h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I'll pick up from a comment in the last post.

Despite me making light of things this month there was no 'joy' in my school days, I hated each and every one of them. I changed primary schools so often that I always felt like an outsider, and I was a bright kid who was never pushed but was clever enough to realise this waste of my talents.

I have those books from primary and secondary schools. There's no proper marking on my work, I've been allowed to get away unchecked with nonsense like the project about the sea and the only comment on my creativity is about sorting out my handwriting. This I did later, all by myself with a book from the library.

My 70s Essex Comprehensive education was relentlessly grim, home life was grimmer, childhood memories are of being scared, poor, cold and hungry for years. The only value in looking back is to find the humour and wonder how on earth I made it to where I am now.

My brain started to work when I went to technical college for A levels. Not in Basildon, I don't believe there was anything for me there except factory work. I had an hour's bus ride to college, where I sat in A level lessons with classmates of all ages, from early 20s returners, mums with kids at school, single parents and pensioners. We were on first name terms with our teachers, work was marked with proper feedback and for the first time ever I belonged. There was a termly grant for books and stationery, a bus pass and I had a Saturday job.

My A level grades were the key that opened the door to university. Widening participation I believe it was called back in ye, (or maybe that's what it is called now and there was a different phrase then) but unis were suddenly welcoming to the bright but poor kids. It transformed my life and gave me a future. 3 more years with a grant to get the BSc and then another year's funding to do the PGCE. The secure future I look forward to in my dotage is a direct result of that.

So maybe the cream always rises to the top, but I don't think someone with that background now would climb anywhere and they certainly wouldn't get into teaching. (More thoughts on that tomorrow.)

University for me, hasn't exactly opened up to me a world/life of work; but Its made me someone otherwise, and able to think, in ways I never would have done, had I nt gone. Especially coming from a smal town, if I'd not gone to University... I'd have probably ended up in a factory, or other unskilled work, or just in a bedsit on the dole... and proabably not, in reality even realising* there was anything else I could* be doing other than that sort of life...

Sad thing is I was lucky; got in when we had small* student loans, for 'living', an no tuition fees; I'd never have considered University, under the current situaion; a £30 K or more, debt,? from going to University?!!!: You can still just* about buy a small flat 'back home' in the family 'town', for that sort of money... so the very notion of going to univrsity to run up such a debt, would have been utterly unthinkiable... Mind, then again, University used to be about teaching peoplhow to think, how to learn, as well as teaching them 'actual stuff', I'm gtting the idea now, that successive governments just want a production line, turning out indebted individuals at the end, who 'fit nicely' into a certain mindset, ready willing, and having no option other than to work at whatever boring jobs it is, ; A situation they're then forced* into, in affect, by virtue of hving the huge debts to pay off..

I can thank my education, both
A-levels and university, ad then my Masters degree, for giving me a framework for thinking, learning, and viewingthe world, even if, bascaly the 'actual stuff' I learnt, really hsn't ever had many practicle uses in my life... well, asides diagnosing several friends who had really rather nasty diseases, that the medical profesionals culdn't diagnose, for some reason (still tryin to go through the backlog in the jourals, and in this one, from the period I was away!)

Coely, your latest post leaves me pensive. I recognize that school background and sense of being outside because of changing location so much. You are truly self-made of ye.

Deb

Back in ye I qualified as a teacher, although I didn't do my probationary time straight away. I worked as a telephonist in Moorgate for a year. Telephones are a family tradition in a way. Mum trained as a GPO telephonist back in days of yore and both Sunshine and Moonlight have had substantial experience in call centres. Both are currently working in different ones at the moment, although Sunshine has almost finished her own teacher training.

When I did start teaching it was for 3 years, then I had my wonderful daughters. I returned after 6 years to a different profession. In the time I'd been out the National Curriculum had been introduced but I specialised in post 16 and although I moved schools a few times, stayed with that age group. In 2008 I gave teaching up for good, or maybe it gave up on me, and by an amazing stroke of good fortune fell into teacher education, training the next generation.

This was the best job ever, but part-time and only a 3 year contract. I weeded out the weak applicants, interviewed and selected the very best, gave them the benefit of my experience and wisdom , taught them the history and philosophy of education as well as the craft of teaching, found them placements and visited regularly, watching them blossom under the guidance of good school staff, and then supported them to apply for jobs.

I topped up the part time hours with sessional work, supply teaching, film work and private tuition. There was every expectation that the job would become permanent and I was happy in the work of higher education, becoming the person that the 70s me would never had dreamed of, once more discovering my brain and my own love of self education. However, Mr Gove came along, and in 2011 announced that he hated trendy left wing universities turning out people who had post grad qualifications in educational theory. What did teachers need with such fancy ideas?

His plan was to have schools train teachers, so hundreds of university places were cut, courses closed and teacher educators were made redundant. I was one. Now, a lot of schools didn't want to train loads of teachers. Their work was to teach children and they wanted to get on with it.

Two years later, there's a lack of applicants for the School Direct scheme, some schools haven't engaged with it at all, and those who have are finding that the applicants are not up to the standard expected, if they even have any applicants at all.

