Adrian Ramsay, Green Party spokesperson on education has responded to Michael Gove's weekend structures on private schools:
Michael Gove suggests that state schools should try to perform as well as private schools. Has it never occurred to him that the reason why private schools often perform well is that they cream off many of the most privileged pupils, and then provide far more money per head for the education of them than state schools are able to?Until the injustice is ended of resources being disproportionately directed to the education of the few, in institutions that have tax-privileges, then state schools will never have a level playing-field, and their pupils will always in practice be being discriminated against.
I really can't see why Adrian Ramsay has bothered to respond to Gove's illiterate tosh. Does anyone seriously think that Gove is unaware that the best-off 20% of the population do better on every possible indicator of success in anything ( except, possibly, professional darts and snooker success)* for absolutely obvious reasons. His talk about state schools is a diversion to avoid (he thinks) the other 80% waking up to the reality of what a class-based society means.
ReplyDelete* Oh, and footballing prowess. And pigeon-racing. Boxing. Fashion. Er, that's it.