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You can’t win with these fuckers, can you?

Poverty inquiry finds growing inequality in schools
Gulf between children from low- and high-income families is starker than ever, leading to social isolation and bullying

The obvious answer to which is that children from poor and children from rich families should be educated separately. Yet the entire thrust of education policy for the past 70 years is that all children, rich and poor, must be educated together in comprehensives.

Meaning that it’s just not possible to win, is it? Either all are educated together in which case there will be such inequalities but if we do something about separating the unequal then we’re divisive fuckers, aren’t we?

25 thoughts on “You can’t win with these fuckers, can you?”

  1. According to Bryson, one school laid on a trip to New York for those who could afford it, while children who couldn’t were offered a trip to a local cheese factory.

    What the hell kind of school lays on a school trip to New York, FFS?

  2. Bloke no Longer in Austria

    That’s why we have school uniforms and sensible schools ban trainers.

    Boys don’t look at each others shoes, unless they have “Nike” swooshes on them. And they won’t take them out onto the fields to get them muddy in the cross country run.

    You can’t stop kids boasting or prevent Dad picking up young Poppy in his Jag, but you can cut out a lot of the overt inequality by having rules and sticking to them.

  3. The other alternative would be to recognise that mass schooling is a fucking stupid system, and extricate ourselves from it.

  4. Nor am I. It’s the demand that we school everyone together despite inequality then complaining about the inequality of schooling everyone together that is the joint problem.

  5. “a quarter of those on free school meals said they went hungry during the school day because they couldn’t afford to eat”

    Huh?

  6. Tim N,

    “What the hell kind of school lays on a school trip to New York, FFS?”

    The sort that has teachers that want to see the Empire State and the Chrysler Building and will get a chunk of their trip paid for from the group discount and get paid for it.

  7. The sort that has teachers that want to see the Empire State and the Chrysler Building and will get a chunk of their trip paid for from the group discount and get paid for it.

    Well, quite. One would suspect that a school that arranges an expensive foreign holiday which (seemingly) quite a few kids are too poor to take part in is not doing so on behalf of the children.

  8. Well, quite. One would suspect that a school that arranges an expensive foreign holiday which (seemingly) quite a few kids are too poor to take part in is not doing so on behalf of the children.

    That was my impression from school, hence the popularity (in my day) of the school arranging skiing holiday trips that most of us couldn’t afford, and I remember discussion to this effect among my friend group.

  9. Yes, I remember the ski trips when I was at school (I never went on them) but was too young to be skeptical back then. I did go on a great school trip around Central Europe for history A-Level (which I never took, but went along to make up numbers) where we were transported by bus and accommodated in youth hostels and dormitories. It was something like £300 for a 8 days, all inclusive, superb value for money.

  10. Come on Tim, keep up. Poverty and inequality are the new global warming – the guilt trip designed to part us with our money while simultaneously telling us we are all greedy and unpleasant. The answer (more tax, more government more abuse of the private sector) is always the same, it’s only the excuse that changes.

  11. “a quarter of those on free school meals said they went hungry during the school day because they couldn’t afford to eat

    Huh?”

    The Welsh Assembly government decreed that all secondary school children, regardless of age, weight or height, would get the same portion size. They appeared surprised when the bigger, older kids seemed to suffer from this.

    Blanket bans and decrees – it makes administration easier. And that, of course, is what matters.

  12. The problem in schools is not between children from different income groups but between bright, intelligent kids who want to learn and thickos who don’t. And who worse still actively despise and want to disrupt and frustrate the former group.

  13. GeoffH, that’s exactly it.. And the inclusion policy so beloved of our incumbent lefties mean you cant get rid of the disruptive shits…

  14. Johnnydub:

    And the inclusion policy so beloved of our incumbent lefties mean you cant get rid of the disruptive shits…

    Some of the pupils can be a problem, too.

  15. And again, Worstall, you’re talking shit.

    You have no idea about the real world. Why can’t you be more honest.

  16. Bet you’re feeling a little sheepish, Tim, having your post so surgically torn apart by Arnald.

    My grammar school had the ski trips. Those of us from big families in council houses had no chance of going but I don’t particularly remember resenting it. In fact, we’ve adopted the same policy with our four children. School trips are usually horribly expensive (subsidising teachers holidays) so we argue it is better to spend the money on a family holiday. None of our children has ever complained but the older ones would if we sent their much younger sister to climb Kilimanjaro now that we have a bit more money sloshing around.

    Here in Australia you avoid disruptive little shits by sending your children to private school. The cost is affordable which is why about 1in 3 children attend private school. In the UK we had to do it by buying in the right catchment area.

  17. There is, it has to be said, a distressing lack of Arnald responding to substantive questions.

    Not, it has to be said, an unsurprising and distressing lack.

    And it’s only distress because I don’t have any Romanian refugees available for my water boarding practical exam tonight …

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