Education Education Education?

I get the distinct impression that for many decades after the beginning of the 20^th century employers were almost invariably disorganized and dim in their approach to motivating employees. Take the National Coal Board’s wages department in Workington as an example. When I joined it in 1961 there was no induction worth talking about. There was no encouragement to improve my education. There were no performance reviews. Training was no more than a smattering of the ‘hands on’ variety. I suppose management theory was in its infancy. The National Examinations Board for Supervisory Studies [Nebss] came in as late as c1964 and was perhaps recognition of the need to treat workers in a more professional manner. It seemed to dawn on many employers that if they treated staff properly they could improve output and hopefully profits.

 

Whilst Nebss was a promising innovation further education seemed very poor in the 60s. They were not the days of lifelong learning. GCE teaching of ‘second chancers’ in local colleges was often second rate; it was unnecessarily dull.

 

Going further back - our English teacher at Ushaw Moor could have, and ought to have, lit up ‘Lord of the Flies’. He had an opportunity to catch our imagination. After all there were a lot of bright pupils in our class but they were somewhat short changed. Harry Barlow was an exceptionally good teacher but even so it seems we were not trusted to learn mathematics, other than its arithmetical content.

 

But where is this article leading us? I am so positive about the provision for youngsters these days. The facilities for advancement are plentiful but sadly not all are grasping the available opportunities. I imagine that the current crop of Deerness Valley youngsters is a very mixed bunch. Some will be literate and confident whilst others might be struggling to form many coherent sentences. I am not an educationalist but could it be that some parents have low aspirations for their children? Does Ushaw Moor need a Mr/Mrs Motivator in order to maximize the potential of ALL of its children? David Beckham and Co have their place but so does a well chosen book that is read with insight and enthusiasm.  Good Book 2 Beckham 1.

 

WB