I don’t really know how much I should write here anymore… I have been warned that this could get me into trouble… legally handcuffed. A sense of fear prevails at work… an apathy… the stench of defeat… people broken and no longer willing to speak out or up for what they believe and represent… do as we say or ship out… a succession of the brave now cowered and humiliated… or already gone…
Is there a new breed of leadership out there… fast tracked and trained to ignore its most notable asset?.. Dictatorships that solely promote government doctrine… statisticians of pointless data… the game being self-promotion… instant fix… instant success… in and out in a couple of years, but hey… great CV?
As a youth, I was anti-establishment. I had the Mohican haircut… wore the bondage trousers… rebelled against authority… But education… art in particular… altered my expressionism and matured an adult response… debate… thought through and researched response…
It took time… like all good learning takes.
It wasn’t instant… knee jerk… Time engendered new levels of understanding… thought and practice… I learnt from the doing, not the rote… success bandaged the mistakes and developed considered response…
So why am I falling backwards?
I’ve never come home from work before feeling royally shafted… but it’s a daily sensation. I’ve never considered looking for something else or questioning my motivation…
Art isn’t supposed to be like this…
Art has always been my freedom… my escape… my rescue… my inspiration… It has always eased my pain… repairs my spirit and feeds my curiosity…
I breath it like the cool fresh air on a winters morning, it brings me life and purpose… and yes… maybe I am naive to think that it makes others feel that way… that it is important… relevant… but I can’t think otherwise…
I was informed this week that English, Maths and Science are far more important… had time taken from Art to permit more time for these subjects… revision time…
I can’t blame the person who told me this… I understand their position… but a little later I was shown the new draft job description for my job that demands I support the ethos of the school… and insists that every pupil I teach makes at least three levels of progress during the time I teach them…
So all are equal?.. Everyone possesses the same capabilities… potential… aspirations?
I don’t mind this as an ambition. I think it right that I should be asked to bring out the best in every individual… but insistence?.. Contracted to?.. When clearly the results aren’t even valued or supported…
How can a person who has never taught my subject impose any relevance on the Art of Teaching? I challenge anybody who hasn’t ever stood in my shoes to do my job for just one day… and then tell me that it isn’t relevant… that other subjects should be given preference… that there is no value in it…
I’ve been trying to put this into context as an artist… education should reflect life. What role can artists contribute? Does it matter to them or does the “myth of the artist” prevail and have credence? Is this as it should be? Should we educators suffer as the artist simply because it is the “practice” that resonates between us?
I am more than this…
Bob Geldof on the Radio 5 Live last night… I paraphrase… “Maths gave me nothing… poetry and art gave me everything”. “I wouldn’t be who I am today without them”…
Is this an honest picture? Have I missed something? Is my bias prejudicing my response?
