Headteachers - sold themselves for 30 pieces of silver

Davis Lewis's picture
 5
I am so disappointed with the NAHT and headteachers who have shown no professional leadership or gumption over the last twenty-five years or so. They have allowed successive governments to dictate education policy, headteachers remit seems to be to carry out government policy rather that to deliver what is the best interest of their pupils.
For instance the league tables have by and large dictated the content on the school curriculum, when ICT counted for Four GCSE's it was very prominent on the timetable now that the E-Bac is on the agenda these same heads are reconfiguring their staff to take on more teachers of MFL, and humanities.
If Michael Gove had not made his pronouncements on E-bacc subjects would they be recruiting these teachers? Gove keeps on saying that headteachers know what is best for their schools, if only they did and if only they had the courage to stand by their convictions.
Sadly, successive governments have bought the headteachers silence by offering them higher salaries and more autonomy. Headteachers in some of our high schools and academies are becoming less involved with their students and more interested in being CEO's and engaging in project management and empire building. Just the thing to get on board testosterone fuelled professionals.
Education has lost its way and our headteachers are largely culpable for their lack of professional integrity and focus. The profession is now attracting mercenaries rather than those committed to teaching and improving the prospects for children and young people. Sad, sad, sad.
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Comments

JimC's picture
Tue, 13/09/2011 - 21:39

Well said. I know a few heads who consider themselves to be an extension of OFSTED rather than a professional with actual accountability for their school.


ChampagneSocialistNetwork's picture
Wed, 14/09/2011 - 19:58

The problem is there is a paradox in what you have written in contrast to the main view LSN that believes the state should dictate education policy rather than teachers.
If not why are whining on Free Schools? you can't have it both ways.

"Headteachers who have shown no professional leadership or gumption over the last twenty-five years or so. They have allowed successive governments to dictate education policy"

It's not headteachers fault its the Labour (mostly) & Conservative party fault.
Its been going on for alot longer then 25 years but ever since education re-organization
by our beloved Shirley Williams & Tony Crosland ,due to some demented socialist demands,from Circular 10/65. Which many teachers were against at the time and the governments of that time could not care less for. Thatcher was utterly docile in the matter by giving the choice of conversion to the LEA rather then the schools themsevles. Still an improvement from Labour which wanted convert ALL schools by force.
That is the whole idea "state" education now especially in Comprehensives the State has a final say on everything being centralized with us all being brought to the lowest denominator, and giving real control to the LEA rather than a professional body of teachers or the Headmaster. It's a Stalinist system, that must be stopped. These "trendy" teaching methods & inflated classrooms with little discipline are largely responsible for the fact over 1 in 4 children in this country cannot read or write properly .
20% of 16-19 year old are functionally illiterate and innumerate.
Yet LSN still thinks everything is rosy & peachy in the education system! What planet do you folks live in?

Davis Lewis's picture
Wed, 14/09/2011 - 21:27

I am talking in the main about secondary headteachers by the way


Davis Lewis's picture
Wed, 14/09/2011 - 21:37

Champagne we meet again. THis labour party is as left as the starboard wing of a ship. The last labour government saw private companies being paid tens of millions to deliver public services. The last Labour government never challenged the grammar school system which still exists in several local authorities. There is nothing Stalinist, Leninist or leftist about this labour party, a labour party that is embarrased about being associated with anything that sounds like socialism - so lets not fall for red bogey man fallacy.

The main reason why children's reading is so poor is because they do not read away from school. So few children read at home, the most successful readers enjoy reading and therefore will read at home, in the car, on the bus. Its little do with how they are taught. If you are taught a skill and you do not employ it then you will never become proficient, this also applies to reading.

Under Mr Gove education has become even more centralised as schools will be answerable to the Department of Education - that's real centralisation.

ChampagneSocialistNetwork's picture
Fri, 16/09/2011 - 17:01

"The last Labour government never challenged the grammar school system which still exists in several local authorities."

Yes it did it made the creation of selection by ability schools in this country ILLEGAL in parliament and there is a now ballot system of parents from those authorities to access if they want to convert grammar schools (which they don't) .
Yet Ms Harman still sent her son to a super-selctive Grammar school while preaching to us plebs how "great" comprehensives are.
Grammar schools (the few that are left thanks to my comrades) aren't the problem. They deliver what they are suppose to that is excellent quality of academic education to it's students. The problem are the schools that don't that is the fault of those schools not Grammar schools. You can't blame selection for that. The appitude debate is broad. But I have seen what happens when you lump people together.

"Under Mr Gove education has become even more centralised as schools will be answerable to the Department of Education – that’s real centralisation."

As if it were'nt already under Labour?
If this is true with Gove. Do you think I support that? I have seen what bueaucracy in teaching does and narrowing the curriculum content, it's a nightmare for both students & teachers.

"Its little do with how they are taught. If you are taught a skill and you do not employ it then you will never become proficient, this also applies to reading."

I do agree that partially depends on the parents, I think this is wrong children aren't encouraged to read at home. But this is usually with poorer families that this is a problem.
Actually it does play a part with teaching, neither of my parents really read to me as I child & basically learnt how to read & write quite early by myself because I was TAUGHT at school. Through reading times & writing excercises we did. That is what primary school is for or should be.

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