The Politicisation of Parenting, and Rescuing Education
Frank Furedi on the ‘politicisation of parenting’ and the undermining of authority, and his five-point programme for rescuing education.
In comparison with parental determinism, the economic determinism of Stalinism or the racial determinism of the old eugenics lobby seem positively subtle. The idea of parental determinism allows policymakers to promote the most absurd prejudices.
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It is in the sphere of education that we can most clearly see the destructive impact of parental determinism. As I argued in my recent book, Wasted: Why Education Isn’t Educating, one of the most significant causes of the problems facing our schools is the erosion of adult responsibility and authority.
Democracy: British Style
According to an ICM poll:
More than three-quarters of adults believe more academically-selective schools should be opened, particularly in inner-city areas with poor education standards, it was disclosed.
Support for grammar schools has actually increased over the last four years, figures suggest.
This is not a new phenomenon. An ICM survey of 2005 found that support for opening more grammar schools was at 47%, with only 7% calling for them all to be closed down (37% thought the current number was about right).
Yet, despite the long-term evidence of strong support for opening more grammar schools, which of the major political parties has taken this on board? Which of them reflects the will of the people on this issue?
It is absolutely scandalous that on this issue, as on so many others (Europe, capital punishment, immigration, law and order), our political classes feel free to ignore majority opinion.
The revolution can’t come soon enough.
Lincoln Allison on the Benefits of the Cane
Lincoln Allison poses a reasonable question:
‘Spare the rod and spoil the child’ was a maxim in Greek, Latin, Anglo-Saxon and a hundred other languages. The abandonment of a principle which had served humanity well from pre-history until fairly recently should at least be subject to some rigorous, bottom-line, questioning. Why did we abandon it?
