Is it just me or is there an altogether more strident voice among new and aspirant secondary head teachers? It seems the subtext of “the voice” is fast becoming a dogma, the essence of which is: The role of senior management is no longer one of participation in the collegiate enterprise of opening young minds but of pulling into line large numbers of indolent and recalcitrant teachers who need to be pulled into some semblance of professionalism. Left unchallenged, such teachers would slump into a state of torpor.
This picture is not something most people in education would recognise. If such torpor exists, it is more likely to be the result of excessive demands placed on teachers and the stultifying bureaucracy which is now such a part of everyday school life.
Eoin Tomkins
Head of religious studies,
Maidstone Grammar School for Girls,
Kent
