What Price Childhood - Part 2

Another contribution on education. An earlier post can be read here

The education secretary recently confirmed that the reality of education provision for our children is a long way from the ambitions of educational idealists. Our children are apparently in danger of enjoying themselves too much. Their school holidays are far too long, Michael Gove claimed.

According to the BBC:
“In the most successful East Asian education systems, ‘school days are longer, school holidays are shorter’, Mr Gove told an education conference. Mr Gove added that a longer school day was the norm in East Asian nations. ‘If you look at the length of the school day in England, the length of the summer holiday, and we compare it to the extra tuition and support that children are receiving elsewhere, then we are fighting or actually running in this global race in a way that ensures that we start with a significant handicap.’” (BBC 19th April 2013)

The involvement of the state in educational provision has come a long way since the 1870 Education Act. Then, government educational provision was a controversial subject with fears of social disorder from popular literacy. Today, such fears seem quaint as our children are sweated in the education industry in order to prepare them for the rigours of the global labour market in which British workers must pit themselves against their counterparts in other parts of the world.

The process is well underway in the UK for a remodelled education system in which, in order to accommodate households with two working parents and maximise labour market flexibility, we can look forward to a world where school holidays are no longer than 3 weeks with schools that open from 8am – 8pm.

Colin Skelly