Totally agree Steve. But on the other hand, we in the fifties were 'shut in classrooms' until the age of eighteen, studying hard during not terribly scintillating lessons, with minimal visual aids and a very stiff, academically challenging curriculum (grammar school) and truly, we behaved well generally speaking. Our manners were excellent (or we were caned!) and many of us loved our schooling. I had about 2-3 hours of homework each evening, and I can't remember any one of my classmates not handing theirs in. It wasn't anything resembling Dotheboys Hall, just par for the course in those days. Either teenagers are educated or they aren't, but they can't expect the process to be all ha ha hee hee. It isn't entertainment, and to learn to work hard is good for youngsters. Their parents seem to find them impossible to discipline, so what hope do their teachers have? Regarding new teachers 'owing' their country for the training they've received, I had to complete two years' probation (this was the case in Scotland) and was paid a very low salary. After that, I was given £7 per week. Even then, this wasn't all that much. My father, a manager with the GPO, said his Directory Enquiry staff were paid almost twice that in London. I wish I'd had the courage to emigrate then, maybe to New Zealand or Australia. This country doesn't seem to encourage people to work and give of their best. My poor husband gets £6-70 per hour for his work. I think that's an insult.
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