning that 'real teachers' have arranged for me to deliver and try to make it as enjoyable and as much fun as possible, whilst still making use of the skills I developed studying psychology and gained experience in as a learning mentor.
Then, the conservatives conned their way into power, with the help of the liberals and a lot of lies about their plans: Michael Gove took over Education and chaos commenced.
I had already written to my MP about my concerns regarding faith schools being funded by the tax payer, I felt that they should be funded by the religions that wanted to inculcate young people with their religious values and beliefs and I strongly oppose it. We should instead be taking that money and putting it into struglling secular schools. And now, here is Gove not only considering granting creationists access to young minds, and taxpayer's money, but also granting the running of the schools to blatant amateurs in the form of so called 'free schools', people like creationists and others who undoubtedly have their own agendas. Whether it is to eventually make a profit (albeit by the back door!) or to inculcate young minds with their own inferior and questionable values, it is a travesty and moreover it is a blatant attempt on the part of the conservatives to privatise the UK education system and they need to take education away from local authority control, first. I don't argue that LA's have had their issues - but let's not throw the baby out with the bath water - it is not easy running public services, as has been evidenced recently the numerous messes caused by private companies making an attempt at doing so.
What makes me feel really angry is the apathy of the vast majority of us who don't seem to notice, or even think about what is happening: we have been brainwashed with materialism and the need to own things we don't really want, never mind need. Status symbols. Moreover, we can all plead guilty to treating others, even so called friends and family as means, and not as ends in themselves; when we befriend people who can help our careers and then ditch them when their usefulness has expired is one example. Kant would be spinning in his grave.
I'm at a loss, for once in my life, I really don't know what to do, yet. I keep making use of the system, as is my right. But I apparently can't seem to persuade those around me to take what is happening seriously enough - I am perceived as 'too intense', 'too political', 'too depressing'. And it worries me because we are heading for even more cuts, and it seems that people won't notice what is happening until it smacks them directly in the face - by which time things may have got to a point from which we can never return -with all the power in the hands of the wrong people. Perhaps I'll become a conspiracy theorist :-D
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