Sunday, April 08, 2007

Assorted NUT.

A short time ago I blogged on the risks faced by teachers of being victims of malicious child abuse claims so I was pleased to see that some sensible comments on teaching and child abuse were made today:
Teachers' lives are being ruined because false allegations by pupils stay on their records and turn up on employment checks, a conference heard.

The National Union of Teachers wants false or unproven claims removed from Criminal Records Bureau disclosures.
It is all the more amazing in that it was said by a member of the National Union of Teachers. Has NUT finally ridded itself of the extreme left wing fanatics who bring the organisation into contempt with the wider public?
The first ethnic minority president of the National Union of Teachers has said ministers fuel racism by ordering schools to teach "British values".

London assistant head teacher Baljeet Ghale told the union's annual conference Britain did not have a monopoly on free speech and tolerance....

...."To demand that people conform to an imposed view of Britishness only fuels that racism," Ms Ghale said.
That'll be 'No' then. Don't get me wrong, I think that 'teaching Britishness' is a preposterous gimmick by a government that essentially despises Britain, but the idea that being told that their country is tolerant will make children hate ethnic minorities is perplexing. The BBC's report of Baljeet Ghale's speech doesn't really do it justice, for that the most reliable source is the Socialist Worker:
Baljeet Ghale this year became the first black president of the NUT teachers' union. In her opening address to conference this weekend she attacked the Labour government's record on education.

She said, “This year marks 200 years since the abolition of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. It is 60 years since India's break from the shackles of colonialism and 40 years since Israel illegally occupied the West Bank and the Gaza strip....

....“As he reaches the end of his time as prime minister there is something increasingly desperate about Blair’s attempts to create his legacy. Much as he might wish it to be, academies will not be his legacy. It will of course be Iraq.

"He might have claimed that his priority was education, but unfortunately for us, and more importantly for the people of Iraq, his legacy will be the illegal war he has waged there.

"His misjudgement and arrogance cannot be disguised. He can continue trying to rush through an untested academies programme but will forever be remembered for the war....

....She went on to argue that the gap between investment in private and comprehensive schools must be closed. She said, "And where will the money come from to support these initiatives?

"It is estimated that the war in Iraq will have cost Britain £6 billion by the end of this year. Now we hear that £76 billion is being earmarked for a new nuclear weapon to replace trident.

"The government's priorities are all wrong. Surely this money would be better spent on education with billions left to rebuild hospitals and an NHS to be proud of and free for all."
The nicest thing that can be said about Ms Ghale, is that having heard her speak I have a better idea of what the problems in our education system might be. Pupils might not be able to spell Iraq or Zionism, but we can sleep safely knowing that they will be opposed to both.

1 comment:

Alberta Pat said...

What a fine example she is to the members of the teaching trade. And we sit back and let such people interfere with the minds of our children?

If such speeches are not incitements to race hatred, I don't know what is.