Saturday 2 January 2010

Is This The Final Nail In The Coffin...

...for state education?
Top schools risk being branded inadequate by Government inspectors for failing to promote race relations, gender equality and human rights, it has been disclosed.
Hmm, yes. Could well be.
They could be plunged into "special measures" by Ofsted under new rules that place equality on a par with exam results and child safety for the first time.
I wonder if, in a thousand years time, some archaeologists will be examining the records from this time in history as we currently look at ancient civilisations that crumbled into decay and anarchy?
In official guidance, inspectors are told to be aware of “gender imbalances” in upper-ability sets and ensure after-school sport is not dominated by pupils belonging to one ethnic group.
Take a good look at events in any athletic competition, and I think you'll find some that are, indeed, 'dominated by one ethnic group'.

Opinions vary on why that is, but I'll bet it's not because the particular sport doesn't have enough government interference!
Some local councils are also warning schools to make sure staff and volunteers reflect the ethnic make-up of local communities and feature people with disabilities to provide good role models for pupils.
Good grief..!

Could the Tories win some kudos here by utterly monstering these plans and vowing to remove them as soon as they take power? Let's see:
Nick Gibb, the shadow schools minister, said: “The primary focus of schools should be to provide a good education for their pupils.
Good start! So, you plan to scrap these guideli...
We all want discrimination and inequality to be tackled wherever they exist, but the Government has given too much of the responsibility for tackling social problems to schools alone...”
/facepalm

We've tackled discrimination and inequality. The playing field is now level (even if all the players on it are occasionally the same colour).

You aren't part of the solution, Nick. You are just another part of the problem..

14 comments:

Oldrightie said...

Social engineering drifting towards genetic or race engineering. 1930s Germany?

Brian, follower of Deornoth said...

And how, pray, are we to ensure that the volunteers 'match the ethnic make-up of local communities and feature people with disabilities'?

KenS said...

...and feature people with disabilities to provide good role models

Er.... we should aspire to being disabled?

Anonymous said...

I remember around the age of ten or eleven, back in the early 1960’s, when I first became aware of the holocaust and Nazi Germany (thanks entirely to that excellent long running TV programme All Our Yesterdays presented by Brian Ingliss), being puzzled by the following conundrum. Only 15 or 20 years before immense evil had existed in Germany, and yet when I looked around me, at my parents, at their friends, at people on TV, everyone appeared to be fairly decent and nice.

How could this be?

I was never stupid enough to think that one group of West European people were intrinsically evil and another group intrinsically good, so for many years the above question remained unanswered.

Over the years, and confirmed in spades over the last decade, I have finally answered my old conundrum. People aren’t intrinsically good or evil, they are simply intrinsically stupid and lazy, or at least many of them are. If conditions are benign and their leaders are relatively uncorrupt and at least appear to have morals, then the masses will reflect their impression of the ruling elite. But as soon as public values decay, and leaders in society bully, lie and steal, then the population as a whole is perfectly happy to adopt the negative traits.

It sounds crass to accuse Blair, Balls, Harman et al of being neo-Nazis, but the social engineering, the hatred fomented between groups, the constant lying, the pointless wars, the politicisation of the police etc., etc., all convince me that we are now some considerable way down the path back to Nazism.

Of course history never repeats, it only rhymes. We still need democracy to be suspended to complete the journey, but it’s notable that we have reached the stage where voting makes little difference to policy. As you make clear in your post, the Tories yet again criticise a Labour policy (in this case Labour’s politicisation of education), and yet are totally incapable of saying that they will reverse it.

Today I have a new conundrum. As a UKIPer myself, why is it that I will probably vote for the BNP if I don’t have a UKIP candidate to vote for in my constituency come the general election. It seems crazy to fight neo-Nazism by voting for the BNP, but I can see no alternative.

I can't help wondering if a similar conundrum existed for the voters in Germany in 1933.

Mark said...

'In official guidance, inspectors are told to be aware of “gender imbalances” in upper-ability sets and ensure after-school sport is not dominated by pupils belonging to one ethnic group.'

It's just as well Ofsted's remit doesn't cover the 2012 London Olympics. What are the odds on a single medallist in the mens swimming events sharing the same ethnicity as any of the winning medallists in the mens 100 & 200 metre sprints ? Surely one of the off-shore internet spread betting firms could open a book on this ?
(The on-shore gambling combos will of course be bound by the RRA, so won't touch this one with a bargepole).

Julia- repeat the following mantra 3 times on the hour to cleanse yourself-
'Race is a social construct'. For extra penance get onto Ruth Kelly and borrow her 'Opus Dei' mortification garter !

JohnRS said...

The Tories really do seem to have walked awsy from their core beliefs and have become part of the satist soft left...or is this (hopefully) cover to ensure they get elected and don't get tagged as the "nasty party" by Bozo Brown?

Rob said...

The Tories are now Progressives. I had hoped they were just saying the right things to get elected, but they really are now Progressives.

So the three main parties are Progressive, with no opposition. It doesn't matter who wins the election, the political class will get back in.

Grumpy Old Man said...

“....Gender imbalances” in upper-ability sets and ensure after-school sport is not dominated by pupils belonging to one ethnic group....." Top ability groups are generally predominately filled by girls. Harriet will not be pleased. After school sport is generally dominated by Afro-Caribbean boys and other ethnic groups originating in Africa. The Race Relations people will not be pleased, either. What a wonderful piece of joined-up government, a fitting epitaph to Gordon's watch. The UK cannot afford another Labour Government.

North Northwester said...

Well, there's the Census coming up. It's compulsory and backed with sanctions - see here.

I dare say there will be opportunities to bamboozle them. And as for all those forms you get with the ethnic questionnaire which include everything but English, they generally include an 'Other' option.
How about putting in 'Tasman' or 'Carib,' and see whether Britain falls apart for want of the correct knowledge?

Alan Douglas said...

Wasn't there a Lancashire local cricket match in which all 22 players, AND the coaches and the scorers, were all named Patel ?

This has to stop !

Alan Douglas

Sentient WV : prophi

JuliaM said...

"Er.... we should aspire to being disabled?"

Heh..!

"...I have finally answered my old conundrum. People aren’t intrinsically good or evil, they are simply intrinsically stupid and lazy, or at least many of them are."

I can't disagree.

"It seems crazy to fight neo-Nazism by voting for the BNP, but I can see no alternative."

There's the Libertarians?

I think a lot of people will be closely considering their options this GE. But far, far more will either not turn out at all, or vote the way their mothers and fathers did, without even stopping to consider the issues...

JuliaM said...

"It's just as well Ofsted's remit doesn't cover the 2012 London Olympics. What are the odds on a single medallist in the mens swimming events sharing the same ethnicity as any of the winning medallists in the mens 100 & 200 metre sprints ?"

About the same as me winning the lotto!

"For extra penance get onto Ruth Kelly and borrow her 'Opus Dei' mortification garter !"

Eww! Only if she's washed it! ;)

"...or is this (hopefully) cover to ensure they get elected.."

I know a lot of people are clinging to that hope. But I fear Rob's right.

JuliaM said...

"Top ability groups are generally predominately filled by girls. Harriet will not be pleased. "

Ah, that Law of Unintended Consequences again...

"I dare say there will be opportunities to bamboozle them."

I look to the blogs to lead on that.. ;)

"Sentient WV : prophi"

That thing's eerie, sometimes!

Brian, follower of Deornoth said...

"Eww! Only if she's washed it! ;)"

Somewhat missing the point of mortification garters, aren't you?