Gove in U-turn Shocker!

No... really... I'm SO SURPRISED.

Except it would be very, very foolish of us to get complacent now. We haven't won a thing, and he's still there, hatching schemes to 'improve' education.

I was discussing him with a colleague earlier, and she mentioned how she'd recently seen either David Mitchell or Charlie Brooker observe that, while most people with a post of responsibility usually had some kind of expertise or at least experience in that area, Gove's only qualification for running Education seems to be that he 'once went to school'.

It sort of reminded me of something my dad once told me. He said that back in the days when he'd be involved in interviewing people for posts at his work, he always veered towards those who were clever but lazy. That way, he said, you ended up with people who knew what needed doing, were capable of doing it AND would find the easiest, most hassle-free way of getting it done.

I don't think Gove is either clever or lazy in particularly notable measures, but he IS ambitious, and he also seems ill-informed and increasingly desperate to prove himself. He reminds me of someone holding a massive knife out with both hands while whirling in a circle and screaming - he may not know what he's aiming for, but he'll hit something sooner or later.

And fuck it up royally, no doubt. Sit tight, teachers - the hard part definitely isn't over yet.

Stricken not Struck

You may be aware of my views on striking. I am a big believer in people trying their best to do their jobs as well as they can, and I'm a big believer in management protecting and guiding their employees to do their jobs as well as they can. When management falls short of the mark, you cannot solve it by having the people under them work harder; the guys on top have to do their share. If management will not do its share, and will not amend or improve things, then lower level employees have a duty to remind management that they have a job to do, and this may well involve striking.

I have said before that I don't believe striking is lazy or antagonistic - in a unionised workforce there are checks and balances in place to make sure people can't just storm off to the pub at the drop of a hat. Does it inconvenience society? Yes, and it should - it's a reminder that these people are doing jobs that matter and without them doing these jobs, our immediate world would not be a better place. Does it affect productivity? Yes - but not as much as poor management, low morale or a high turnover of staff who cannot stomach inadequate working conditions.

I could well be wrong, but I do believe that our current government has an agenda to attack the teaching profession, of which I am a member. Why? There are many possible reasons, depending on the level of your cynicism and whether or not you are given to belief in conspiracy theories. Judging by the way they similarly go after the NHS, my own best guess is that they want to dismantle and privatise as much of the education system as possible - in short, they're after ways to make money, which would seem a depressingly common ailment in those who wield power.

Striking is tricky as a teacher. You don't want to f**k over the kids, especially those who are taking important exams. You don't want to cause bad feeling among parents by leaving them at a loose end for childcare. You don't want to disrupt the work ethic you try so hard to instil in every class you take. And there's also the fact that, no matter how much we attempt to justify ourselves, people vilify us, waving our 'long holidays' and 'short hours' in our faces. I won't lie - it can be pretty depressing to have such accusations waved at you when you know you have done your damnedest to secure some kind of progress, some kind of success, some kind of future for the children of the people who actively criticse your efforts.

And yet, I can't help but feel sometimes: what kind of teacher am I if I don't show children what it means to have a backbone, to work hard and demand respect for it, and to try to take an active role in political decisions that affect you in a very real way?

I mention all this because today the National Union of Teachers sent back the results of the executive vote on strike action - 20 for, 22 against. There was ambiguity in the vote however - confusion over favoured dates for possible strike action seems to have muddled the results as sent back to us and there is talk of it possibly being recast. The thing I find hard to stomach is the almost literal divide this shows in an institution that is supposed to foster unity.

No one in the union (nor probably in the whole teaching profession) denies things have got worse and seem to be set to get worse still with Gove in charge, and yet it seems many of us are paralysed when it comes to taking action. Are they scared of failing the kids? Of losing a day's pay? Of incurring the wrath of the Daily Mail? I understand the trepidation... but when they vote to not strike, they aren't just saying they can stomach what's happening - they're saying we all can. That we all should put up and shut up. That striking is pointless and we are helpless and we might as well send Gove a card saying 'Please be nice to us' and see what happens.

I'm not afraid of hard work. I'm not afraid of people not agreeing with me. But if we don't stand up for ourselves and demand respect I think we generally deserve, I am afraid we're all done for.

Obvs, srsly...

I don't just rant, you know. Sometimes I even put my money, or my ability to write emails, where my mouth is. Often, I do this through 38Degrees, a social activism site which endeavours to bring people together in a way that inundates the inboxes of out-of-touch politicians, tax-dodging CEOs and other such savoury characters with hundreds of angry emails from concerned citizens. S'good fun.

I just sent an email as requested, demanding the issue of tax breaks for huge privatised healthcare companies be addressed, and while the site issues you with a template email outlining the issue in case you're busy or lazy or functionally illiterate, I like to add a little personalisation where I can. Now, I don't know if it's my mood today, or the dark evenings or whatever, but I feel very tired and just a smidge grumpy (I know right?! Grumpy! ME!) and instead of writing anything clever or impassioned, I had to just boil it down to basics.

Here's what I understand by the term 'Basics' in this particular instance:

1. People do not choose to get sick. Most peoples' illnesses are not their own fault. Sick people deserve healthcare, and since illness is not a choice or a desirable commodity, it isn't fair to make people pay to get rid of it.
2. Paying tax is a civic duty. Everyone does it in some way. People who earn less money have less to spare, so should pay less tax. People who earn more money have more to spare, and should pay more tax.

Stop me if I'm blowing your mind or anything... but don't these statements just seem... like, sensible to you? Within the realms of logic and reason and accumulated experience of what is good and bad for humans and so on? As in, the sort of things that are so very brain-haemorrhagingly obvious that one might be forgiven for thinking we didn't need to discuss them even?!

Seriously though, tell me - every time I hear the government's next big idea I feel like Will Ferrell at the end of Zoolander...