Education policy – Why teachers need a defender of the faith
The Secretary of State oversees a fine profession, so they should do their best to nurture, rather than antagonise it, urges John Lawson…
- by John Lawson
Dear Education Secretary…
Forgive me for not addressing you by name, but by the time this piece appears, will you still be in situ? These are turbulent times, after all. Still, that at least means that the directness of what follows isn’t directed at you personally. My intention is always to help, not harm…
However your political stature might have been publicly measured up to now, be aware that you’ve entered a minefield about which you likely know very little, so tread carefully and with humility.
Our political system has granted you immense power, yet the authority you need to genuinely succeed can only be acquired from the learned educators you serve.
Skilled teachers know how to manage children, classrooms, schools and curricula. What they require from you is the authorisation to deliver programmes that will enrich the lives of the families they serve. Remind yourself daily that these remarkable people have forgotten more about education than you’ll ever know. If you don’t listen to them, you’ll have no advantage over those who can’t hear.
Hard facts
Teachers need a ‘defender of the faith’ rather than a critic. Sadly, however, we all saw how just a few weeks into the job, your immediate predecessor lambasted education leaders for ‘Hanging on to mediocrity,’ telling them that they needed ‘Constant monitoring and pressurising to drive education forward.’
This polemic was unsubstantiated, disingenuous, and above all, alienating. A Minister of the Crown should appreciate that niceness trumps nastiness every time. Teachers know perfectly well and accept that they’re public servants – as indeed are you – but they refuse to be treated as doltish slaves, subject to ‘whip cracking’ ministerial edicts. Respect is a two-way street.
Remember, it wasn’t just the NHS that helped the nation weather the pandemic; teachers are frontline workers too. Educators worked hard to keep youngsters’ learning unbroken and their spirits intact when schools were closed to most, and continued to do so after a clumsy algorithm was ineptly brought in to assess their academic worth.
As the Japanese proverb puts it, a day spent with a great teacher is worth a thousand hours of diligent study. Your primary task is to form teams of first-class teachers who will tell you stark educational truths, regardless of what non-teaching advisors might say.
We can refuse to face hard facts, but they won’t go away – they’ll only become harder to deal with the longer we leave them. We all achieve more when we work as a team.
Best selves
The best way you have of contributing positively to the nation’s education is to ignore any impulses to re-invent wheels. Instead, prioritise tweaks and steady progression. Radical changes might generate headlines, but too often they merely deliver illusions of real progress.
Also, look beyond the superficial soundbites and slogans, such as ‘Inclusion, not exclusion.’ I’ve yet to meet the teacher who delights in excluding children from their classrooms, but it’s admittedly impossible to include and educate children unless they adhere to an acceptable code of conduct.
Look into any child’s eyes, and you can see 50+ years of labour ahead of them. I’ve always done everything in my power to help students learn, develop character and embark on careers befitting their talents, and the same goes for my colleagues. Please – help us to help students find their best selves.
At the same time, support those teachers who refuse to accept abusive behaviour from students or their families. Teachers already have solutions to hand for eradicating unacceptable behaviour, but the power to implement humane solutions is one that seems to be rarely granted.
Consequently, we’ve seen too many ‘unteachable’ teens leave our schools as broken and unemployable young adults, unwilling to accept the behavioural norms that accompany adult life. As one of my wisest mentors would regularly insist, ‘Get classroom behaviour right, and everything else will fall into place.’
Finally, we need to secure a sensible, long-term pay structure for teachers. What works for MPs’ salaries should similarly apply to all public sector workers. Today’s young teachers will have paid over £36k for their education, yet their pay in real terms is currently less than mine was in 1993.
If that doesn’t change, it’s difficult to see where the next generation of teachers will come from – particularly if such selfless dedication results in them having to use food banks to survive.
John Lawson is a former secondary teacher, now serving as a foundation governor while running a tutoring service, and author of the book The Successful (Less Stressful) Student (Outskirts Press, £11.95); find out more at prep4successnow.wordpress.com or follow @johninpompano
