Britishness

HairyBikerTeacher: Are we going to modify our citizenship lessons to incorporate Britishness (tongue firmly in cheek)?

Emilyisobel: Does that mean that we have to teach the little dears to drink until they throw up, sing football chants at the tops of their voices and punch windows?

Middlemarch: My deputy and I were just discussing this. He suggests teaching xenophobia, snobbery, selfishness and defending your child no matter what they’ve done.

Big Bug: Can we have a practical on bangers and mash?

packerguy: Of all subjects, if Britishness is not taught at home, what chance do we have of instilling it at school?

MrNutter: Britishness and British values are contested concepts. You can’t pin down a meaningful list of British values to which we could all subscribe.

manofewords: I have lived for the past three years in the US, and can’t wait to get back. I miss the strange way that we all bitch so much about Britain... and yet if anyone else dares to slag off dear old Blighty, then out comes the secret Churchill in all of us.

Are you to blame for the ‘template generation’?

mymouse: Are you providing lots of frameworks for coursework, essays etc, so pupils can produce better pieces of work? I believe we are producing a “template generation” who are having trouble organising themselves and employing common sense.

angryofmayfair:Employers and universities have complained of the lack of communication skills for years. I deplore the use of highly structured, fill-in-the-missing-word type templates to enable good marks in coursework as it teaches pupils nothing, and they suffer later in life. Although, on second thoughts, if some of the muppets I have to teach suffer later in life, that warms the cockles of my heart. I say “Hoorah” for templates.

endymion: Am I contributing to the template generation? Definitely. It’s the only way I can get most of them a bloody pass in the exams (bumping coursework marks to maximum!). Change the system: drop league tables, accept some kids will not pass and stop blaming teachers for exam failures - then I will stop templating!

These comments are personal opinions