Before I worked in this sector I hadn’t the foggiest what FE was, never mind what people actually did in colleges.
Mainstream media’s factual reporting of FE has been historically lacking, but that’s nowt compared to its presence, or lack thereof, in the fictional world of British TV and film production.
There are a few American TV shows that feature their version of FE, community colleges, most notably the brilliantly ridiculous Community, but can you think of anything based at or even giving a nod to the FE sector in this country? No, me neither.
That changed a couple of Sundays back when a wholly positive representation of vocational education beamed out of my tellybox. It came in the shape of - please imagine a waaaay too long drum roll here: Doctor Who.
No not the Doctor herself, who I’m predictably potty about (Of course I am: a gobby Yorkshire weirdo who makes me chuckle, is a dab hand at mending and making everything and can wage war on bad-uns while still remaining a pacifist? I’m well up for her as my leader.) But I’m not on about her.
May I refer you to one of her entourage of sidekicks, Ryan Sinclair, played by actor Tosin Cole. Ryan’s a 19-year-old part-time student who, by the way, is struggling to manage the day-to-day frustrations which his developmental coordination disorder (dyspraxia) brings.
His resilience and determination sees him try and try again to conquer tasks like riding a bike and climbing a ladder. We also find out in the first episode that Ryan is working in a warehouse, which he hates, to earn a bit of cash while studying for his NVQ. “I’m trying to be a mechanic,” he shrugs.
Ryan’s skills are important. He is not “less than” because he has dyspraxia or because he’s doing an NVQ. He is portrayed as a competent, intelligent, complex person who fixes stuff. He is a hero. He is an FE hero, highly visible in the most mainstream of media.
The value of mainstream visibility is to share FE’s purpose, that we provide a smorgasbord of options for our students.
We need to get that message not only to the prospective students themselves but to the people who guide them, be that parents, teachers in schools or anyone else who values the importance of the right path for the right kid.
The reason we keep on shouting, demanding greater visibility, is the hope that our calls reach beyond our own circle, and permeate into the wider consciousness. It’s been said that the squeaky wheel gets the grease - probably applied by someone like Ryan Sinclair.
Sarah Simons works in colleges and adult community education in the East Midlands and is the director of UKFEchat
