We should be pressing for fundamental change in culture of secondary education
WHILE I wholly agree with Damien Yeates’s argument on the imperative for greater vocational considerations regarding the aims of Scottish secondary schools, I feel the likely solution is perhaps closer than he presents (“Apprenticeships got young people could potentially bridge skills gap”, Herald Agenda, December 8).
I consider that there is no real requirement for a bolt-on introduction to the world of work as this already exists and has been here for very many years. The problem Mr Yeates perhaps needs to address is the fact that
John Milton, English poet who wrote Paradise Lost and Samson Agonistes, was born in London.
The first executions took place at Newgate Prison.
Roller skates were patented by a Mr L Richardson of Chicago.
Clarence Birdseye, American pioneer of the frozen food company, was born.
Jerusalem, held by the Turks, surrendered to General Allenby.
The first episode of Coronation Street was televised – although it was not networked until spring 1961 – it was originally called Florizel Street.
Solidarity leader Lech Walesa was elected president of Poland. “Commonwealth of Independent States” pronounced the Soviet Union dead. Kirk Douglas, actor, 98; Bob Hawke, former Australian politician, 85; Dame Judi Dench, actress, 80; Joan Armatrading, singer, 63; John Malkovich, actor, 60; Donny Osmond, pop star, secondary education in Scotland is essentially an academic pursuit and is so for several clear reasons.
The culture of Scottish secondary education is even without shame when it often talks freely and openly in the context of the prejudiced term “the core subjects”. Reasons include the fact that the parents of secondary pupils frequently value academic subjects more highly as they perceive them as allied in some, perhaps dated way, to what they view as white collar/high-earning jobs. As schools seek to reflect the wishes of society 57; Felicity Huffman, actress, 52; Jesse Metcalfe, actor, 36. this conception becomes established as a self-fulfilling furrow as those in charge of education are invariably people from academic backgrounds with no or little industrial, business or entrepreneurial experience.
As a consequence the very skills and disciplines Mr Yeates seemingly wishes to promote are exemplified in skill-related subjects embracing technological education, business education and food and textiles, but he will find that like Cinderella, they do not go to the ball this pantomime season or any other. “Poor people don’t know how to cook” – Tory peeress
who later apologised for
the remark. “I am worried I will be sick when I go up in the spaceship” – “Today I will mostly be blowing my nose. wearing pyjamas, sneezing and doing the face that makes people warm up soup for me” –
seeks sympathy for her snuffles. “You look at a man or woman in their 50s and all I see when they have brushed it all away is self obsession and fear. That is not particularly attractive” – Actress on those who “inject themselves with stuff” to conceal ageing.
“I don’t expect a carriage clock for long service. I work day by day. We all know in television you are one decision away for never having work again” – Countryfile presenter “This is a zombie government completely out of ideas. They are doing the parliamentary equivalent of twiddling their thumbs” –
shadow deputy Leader of the House of Commons, on the news MPs may have to sit only two days a week. “Registering to be a stripper and registering for a gun are the easiest two things you could do in America” –
who appeared in I’m A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here. “Well, it’s obvious. She chose the photo! Doesn’t her hair look nice? Who cares about him!” – Karren
(Conservative) on being shown the Blair Christmas card, depicting the former prime minister and his wife Cherie.
In 1982 the then UK Government announced a way of possibly addressing this issue with the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI) which was a fundingwith-strings-attached way of influencing the biased curriculum. During the lifetime of this welcome input however, the microprocessor exploded into the western world and I believe that anything in education that could be associated with the word “technology” was quite suddenly redefined.
Technology often became seen as an application rather than an activity. Computers quickly became commonplace in schools and the rest is history. Since this incentive ended in the late 1990s we seem to have sadly sunk back to our old ways in many respects.
I welcome Mr Yeates’s beating of the skills drum but suggest that like former First Minister Alex Salmond he should perhaps consider where the real influence lies. Bill Brown, 46 Breadie Drive, Milngavie.