"Tell me, when did so many of you become brainwashed into giving your children over to the State, to have them loaded down with pressure, to have them tested, examined...and sometimes brought to within an inch of suicide, if not actually carrying that out, simply because you were sold the belief that the *only* way to educate a child is in a rigid school system?"

Well, maybe those of us with a more balanced view have also read a bit of history, and realise what life was like before state education - when being educated was the preserve of the wealthy. Personally, I would not want my child disadvantaged by the haphazard education that I, alone, would be able to give her. She learns languages that I can't speak and maths that are utterly beyond me. She studies photography and science with equipment that I neither possess nor could afford. She is educated by dedicated people who have spent years developing their subject knowledge and their teaching skills. She also has the social environment of school, where she develops her friendship groups and learns to navigate difficult social situations, just as she will have to do later in life.

This might not be the only way to educate a child and prepare them for the rest of their lives - but I certainly believe it is the best one we have. And in many cases it is infinitely preferable to leaving kids to the haphazard attentions of parents who might not be particularly well educated themselves, do not have any skills or training in teaching, and who provide a limited and limiting social environment.

"Would you tell you child, at home, to sit on a hard wooden chair for 8 hours and study, giving him just a few breaks?"

This is a fantasy. The school day is about 6 - 6.5 hours long, and includes about an hour for lunch, a 20 minute morning break, PE, and numerous lessons where kids work in groups or move around the classroom. "Studying" includes time at computer terminals, watching videos and DVDs, practical activities like arts, crafts and textiles, and drama. Rigid lessons where kids sit quietly studying on "hard wooden chairs", looking straight ahead at the teacher, are few and far between both at primary and secondary level these days. Interactive whiteboards and classroom internet access means that teachers have far more resources available than just the bog-standard textbook, and even in Year 7, activities in Geography and History include a fair bit of cutting stuff out, sticking it down and colouring in, to make the material accessible and less rigid.


"And since WHEN did you all believe that those who have the word 'teacher' on their passports are the ONLY people who are able to actually teach children?"

Well, those people have taken years to develop their teaching skills, so it isn't just a question of having the piece of paper with "teacher" ion it, it's having learned HOW to teach.

"Some teachers damaged my children."

That is genuinely very sad, Lizzie. But you have been taking out your anger at those people on the entire teaching profession for far too long.

"I have the utmost disgust for bullies and inadequates, many of whom dislike children, who dare to hide behind the name of 'teacher' purely because it's a steady job with lots of holidays...and like it or not, there are plenty of teachers who are in it for the holidays."

Working in schools, I have not seen anything I would identify as teachers bullying their pupils - but I am quite appalled by the number of children who bully their teachers, clearly because they have never been taught any manners or respect at home. Yesterday, I took a bottom-set RE class which was about morals and ethics. The class had to come up with a list of 10 rules that they thought would make society better. This class includes some of the school's real hard-nuts, and their little group came up with rules such as "no drinking age", "bring back smoking in pubs", and "get rid of all the Pakis and immigrants". God help us if the people who have dragged these kids up were also responsible for educating them.


It may be "a steady job", but it's one that requires at least four years of study and training. And marking, lesson planning and administration take up an enormous amount of time - the perception of a teacher's "free" time far outweighs the reality.


"Yes, teachers these days are also snowed under with pressure. Many of them, sadly, put that onto the children."

As I say - I don't really see this happening.




"No-one owns their children, we are the Keepers and the Guardians of them."

I could not agree more.