Workers' Liberty

If you ask teachers what the worst aspect of their job is, a very big majority will point to excessive workload. We know this because they have been asked by trade unions and by academic researchers on a regular basis.

“Teachers are proletarians. Indeed, it has been some time now since a significant number of teachers owned their own means of production; in order to survive they sell their labour power…”

Beverly J. Silver, Forces of Labour: Workers’ Movements and Globaliation since 1870

I am a local officer of Leeds NUT. One of our biggest sources of casework is workplace bullying. It is also one of the most depressing and frustrating aspects of our work because it is very difficult to protect individual members from systematic intimidation by school managers, and the problem grows like a malignant tumour.

Contradictions inherent in New Labour’s policy of increased diversity and “choice” in school-provision have surfaced again over admissions to state secondary schools.

A story has been doing the rounds over the last week that unruly kids are using quips from TV comedy shows to 'answer back' at teachers. "Am I bovvered?", "Whatev-ah!"

On Tuesday 27 March, facing the threat of a solid strike, management at Central Foundation Girls’ School in East London backed down on their threat of compulsory redundancies.

By Liam Conway, Central Notts NUT

The big news from the conference of the 230,000-strong National Union of Teachers (NUT) at Easter was a decision to ballot for a day of strike action against excessive class size.

All class-divided societies have inequality in education. Britain is not unique in that. What is unusual in Britain is the frenzy of the “postcode lottery” for favoured schools, now supplemented in Brighton by a literal lottery.

Some other issues need to be considered in the light of the debate over the lottery system.

Brighton’s schools have hit the headlines with the row over a lottery system for admissions to secondary schools.

Andrew Adonis (I somehow can't bring myself to call himself 'Lord') has opened his big, right-wing gob again. This time, he tells us that the closure of grammar schools in the 1960s and '70s was a backward step that "reinforced class divisions" rather than helping those less well off.

A government-commissioned report has recommended that schools be allowed to appoint business leaders in place of qualified head teachers. To run a school, you will no longer need to know anything about teaching, or about children - heaven forbid. A robust knowledge of profit-and-loss will do fine, perhaps with additional 'desirable qualities' of bashing the 'competition' (presumably meaning other schools), bullying staff and attacking unions.

By a Tower Hamlets teaching assistant

Ruth Kelly’s government has been instrumental in closing down, wholesale, special schools in line with a policy called “inclusion”. The idea was that students with special needs would do better if included in mainstream schools.

Free state education? When my two daughters started year 11 and year 8, respectively, at a state high school this week, it cost me $700; and there'll be another $200 bill coming soon, for year 8 camp.

By Tom Unterrainer

The former education secretary and current “communities minister” Ruth Kelly has caused outrage amongst teachers, constituents and fellow Labour Party members by deciding to send her son to a £15,000 a year private school.

Can a Teaching Assistant carry out her job in the classroom whilst wearing a niqab? Being prepared to take it off when no male is present does not resolve the issue. Men work in schools.

By Colin Foster

From the Blairites, and from further to the right, we hear more and more about “restoring discipline” and “restoring old-fashioned standards” in schools.

The real chaos generated in some schools by social decay and by incessant “restructuring” from above is being used as a springboard for the re-imposition of more punitive, authoritarian regimes in schools.

From Central Foundation Girls' School Unison: At a branch meeting [on 27 September] our members voted unanimously to ballot for industrial action over the threat of redundancies among admin staff in the school.

It’s 2.30pm on Friday - just half an hour before the end of a tiring week - and Year Ten are predictably restive. You need to move the lesson on but all attempts to settle the class have failed. Detentions are issued, individuals spoken to and you even attempt the trick of starting to explain from the board in the hope that they’ll all realise what you want them to do. Nothing works. You’ve got one last trick up your sleeve (literally): the ‘Hand Signal TM’.

Mossbourne

Barbara writes:

“I am Barbara, mother of Marvin. He was born and raised in Hackney, and is a polite, intelligent child in all subject areas and in sports.

Here is the list of rebels who voted to amend the appalling Education Bill. Several cheers to all of them. I made my feelings on the subject known earlier this year at TUC women's conference.

by Patrick Murphy, newly elected NUT executive member

The National Union of Teachers (NUT) conference, meeting in Torquay over the Easter bank holiday weekend, confirmed what serious left activists in the union have been saying for some time. The potential for a fight back against the government’s agenda for education exists, but we will not clear the roadblock of our right-wing leadership unless we rebuild and politically renew the left.

On the day before the 28 March pensions strike for local government I was working in a Geography class. It was the last period of the day.

By Martin Thomas

Secondary school admissions authorities in London are very pleased with themselves. Only about 5,500 Year Six kids across London have been refused a place at any secondary school they chose; only about 3,000 have no place at all.

Short reports from four events on Saturday 25 March in London:

AWL leaflet for the "A good local school for every child" conference, 25 March 2006.

On Wednesday 15 March, 77 Labour MPs rebelled in Parliament against Tony Blair's and Gordon Brown's plans to convert all state schools into "trust" schools run by private sponsors.

On Thursday 23 February, Camden (north London) branch of the National Union of Teachers drew over 100 people to a public meeting against the Education White Paper.

By Becky Crocker

The 2 March demonstration in Westminster against the Government's plans for schools, called by Ealing NUT, was about a hundred strong. Despite the poor turn out, activists from NUT, UNISON and other unions showed determination to defeat this bill.

By Tom Unterrainer, Assistant Secretary Nottingham NUT (personal capacity)

The publication of an Education White Paper last year commenced months of wrangling, negotiations and campaigning that has gone to the ideological heart of the Labour Party.