At the chalkface The great question
“Can we send Jack to your school?” The usual middle class
parents’ question – desperate, heartbreaking and tiresome. The subtext, as we all know, goes thus – can our delicate kin cope with those ruffians in the inner city comp and still go to a Russell Group university? Or will we have to leg it to more leafy climes or get religion or go broke or bottle it and go private? Do I care? I have
bigger fish to fry than to address these fears. They seem worse than ever.why? Is it that Panorama where they brought the army in? Or Jamie Oliver’s Dream School – tricky stuff this teaching, eh? Or have they read Katherine Birbalsingh’s lurid new tome? They’d be better off with my jolly tome instead ho hum! Or maybe they’ve seen my naughty charges on street corners, talking in tongues and gnawing on chicken wings or ambushing buses or shrieking on mobiles – and not reading Jane austen or conjugating Latin verbs, like they must do at St Custards. “well?” I want to quote The
Lovin’ Spoonful. “Your worst nightmares are their cartoons.” But it’s not that simple.we’re
caught in a complex, crossfire hurricane here – of class, snobbery, culture, and literacies. “well?” How do middle class children
cope in my school? In different ways. You can’t generalise. They
learn to duck and weave – like Luke, for example. Luke’s in my top 10th year. He lives with his single mother, a midwife at St Mary’s. He’s gone withdrawn and existential. He finds most of his contemporaries boorish and boring. “why am I surrounded by
such fucking dickheads, sir?” “It will stand you in good stead
for later life,” is all I can offer. “and don’t swear!” He plays a lot of
chess in the library and a lot of Joy Division on his iPod. He wears his hair long, his clothes black and is theatrically distrait. I spend too little
time with him and too much with the needy and antic. I
worry that I’m not pitching my lesson high enough. we must compete with St Custards with their small classes and huge libraries. So I give him reading lists and
special attention out of school. “well?”
He’ll have to continue to duck
and weave and negotiate those dickheads. He’ll probably get those a*s and, once in the 6th form, fly. and he’ll probably have something you can’t buy – his own voice. Intellectual suss. The inner city classroom can sometimes reach those parts the leafy boroughs can’t. “well?” Fear ye not. Jack will be
probably be fine. enough of this state school
bashing. “Yes!”
• Ian Whitwham is a former secondary school teacher.
News Pupils Get Set for sustainability by Daniel White
School children involved in a national sustainability programme got a sneak preview of the Olympic Park in east London this week. It was part of an event to
celebrate the success of eDF energy’s schools programme, which has involved 2.5 million school children since its launch in 2008. Called “The Pod”, the pro-
gramme uses an online resource for teachers to help teach children about a range of environmental issues. It also allows teachers to share ideas and showcase school achievements. Since the launch of the pro-
gramme, 11,500 schools and col- leges have been involved. The energy company works
with partner eco-schools to offer resources to help students save energy and cut their schools’ carbon footprints. The Pod is part of London
2012’s Get Set education pro- gramme, which aims to engage children with the Olympic and Paralympic values, in the run-up to the Games. as part of the visit, which took
place on March 1, students got to see the Olympic Park and also met with tennis player Marc McCaroll, who is hoping to compete at the 2012 Paralympic Games. Content on The Pod is for key
stages 1 to 3 and the network fea- tures blogs from teachers detailing activities they have undertaken in their schools. In addition, the Pod
The Olympic dream: Tennis player and Paralympian hopeful Marc McCaroll chats with Grace Harrop and Millie Barron, both 14, during their visit to the Olympic Park
runs three campaigns each year to help schools engage parents and the local community in living a more sustainable life. Teaching materials have been
written with the help of the eden Project and all activities have been endorsed by eco-Schools. Completing any activity on the Pod will help with a school’s application for a bronze, silver and green flag eco-Schools award.
Gareth wynn, director of the
London 2012 Programme at eDF, said: “The success ofeDF energy’s Schools Programme in raising chil- dren’s awareness and engagement with sustainability has far exceeded our expectations ahead of the origi- nal 2012 target, which is fantastic news. “The Pod is a key part of how
eDF energy is using our partner- ship with London 2012 to inspire
millions of people to reduce their impact on the environment. “The enthusiasm that we’ve
seen from The Pod’s schools has shown the great potential that rests with the next generation, and their commitment to become more sus- tainable is an important part of the legacy we want to leave from our part in the Games.” For more information, visit
www.jointhepod.org
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