The UK depends on skilled workers to function and also makes £billions from the Arts and Crafts. Globalisation has resulted in the growth of financial services (I nearly made the mistake of calling it an industry!). This requires degree level qualifications and TBH does FA for society. The Victorian Age of Invention did not require university education, nor mega rich TNC’s. Our brightest should be encouraged to develop skills for the benefit of society (e.g. medicine), and they should be rewarded commensurately.
This does demean the rest of us! There will always be a need for unskilled workers? Well for the foreseeable future anyway. Maybe it is time to step back and slow down the pace of life. What is the drop out rate from Uni? Why do so many people spend their lives commuting? It is rarely as a plumber or electrician, potter or artist!
I had both building work and a bathroom refit recently. On both occasions the contractor arrived about 30 minutes later than promised, then had a cup of tea whilst considering the work ahead. Sometimes they then disappeared to get stuff! At about 3.30pm they were packing up. The quality of work was superb, the chat excellent, the cost reasonable (OK not mega cheap but …). And they seemed happy with life! This should be an aim of our education system. It was only in the last 5 years of teaching that I was informed of suicide watch students – I certainly taught some complete nutters before that – what has changed?
League tables! Who the fuck thought it a good idea to compare students, classes, schools! I remember the grim task of identifying the students who achieved grades lower than some algorhyme predicted (Thanks Fisher-Price. or whatever). Some kids needed to fail as part of their education and beating their teachers with lower wages will not do that! I agree that basic numeracy and literacy are important. But I wonder how many % of students need A* in Maths, English and Science? Are teachers wearing themselves out trying to achieve levels of success that are pointless? There are no exams or grades in communication skills, or curtesy!
Managers – where the fuck did they come from in schools other than the DH who oversaw the budget! Now everything is target driven.
So I am 100% sure that my daughter as a newly qualified geography teacher is much more skilled and effective at delivering the subject and exam results, but …….