In the battle for hearts and minds in our schools the Labour Party continues to face a challenge. What is it to do about the 8% [sic] of teachers who, according to the TES, persist in voting Conservative? Equally worrying is the finding that a whopping 15% [sic] of pupils voted Tory in mock polls held in schools across the country at the time of the last election. After three decades of political indoctrination and brainwashing only a paltry 76% [sic] voted Labour.
Things are, at least, moving in the right direction for the Left. A YouGov survey of 52,615 voters indicated that 61.5 of the under-40s voted for Jeremy compared with only 23% for Theresa. The younger the voter, the more likely to vote Labour. That is good news for Labour Party headquarters. The education system is slowly, but inexorably, moving things completely their way.
Want a teaching job? Do not, then, express non-Corbynist views. Want to enter teacher training? Forget it, if you are inclined towards joining the surviving 8% of Tory teacher ‘untouchables’. Want to achieve a good essay mark at university? Make sure it reflects the ‘Remain’ standpoint. And do not even suppose that ‘freedom of speech’ means freedom to speak freely.
Above all else, though, to avoid being filtered out of the teaching profession it is necessary to be ‘right on’ when it comes to the defining pillars of today’s school system. Where do you stand on LGBT rights, gender identity, feminism, diversity, equality of outcome, sex education for tiny tots and the rest of the politically correct spectrum?
Whatever you do, fret not over a lack of subject knowledge. A ‘good’ pass at GCSE (currently defined as 15%) will open the door to teacher training. What really matters these days is the ‘process’ by which you teach, not the product. Your job in doing this could not be more important. It is to be in the vanguard of the social revolution that is re-shaping our society.
Michael Gove might once have ‘banged on’ to the Conservative Party Conference about the need to stop ‘the trashing of our past’ in school history lessons but he was soon put in his place by the Blob, the educational establishment. He ended up enshrining in law a syllabus that confined to the dustbin any requirement to teach any specific landmarks and personalities of our national identity.
So, how does Labour purge the Tory 8% of teachers from our classrooms and convert the 24% of pupils who, if not Tory, side with the Lib-Dems or Greens or, heaven forbid, unmentionable political parties?
‘Shout Out UK’ has come up with an answer. This organisation styles itself as ‘the voice of the next generation’. The CV on its website is impressive:
‘We are a multi-award winning independent youth news platform that provides young people with the tools necessary to engage in politics and a platform to shout out and be heard. Spearheaded by our Political Literacy Course – and supplemented by a host of different infographics, videos, articles, workshops and events – we are a one-stop-shop for political learning and enrichment.
‘Since our launch in 2014, we have become Britain’s fastest growing independent youth news & media platform with a readership of almost 1 million per month. Our aim is simple: To provide a global collective voice for the next generation that is armed with the tools necessary to incite positive change.’
Endorsements from Fatima Manji of Channel 4 News and Louise Haigh, at 30 the youngest Labour MP, make the political literacy course a persuasive package. Politics ‘expert’ Professor Matthew Flinders has added his support, too. In an open letter to Jeremy Corbyn following the recent general election Prof. Flinders gushed:
‘What can I say? Well done! What a joy it has been to watch all your detractors feasting on Corbyn-flavoured humble pie.’
And for any schools hesitating about the new Political Literacy Course on offer, ‘Shout Out UK’ has some reassurance. Its own survey of the British public concluded: ‘Three fifths of Brits believe Politics should replace Religious Studies in schools.’ What’s not to like? After all, Corbynism is the new religion – so, no loss to that subject.
And what better way to root out non-Corbynista dissidents in the classroom than to teach ‘the tools necessary for positive change’?
Let’s hear it for the anointed one: ‘Oh, Jeremy Corbyn!’
