Education still a major issue

I believe in this the author was wrong. I am positive that education will play a major part in the 2020 elections. I think, hope, that the new tranche of deputies will be talking in their manifestos and ‘on the doorstep’ about the need to revisit the one-school, two-centres plan. I also hope that once revisited it is thrown into touch and we retain the one and only States-run school which has been historically successful. The Grammar School hasn’t gone anywhere yet and although there are good teachers that have left us, let us hope that we can attract some of them back or alternatively bring other talented teachers to our island. Our Education chief complains that he wasn’t consulted before two of his colleagues published a letter damning his plan – why would they? How often has his committee listened to anyone critical of his plan?

It appears we must reject ‘selection’ or the 11-plus and lose the Grammar School, because this will automatically level the educational playing field and then ‘all men will be equal’. The fact is that people with sufficient money to be able to afford tutors for their children will buy a better education.

I actually think they have a point about the 11-plus examination. So change the format to the ‘old-fashioned’ format that asks about the subjects they have been learning, that questions the scope of their knowledge rather than an intelligence test. Then if parents want to tutor their children they will be learning only that which has been taught already and to which everyone has access. The aim of the States, in my opinion, should be that all children receive a good, well-rounded education, the States schools should be better equipped, have better teachers, better facilities than any other school and then, by natural selection, a professor of higher mathematics can come from the same school as an electrician, both learning to read and write before leaving primary school.

Discipline is a problem in all States-run schools, other than the Grammar School – why is this? Is it the children, their parents, the teachers and staff? Or is it a combination of a few disruptive children and teachers trying to teach through and over the disruption and not having any tools to use to bring a learning atmosphere to a class? Bigger classes or schools will only make the problem worse. Although each school if questioned would deny the presence of bullies, parents, teachers and children all know that they exist. Two bigger schools will only lead to bigger numbers of children being bullied.

ROSIE HENDERSON

Ma Carriere,

Le Petit Bouet,

St Peter Port,

GY1 2AN.