1 February 2005
Howard: Action on school discipline
"Everything a Conservative Government does will have one objective - and that objective is to give people greater opportunity in life.
I want everyone to have the opportunity to make a success of their career, to live the British Dream.
I came from an ordinary family.
I didn't have any special privileges.
But my State school showed that there is no barrier to success - it is possible to give everyone, whatever their background, real opportunity.
Discipline was at a premium.
We were all taught the basics.
Our teachers encouraged ambition, excellence and hard work, whatever your individual talents or abilities.
It was a great start in life.
But too many children in Britain don't get that start in life - despite the millions of pounds Mr Blair has spent.
Lack of discipline is a real and growing problem in our schools.
And our whole education system lacks ambition.
Children still leave school unable to write properly, while the pass grade for a Maths GCSE is now just over 15 per cent.
The quality of Britain's education system will determine our future economic success and the nature of our society.
If children don't even go to school they are more likely to get into crime or drugs.
It is much tougher to get a job if you can't read or write properly.
Youngsters who don't learn to respect authority at school are much less likely to respect others when they grow up.
This is all common sense.
It is not rocket science.
For too long we've blurred the distinction between right and wrong.
We've tolerated a slow but steady decline in personal responsibility.
Too many youngsters have a very good idea about their rights, but have little concept of their responsibilities.
"I've got my rights" is the verbal equivalent of two fingers to authority.
And we've left children to learn by experience rather than teaching them in a structured and disciplined way.
When I travel round the country, perhaps the most heartbreaking sight I see is the children who have dropped out of school.
Youngsters going off the rails - each of them a story of lost opportunity, but also a warning about the kind of country Britain will become if we do not change direction.
We need a new approach.
We must restore discipline in our schools.
And we have to challenge children in the classroom.
Bad behaviour is often born of frustration.
If children leave primary school unable to read, write or add up properly, how can we expect them to do well at secondary school?
If academic pupils are not challenged intellectually in the classroom, is it any wonder they get bored and cause trouble?
And if youngsters who know they are never going to make it to University cannot learn a practical skill, should we be surprised when they get angry and frustrated with an inflexible academic curriculum which seems only to highlight their failings?
And it's no better from the teacher's point of view.
How can our teachers hope to teach children to read, write and add up properly, or challenge the brightest, if their classes are constantly disrupted by a troublesome minority?
We are caught in a downward spiral - bad behaviour undermines standards, and poor standards encourage bad behaviour.
I want to live in a society which values youngsters with a technical or practical qualification just as much as students with a degree.
That is why I will be announcing in the next week Conservative proposals to create a rigorous vocational education system that pupils can start early in their school career.
I want to live in a society where the brightest pupils are really stretched by an education system that admires excellence and encourages ambition.
The "all must have prizes" approach to exams is undermining standards.
The next Conservative Government will get rid of the targets which encourage grade inflation.
We will retain external examination at 16.
And we will ensure that A Levels really are a gold standard - "A" grades will only be awarded to a fixed percentage of pupils each year.
I want to live in a society where every child is taught to read, write and add up properly.
Many parents want their children to be taught using traditional teaching methods - and under Conservative proposals they will have the right to choose schools that provide it.
Conservatives won't just trust parents, we'll trust teachers too.
Teachers know their pupils.
They know their names and they understand their character - what they are good at and what they find difficult.
And we should trust them to exercise their common sense and judgement - not try to second guess them every inch of the way.
Teachers not bureaucrats should run our schools.
That's why we'll scrap Mr Blair's Whitehall targets.
And that's why we'll give head teachers the final say on expulsions.
I will not allow a minority of disruptive children to ruin the education of the majority.
Mr Blair has belatedly turned his attention to the break down in discipline in our schools.
But what has taken him so long?
Nearly eight years in government Mr Blair has lost touch with the forgotten majority.
You've only got to have talked to a teacher or parent in the last few years to discover school discipline is their number one priority.
And Mr Blair will never deal with this crisis.
Governments make a difference by the messages they send.
And this Government has sent parents, pupils and teachers all the wrong messages.
Instead of trusting teachers to control their schools, Mr Blair has bombarded them with initiatives and plans: 12 pages of paperwork land on a head teacher's desk every school day.
And instead of giving heads the powers to expel disruptive children, Mr Blair proposes that they should be forced to accept such children.
The truth is that Mr Blair does not share the values of the millions of parents who are concerned about what is happening in our schools today.
If he did, he would not have stood by and let this problem develop.
Of course, he talks about those values.
Today, he's at it again.
But that tells you all you need to know about Mr Blair.
He's had almost eight years to address this problem and now, just months before an election, he claims he has the answer.
I think that most people will see through this, and see it for what it is.
He's only interested in your votes - not your values.
I will act on behalf of the parents, teachers and children forgotten by Mr Blair, to restore discipline and respect in classrooms.
There will be a clear choice at the next election: schools with poor discipline under Mr Blair, or schools with good school discipline with the Conservatives."
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Rt
Hon
Michael Howard QC MP |
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