I've previously mentioned that the English state education system is breaking down. The state simply can't recruit enough young people of sufficient calibre to train as teachers and of those who do, in fact, finish teacher-training college, up to 30% refuse to actually start teaching when they've experienced what goes on in schools during their final student practice. (Of those who start teaching, more than one third can't do elementary maths problems and almost the same proportion can't write grammatically.) The chief reasons for this lamentable situation are (a) highly centralised bureaucratic control; (b) protective practices by teaching unions and teacher-training colleges; (c) a never-ending stream of detailed instructions emanating from London which harrass teachers and cuts into their teaching time.
Among many other symptoms, the state education system cannot recruit (never mind retain!) anywhere near the number of teachers required for language, science, engineering and maths. Yet there are scores of thousands of linguists, engineers and scientists in the country who (like me) might well like to spend a year or two of their retirement in teaching in (particularly) secondary schools. Many of us would be prepared to do so with little or even no reward. Hitherto, the unions and the government have treated possible volunteers like us as lepers and have been implacably set against any of these civic minded people getting anywhere near their state schools But another crack in the edifice is appearing. It was announced this morning that primary schools are going to be able to recruit people to teach languages who haven't actually received their teaching certificate! Apparently, it doesn't matter any longer! And this decision from a socialist government which has dared to challenge the unions! Wow! I still can't quite believe it. I still can't quite believe that it will actually happen. In the case of language teaching, it's mainly a matter of pride. Here we have prime minister Tony Blair desperately anxious to have more influence in the European Union but whose state schools are turning out hundreds of thousands of young people every year who have no language whatsoever besides English. However, we are still terribly short of maths teachers and this is not yet denting Blair's amour propre. Many state secondary schools have no teachers with a maths degree at all. Keith Hudson ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------ Keith Hudson, General Editor, Handlo Music, http://www.handlo.com 6 Upper Camden Place, Bath BA1 5HX, England Tel: +44 1225 312622; Fax: +44 1225 447727; mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ________________________________________________________________________
