Stupid children?

So literacy and numeracy hit squads are on the loose in Glasgow.

But why, after 8 years of a Labour Government, enough time for children entering primary to be educated by the time the reach secondary school, are primary results still so appalling.

Well, let’s start of with what it is not the problem. It is not that “poor” children are stupid. That is an insult perpetrated daily in the media that people from poor back grounds will naturally do less well at school. Poor results are always talked about in terms of being from a deprived area. But are not all children are equal at birth?

So, if it’s not the fact they are poor and therefore inherently stupid, is it because of poor facilities? Er, no. Take Glasgow with some of the most modern primary schools in Scotland, and the poorest results according to the results published four weeks ago week. So it’s not the infrastructure.

What about the teachers? Well, given you can only teach if you qualify, and given, again in Glasgow that most of the teachers come from only two excellent academic institutions, I think we can safely say that teachers are not to blame. Indeed, they work harder and under more stress than I guess many of us ever will.

So everything inside the school gates is as it should be. So the problem must be out with the gates. And that can only mean one place. The home.

So let’s stop blaming children, teachers, poverty or facilities. The real problem is the total lack of involvement in the lives and education of children by their parents or guardians. And that is the problem Labour and others of their ilk will not or are too scared to tackle.