Abolishing 2nd Class

All of a sudden I find I can no longer reply to comments on my blog. No idea why. No doubt it will clear up shortly.

I heard yesterday that the Labour Conference voted to abolish public schools and seize their assets. Sounds somewhat like the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Methinks that if governments, of whatever hue, focused on bringing state education up to the standard of public schools then there would be no driver to send your kid to public school. Of course they would still exist as places where children of the rich can network, but that will never stop.

As Harry Perkins, the fictitious PM in A Very British Coup said when asked about abolishing 1st class travel - "I don't want to abolish first class; I want to abolish 2nd class."

My class size at grammar school was 32 - at public (minor) school it was 15. There was no real difference between the learning experiences or the teachers, except that at public school I received more attention, and it worked for me. Rather than being expected to get 4 or 5 O Levels, I got all 10, and good grades too.

I heard a politician using the phrase 'flexible workforce' the other day. Flexible for whom? I'm of the opinion that flexible, for most employers (but not all), means disposable. Workers cannot easily switch from one discipline to another without a lot of training and training is expensive.

I heard this amusing discussion between a caller and James O'Brien yesterday. Well worth a listen to see what has happened to us as a nation.