Adult Learning Versus New Labour
A recent survey conducted by the The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education has found that the proportion of adult learners in the UK is at its lowest level since 1997. What happened in 1997? The Labour party came into power, that’s what. All this is the more embarrassing since Labour’s much vaunted push for adult learning earlier this year.
As someone who works in adult education, there is little surprise for me in any of this. Why? I was hoping you would ask.
Labour’s education policy reeks of yesterday’s class wars. Education, education education? More like redistribution, redistribution, redistribution! The nameless government spokesperson who was dragged on to explain this travesty bleated on about socio-economic groups, ‘participation’ and ‘social inclusion’. The study itself is quick to point out the gap between the “educationally privileged and the educationally excluded”. So every failure in either explained or explained away in terms of class divisions. Note the loaded terms. Educationally privileged? Why not just say elitist and be done with it!
Oh, you middle-class parents who scrimp and save to to send your children to the best schools. Woe to you! You snobby parents who read in front of and to your children instead of plonking them down in front of the TV. A curse to you! You elitist dogs who choose to advance your own careers by attending courses at weekends and studying in the evenings. Begone from the ranks of polite society!
I teach courses at the local university. They are cheap and non-profit driven. They are designed to be of use to the community. I go far to say that everyone in this country could afford them. For instance, I’m teaching a class tomorrow on how to break bad habits. It doesn’t get more practical than that. And how much does it cost? The price of four packets of cigarettes. Are there any entrance criteria? Only a desire to learn.
Ah, here’s the rub! A desire to learn. This is a basic human drive.
It is a thirst that lives across all boundaries of creed, class and colour. So the question is, what has Labour done to quench this thirst? What have they given us? Cool Britannia. Spin doctors. Dodgy dossiers. Performance targets. More tests and bureaucracy. More gimmicks and initiatives. More curricula meddling and classroom micro-managing. More middle-class shame and stress. More excuses for failure. More rights for resentment. More of the politics of guilt and pity.
The state of nation’s education system says more about that nation than almost any other factor.
So what does ours say about the UK? Instead of a meritocracy we have a mediocracy. Instead of rewarding aspirations we have success penalisation. Instead of social liberation through educated minds we have social engineering through state education.
Instead of an adult population who can think for themselves we have a soma-soaked generation who equate thinking with passing a test. And if you don’t know what soma is, then, in the sage words of Keith Flint, you’re the victim.
Image source: Wonderlane.