And who is filling the gap? Universities. They have stepped in, mopped up the unfilled places and papered over the cracks at the last minute. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-25104936

Ex-Permanent Secretary Sir David Bell, who is now vice chancellor at Reading University said:
"It is fine to create a range of training routes but not at the expense of good, proven providers - it's tantamount to cutting off your nose to spite your own face."

This is endorsed by an expert in teacher recruitment, Prof John Howson:
"Schools Direct has not been a runaway success for training places as opposed to the general teacher programme"

I'm watching as schools fill up with unqualified staff, or teachers on timetables filled with subjects they haven't specialised in. Those of us who trained in ye are getting out as soon as we can. 60 is the retirement age - it's just about possible to negotiate a deal after 55, or at least take a drop in hours or pay and not have your future affected. But there's no one to replace us.

Forgot to change the date! 28th November.

Also, this is worth a read:
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/jul/05/gove-wrong-on-teacher-training

"We need to empower teachers to think for themselves. To paraphrase Robin Alexander, director of the Cambridge Primary Review, we cannot expect "children to think for themselves if their teachers only do what they're told". It's unlikely that the quality of initial teacher education in England will improve if Gove decides to adopt his school-based model. What is needed instead is a climate where schools and university education departments work closely to help student teachers bridge the gap between theory and practice."
(thinking for myself since ye)

Thanks for the insight(back up the page a bit). I had good opportunities by being sent to the private school, but there weren't enough A levels to keep me interested (and busy enough to be out of trouble apparently). I thought my only options were leave and get a job, or stay on and study things I wasn't interested in. NOBODY told me I could do somewhere else and do something else.

Nobody got brochures on my behalf, or looked up 'animals' or dogs for further education which were my big love (I had wanted to be a vet until I realised chemistry was HARD and physics was BORING although I think I would like it now). I won't say my parents let me down as my dad was pushed out of school at 15 and my mum was told she could never be a dressmaker because she wore glasses and lost interest herself.

I wish I had known - but it's why I made a big fuss about J's schooling and helped him find something he wanted to do at college. I wish I'd had his mum...

I wanted to be an artist. My teachers in high school recommended it. But my parents were against it, disparaged my talent, and went so far as to keep art materials out of the house. Mom's idea was for me to go to college, and then she would find me a nice middle-aged businessman and marry me off so that I could live in soft-headed indolence. And that's why I never went home from my trip to Scotland.

They had so undermined my self esteem that I never even thought of art school when the opportunity came up to go to university. And although I love programming, I only came to it late in my search for something to do with myself. I didn't come back to art until after my father died. A lot of time has been lost.

Deb

Pebbles Practical Solutions number 27: Any politician involved with the Education system must send their children (or grandchildren) to a State school that is being forced to follow their guidelines.

[Amy P]

Pebbles Practical Solutions number 27: Any politician involved with the Education system must send their children (or grandchildren) to a State school that is being forced to follow their guidelines.

or

B) go to one

C) teach in one

I might also add to that. Any architect that has had a hand in designing "open plan" schools should also be forced to send their kids to one, or be told to deliver an hour long presentation while 3 other presentations are taking place in the same space.

In reply to Lil, Mina, Mr legs etc, the thing is, we've all turned out OK haven't we. That's the quite remarkable thing. The barriers were there and we developed the personal resilience to overcome them, even if it did take a while. What I see now is a new generation who are so overwhelmed by the choices available that they have no idea what to do.

29th November.

Well, I've almost made the month! This has been quite a busy thread, I've just skimmed back over. Far too much about living in ye, and I'm not normally one for looking back. But it's been a pleasure to welcome some new friends, which is the joy of h2g2 and what keeps us all here. And I'm in the company of some brilliant journal writers, I've particularly enjoyed the ones from Lil and pebbles.

Not much today, mainly because I now have a very heavy head cold, I've almost lost my voice and my brain has turned to a Lem Sip induced mush. So no Doctor Who locations, no stories from my younger self, no tales of ye, no rants about Gove and no adventures from a film extra. Just a husky voiced whinge about feeling ill.

I have to keep the germs away from my mum of course, so tomorrow will be for swimming and housework, which are obviously procrastination activities to keep me from the new pile of paperwork over there -->. But I promised Sol a story last year and never delivered, so my final NaJoPoMo for the 30th will be a tale from ye about how I come to have an iconic 1970s poster that is also in the V+A as a rare design classic.

Feel better soon!

[Amy P]

I'm looking forward to tomorrow's journal, for some reason it's caught my attention.

Hope you feel better then. It's a bit of a double whammy as it keeps you from your mum too.

Deb

I'm actually doing the 30th in a separate thread, and in several instalments through the day. Part 1 is posted, I'm off out for a while, parts two, three and four will be later on.

Comment as I go, or wait until the end, ask questions if you have them but if I could politely request that you please don't "jump the gun" by anticipating what you think I'm going to say and writing it for me. That way my tale stands alone at first as a record of my own memories. When I have finished, then go for it.

30th November parts 1 and 2 done. 3 and 4 to follow later. I haven't prewritten anything, just planned in my head for a year, so it's very much a stream of consciousness, but befuddled by Lem Sip and Sudafed. Forgive typos or poor punctuation.
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