Creative Schools? Part 1

What a lot of nonsense and hot air! Assuming that they are not all replaced by robots in the near future, what schools really need are good teachers. How can teaching become a more attractive profession for talented young people? Does Ken Robinson say anything about this in his book? No? I thought not. In the UK, a significant number of teachers prefer to teach in private schools, as the salaries and the working conditions are often better. So what does Ken Robinson suggest? Close down all of the private schools? All schools, state and private, need to consider how to hang on to their brightest and best teachers. And how can we celebrate good practice, so that more lessons are engaging, effective and fun? 

Everyone knows that OFSTED stands for Overpaid F*****s Shafting Teachers Every Day. When a school has an OFSTED inspection, it is often incredibly stressful for the teaching staff and it involves a lot of extra work, usually unpaid. An OFSTED inspection certainly does not encourage initiative, originality or creativity. How is Ken Robinson going to make OFSTED disappear? Lots of teachers have complained about OFSTED over the years, but somehow it is still with us, alas. 

Furthermore, in the UK, we are seeing the creeping "privatisation" of education, with companies taking over the running of schools. These companies are businesses, so they are more interested in standardization and profits, not in education. From a business point of view, it is more efficient if everyone follows the company policy, so that a consistent product is delivered. Men in suits make sure that the teachers do as they are told, while interactive whiteboards replace textbooks and TAs are used instead of cover teachers. Creative schools? Perhaps Ken Robinson's next book will be called "Square Circles".

Someone called Chris Gozzard did not agree with me. 

Firstly, Sir Ken Robinson is dead. Secondly, if you watch his TED talks you might understand, rather than posting your opinion!

Okay, so maybe Sir Ken is not going to be writing another book sometime soon. 

Having taught for nearly twenty years in the UK, I then taught in a number of international schools in different countries round the world. If I do not have enough teaching experience to post my opinion on matters to do with education, Chris Gozzard, then could you please tell me how much experience I do need to have?

In his TED talks, did Ken Robinson find a workable solution to the creeping privatization (and standardization) of education? Did he find a way to stop schools from using TAs as cover teachers? Did he solve the teacher recruitment and retainment crisis? Did Sir Ken also remove the shadow of OFSTED? (It was not so long ago that a headteacher committed suicide after an OFSTED inspection.) And for good measure, has he also found a way to recruit enough Science teachers? If Sir Ken did indeed come up with all these wonderful remedies to the very real problems affecting schools in the UK in his TED talks, then could you please explain why, Chris Gozzard, these problems are still with us and why they are getting worse?  

Having taught for nearly twenty years in the UK, I then taught in a number of international schools in different countries round the world. If I do not have enough experience to post my opinion on matters to do with education, then could you please tell me how much experience I do need to have? In his TED talks, did Ken Robinson find a workable solution to the creeping privatization (and standardization) of education? Did he find a way to stop schools from using TAs as cover teachers? Did he solve the teacher recruitment and retainment crisis? Did Sir Ken also remove the shadow of OFSTED? (It was not so long ago that a headteacher committed suicide after an OFSTED inspection.) And for good measure, has he also found a way to recruit enough Science teachers? If Sir Ken did indeed come up with all these wonderful remedies to the very real problems affecting schools in the UK in his TED talks, then could you please explain why these problems are still with us and why they are getting worse?

Having taught for nearly twenty years in the UK, I then taught in a number of international schools in different countries round the world. If I do not have enough experience to post my opinion on matters to do with education, then could you please tell me how much experience I do need to have? In his TED talks, did Ken Robinson find a workable solution to the creeping privatization (and standardization) of education? Did he find a way to stop schools from using TAs as cover teachers? Did he solve the teacher recruitment and retainment crisis? Did Sir Ken also remove the shadow of OFSTED? (It was not so long ago that a headteacher committed suicide after an OFSTED inspection.) And for good measure, has he also found a way to recruit enough Science teachers? If Sir Ken did indeed come up with all these wonderful remedies to the very real problems affecting schools in the UK in his TED talks, then could you please explain why these problems are still with us and why they are getting worse?