One of the most ridiculous misconceptions in politics by ‘the people’, in my view, is that ‘class’ dictates policies. To me any notion that the Conservatives are ‘out of touch’ and only the Labour Party knows best for ‘the people’, finally had been blown away by the last Labour administration i.e. open immigration and (lack of) new housing.
So it is therefore not surprising that with Education, policies and class is scrutinised by the electorate, when MP’s from both sides of the aisle, follow different choices for their own children than the core policies of their own party.
Personally while I don’t care where any MP sends their own children, but I do care passionately that our State education has deteriorated and that something needs to change, and gauged it first hand have sent my own children to a (very good) state school that also offered the consistent International Baccalaureate, needing better GCSE grades in order to take on IB subjects.
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/politics/1990838-UK-education-what-is-the-REAL-problem
Labour’s Lord Adonis some time back, seemed to think that by sending their own children to state schools, our MP’s would both ditch blind ideology and be better able to practically understand the standards themselves. While I can agree that counterproductive ideology has no place within such an important subject, having had our three go through the system, I’m not sure I’d be better equipped to understand either the ongoing stands required, or end results, to ensure children are best equipped for the work place.
But it does appear (within the mumsnet post above) that generally our children are NOT equipped for work, and both the Conservatives and Labour understand we have to improve ‘the basics’.
“Lord Adonis: MPs Who Send Their Kids To Private School Are 'Politically Bankrupt'”
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/09/07/lord-adonis-private-school-_n_1864138.html
“Politicians who send their children to private schools should not be allowed to have any say over Britain's education system, says a senior adviser to Ed Miliband.”
“Lord Adonis, who was Tony Blair's education guru before becoming transport secretary under Gordon Brown said that ministers need to "live and breathe" the public services that they expect the public to use.”
"It’s not a left or right thing. It really matters because too much of failed education policy since the war has been the result of ideological ministers who don’t use the institutions that they expect the general public to use and that has been true of the Labour side as well as well as the Tories.”
“Shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt refuses to rule out sending his three children to private school”
www.telegraph.co.uk/education/10408383/Labours-new-education-spokesman-would-consider-private-school.html
“Labour’s new shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt has revealed he may send his own children to private school.”
“Son of Lord Hunt of Chesterton, the TV historian-turned-MP was himself educated at £15,465-a-year University College School in ¬Hampstead, North London, which is part of the Eton Group of 12 independent schools which make up the most elite in the country.
The 39-year-old, whose full name is the Hon ¬Tristram Julian William Hunt, went on to study at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was a member of the Footlights alongside David Mitchell and Robert Webb.”
“He claims he wants to restore traditional values to the classroom in order to drive up standards and would sack unqualified teachers.”
“He told the Daily Mirror: “A bad teacher can damage a kids’ life chances exponentially and one in a school with disadvantaged pupils has an even worse impact.”
“So there’s room for allowing a failure of teaching when it comes to disadvantaged teaching.”