tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274437.post5926876565414667597..comments2024-01-29T08:47:44.310+00:00Comments on Eaten by missionaries: State schools, private schools, universities: here we go againIain Sharpehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07249331216466329232noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274437.post-81957988957578089722011-01-13T22:32:38.174+00:002011-01-13T22:32:38.174+00:00A common pothole in the sensible disscusion of edu...A common pothole in the sensible disscusion of education, one in which Ed Long has fallen into, is to assume that the educational priorties of all children are the same. For the independant sector university enrolment, especially the elete institutions, seems to be a major if not the main focus of secondary and further education. The case for the state sector however, is far more complicated than this. There are a percentage of children who share this academic priority but they are not even close to being the majority. Another group of children are being readied for the world of employment, being given the skills to earn a half decent living in a particular trade. These children make up the vast majority of children in the state education system but due to the Labour Party's focus on university admission numbers they have often been marginalised or encouraged to take academic courses which are unsuitable to thier needs. This coalition gogernment is extending this marginalisation with its new EBac qualification. Smart children who would be better suited to a route other than academia are now being pushed in that direction because of the flawed assumtion that a more academic education is a 'better' education for everyone.Darrennoreply@blogger.com