Sunday, October 10, 2010

We Don't Need No Thought Control

This lady is totally wrong. It's entirely inappropriate to tell the truth about the state of education at the local level. Of course her job should be in jeopardy for speaking out:

Katharine Birbalsingh, 37, was ordered not to come into school on Thursday or Friday after making critical remarks before a speech by Education Secretary Michael Gove at the party conference in Birmingham on Tuesday.

Addressing the audience as a guest speaker, she gave a damning account of standards in schools, saying education had been "so dumbed down that even the children know it."

The board of governors at St Michael and All Angels Church of England Academy in Camberwell, south London, told Miss Birbalsingh to stay away from the school while they considered her position.

But the French teacher and deputy head has been told that she would be allowed to return to the classroom on Monday after parents voiced their support.

In her speech on Tuesday, Miss Birbalsingh told delegates of a "broken" system which "keeps poor children poor".

She claimed her remarks were not directed at her school in particular, but senior staff were said to be worried about potential damage to the academy's reputation.

I've read elsewhere that she's a former Marxist who voted Tory (Brits' idea of a "conservative") for the first time in the last election.

And as for my opening? I hope that readers would know that that was sarcasm.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Ms Birbalsingh wrote the excellent To Miss, With Love blog - sadly taken down because of all the fuss, but I'm sure she'll get opportunities to continue to improve schools.

Look out for her book due next year.

Peter