Continuing the education theme , its is hard to listen to the platitudes coming from the mouth of Balls when we know the raised leaving age is to artificially get the NEETs numbers down, as well as crime . It is no coincidence that policemen are going to be permanently stationed at these schools, in towers I should think . I know from friends what the state of discipline at some inner city Comprehensives and the though of the men they propose to intern for two years and what they will do fills me with dread. It is akin to a social concerntration camp , literally concerntrating all your problems in one building .
I can see the good side of it though . My wife who had a typical Bermondsey childhood said it would have helped her and things don`t look so bad from inside . But once again ill thought out and the sort of plan only those who attended posh schools could come up with. as it stands.
At the other end of the scale Lisa Harker in the Guardian suggests convincingly that the school entering age should be raised. I have a lot of time for this in theory , internationally there is evidence that the higher entering age not only helps the child’s learning but would also lessen the great disadvantage that Summer children have .Fins and S Korean Children start at six and seven respectively France Germany Spain Canada and the US, Denmark and Sweden all have higher entering ages and seem to do well at it .
Is this really a mystery though?. The reason that children appear to do better is because they are taught at home in a play /learning one on one nurturing environment. AKA their mum. Well when you put it like that they would do better wouldn’t they. We will not be having this in this country though as you now need two incomes for a house and the five year stretch is already beyond snapping point . I know I am in that one income poverty trap now . This problem is really what is driving earlier and earlier state care provision , ‘Sure start’ , now two year old`s at free nursery and then starting school for the most part at four years old . What we have is a crèche that I evolves into a prison for young offenders . What we used to have was a family and parents. They call that progress you know
So take a step back and it is the desperate financial pressure on families that mean they cannot give their children the early nurturing start they need .For this reason many of them have to be locked up in policed “schools” where they terrorise the real sixth formers .
The indigenous English birth rate has slightly increased to 1.7 but is still far below the immigrant birth rate of 2.7 overall with some groups like Pakistanis at 5. A survey came out yesterday showing that most people are made miserable by having the few children they do have . This is undoubtedly the pressure of over -population on services , housing and money. So again we come to the problem at the heart of every problem , too many people, the unique housing problems in this country , high taxes on families and the attempt of the state to take over from parents .There is not a quick solution but we are moving in the wrong direction on almost every front
3 comments:
New Labour think that Brave New World is an instruction manual.
Actually many women would rather like to stay home and are guilt driven into work by their men. Mine was horrified that I intended to care for this child we'd both made. Women working is seen as 'supporting the family' and being a mum has no value nowadays.
Phillipa , don`t yiou think opart of the reason the housewife is not as well regardrd is that ts so much easier than it used to be . Woemnn used to cook on wood stoves and wash for huge familes in what was ceaseless hard work.
Its a lot easier now isn`t it ?
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