Poet's Corner

WHEN WILL THEY LISTEN AND STOP SHOUTING?

16-11-2007

Top government advisor Sir Cyril Taylor reckons the answer to poor performance in schools is to sack more teachers. He estimates that there are 17,000 iffy ones in the system. Brendan Hawthorne picks a playground fight.

The Government bully boys

are back at the education punch-bag again

Blaming poor standards on poor performance

Blaming ineffective classroom control

on the weakened professional

exhausted by dealing with stop-gap policies

Battle weary of fear-factor atmospheres

created by clicking pens and clip boards

during shadow play inspections

Teachers are struggling to keep their heads

above the waves of paperwork

crashing in from the Policy-of-the-Day

to be implemented by tomorrow

evaluated and scrapped by the same time next week

And Mr Taylor's claim of 17,000 poor teachers

is not the whole story

Oh no

Considering the lack of support for

the overdriven, over-worked, over-stressed

band of professionals

all teachers should be pitied

Their profession is continually directed by

contradictory statistical ideals

No wonder there is a recruitment crisis

when education has to stretch itself

to accommodate a growing diversity

of language, culture and ability

before staff even get to subject knowledge

So, Government Ministers, show your support

Deal with the issues and don't blame individuals

What about the closures of referral units

where behavioural difficulties could be dealt with?

What about the closures of the specialist centres

that supported learners and gave practical

solutions to their needs and demands?

When will every teacher matter

instead of every statistic?

When will you realise fast-track

is just a quick fix and not a long term solution?

And just where is the leadership

when education is crying out for help?

By today's reckoning you'll find it

in the corner of the political playground

queuing up with the other critics

to take their turn at delivering

the next body blow to a profession already on its knees

and crying with its weighty responsibility

of building our collective future

(Copyright Brendan Hawthorne 2007)