Gove moved in reshuffle

[tiffinboys]

I love the BBC tagline under a picture of Morgan saying "Nicky Morgan looking happy outside number 10 after being promoted to education secretary". Enjoy that drink from a poison chalice, Ms Morgan, and let's see how happy you look in 18 months time.

Well, looking at last 20 years, there are professional agitators who have never liked any Education secretary; only the unions in Labour pocket kept quite during Labour administration.

I am pretty sure that if Labour ever come back to power, none of the measures taken by Conservatives will be reversed, just as happened during 1997-2010.

[stroudydad]

So clearly the party political lines are drawn in this thread... Frankly I couldn't give a monkees who he bats for, the simple facts are that he was hated by those who knew truly what was going on in the system, and publicly he didn't seem as the type of person who cared about anyone or anything other than himself and his ideas.. When you have students planning their own demonstrations when he visits surely there has to be something wrong.

[tiffinboys]

Could easily be victim of vile propaganda. He is was one Education Secretary who trusted non-selective State School, unlike our former Education Secretaries, Shirley Williams or Ruth Kelly or MP Diane Abbott or Harriet Harman.

[Amber]

Could easily be victim of vile propaganda.

I think it rather insulting to professionals to assert that they are unable to pass judgement on measures directly affecting their work without succumbing to 'vile propaganda' (where from? That blob again? The blob is the only opposition now- as you rightly suggest, no political party would overturn most of the measures put in place by the other one as they are all shades of blue now).

Our media is full of propaganda. Once you start looking for it it is everywhere - reminds me of the old Soviet state media about tractor production sometimes - all the peasants are so happy and we have more shiny tractors than ever before. For which substitute 'we are investing more in the NHS than ever before...', 'we will put measures in place to ensure that no elderly person lies soaked in their own urine in a hospital bed...', 'Britain is on the road to recovery..', 'this is the right team to carry out our long-term economic plan'.

Our adversarial system of politics ensures that very few policies are consensual and these people would argue -aggressively and publicly- over the colour of the family budgie. Secretaries of State stay in post for such a short time that they are never made to account for anything they have done and are busy doing highly paid consultancy work and writing their memoirs by the time the chickens they hatched come home to roost. A change of minister ought to make little difference if democracy is working effectively - it should be a more or less seamless transition, overseeing agreed policies. The fact that Gove going has caused such a stir is a sign that something is very wrong in our society- and he isn't to blame for all of it!

[tiffinboys]

A change of minister ought to make little difference if democracy is working effectively - it should be a more or less seamless transition, overseeing agreed policies. The fact that Gove going has caused such a stir is a sign that something is very wrong in our society- and he isn't to blame for all of it!

Like the comments by Amber.

[stroudydad]

I fully agree with All Amber has said (this time ), but he is his own worst enemy, having listened/watched him speak a fair few times it's clear that actually no propaganda was needed..

[mystery]

I don't care whether an Education minister is right wing or left wing as long as all children get the best education they can with the limited money available.

He is very ugly. I find it quite interesting that he has bred such hatred amongst the teaching profession. I don't think they've even read the new national curriculum at our school but they've probably decided it's terrible because it came from him. It's a bit like Princess Diana worship in reverse.

I remember working in an LEA in the late 1990s when the new Blair government came in with quite an agenda for driving improvement. That seemed deeply unpopular amongst the ranks too but I don't remember any one individual being so publicly scorned.

I don't always think that teachers are best placed to know if an education system is "working well" or not. They are in a position to form part of the evaluation but not the whole thing.

It does concern me that over the years the power of LEAs to plan and improve their local education system has steadily been eroded over many decades - starting with Local Management of Schools under Margaret Thatcher. But then some used their powers very ineffectively or deliberately badly. I don't know if it's realistic to expect individual schools - especially at primary school level - to have the expertise and leadership skills that an effective LEA could have. I'm on the fence really.

Who knows more about the financial benefits of turning into an academy? Is it a one-off event or is one's budget proportionately bigger for ever, even when takes into account the services that you have to buy in? Also, do schools still have to be failing or OFSTED outstanding to be allowed to turn into an academy?

[Amber]

He is very ugly.

Ooh that is a bit harsh. I don't like the man one bit, but he can't help this, surely? I just feel for his family sometimes, and he must have feelings too.

This is the same woman who went to rant at an MP last week in a matter unrelated to education (disempowerment of the elderly) and ended up sending an email apologising if I came across too harshly. A friend said I must be the only person ever to have apologised for giving a politician a hard time.

[mystery]

Most politicians are so used to giving one another a hard time without apology so you must have shocked him / her!

Unfortunately, I do think people in public life get away with more if they look good and / or sound good.

[tiffinboys]

His bold policies stays, so perhaps he is going to have the last laugh.