Let parents be parents and let teachers teach

(Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

As a teacher, one of the main debates that I find myself in at the moment with colleagues in the staffroom and parents alike, is the Coalition government’s recent introduction of free schools, which are state-funded schools set up in response to parental demand, the most high-profile attempt being led by writer and parent Toby Young in West London.

Certainly if parents, dissatisfied with the often substandard education on offer in a local education authority area, wish to organize and set up their own school in this manner, then I would not want to stand in their way. Furthermore I would admire their sense of aspiration and activism in wishing to do something about their immediate situation in order to give their children the best opportunity possible.

However, largely as a result of the previous government’s policies, I believe it is imperative that in a context where the two roles – parent and teacher – are already becoming blurred, we make a clear distinction between the roles of parenting and teaching. In short, we need to let parents be parents and let teachers teach.

I think every child should be entitled to a universal liberal education. At a time when “local” is the new buzzword, I want to argue for a common standard in terms of curriculum provision and assessment. In this context the focus on the “local” by policymakers in relation to free schools is a potential problem that could lead to a fragmented, differential provision of education. This will truly be institutionalising education by post-code.

Above all, the biggest worry I have about the introduction of free schools is that it represents a technical, managerialist solution to problems in the education system that avoids a much needed engagement in an honest, open debate about the problems within education.

For example, we need to confront head-on why many within education have lost faith in the transformative potential of a knowledge-based subject-centred curriculum. In the absence of such debate, the introduction of free schools simply represents an attempt to put a sticking plaster over the problem; putting the burden of responsibility of educating our children onto someone else. They will not be a panacea for educational ills.

A pressing issue of equal concern is the loss of teacher autonomy in the classroom. Over the past few years the policies of the previous government has chipped away at the professionalism of teachers, exposing them to ridiculous levels of over-regulation. It seems to me that the strong emphasis on “parent power” with the introduction of free schools will mean that the domain of teachers’ professional judgment will be further eroded.

If it was irritating having external bureaucrats crossing the “t”s and the dotting the “i”s of every lesson, imagine how corrosive it will be if every parent in the land feels empowered to tell teachers how and what to teach little Johnny and Sophie.

If parents claim they know what’s best educationally for their particular child, where does that leave the ideal of universal access to decent education for all and teachers control in the classroom? Indeed this might serve to generate a climate of mistrust between teachers and parents.

Already in state secondary schools, parents now have the right to monitor every aspect of their child’s schooling online; every interaction between a pupil and teacher must be recorded and made public. Far from helping, I believe such surveillance is likely to hinder teachers’ freedom in disciplining and teaching the young.

While I welcome the fact that parents aspire to do the best for their kids, I remain unconvinced that free schools are the answer. Worse, I fear they are a distraction from the bigger questions that must be faced within education.

Throughout October and November, The Independent Online is partnering with the Battle of Ideas festival to present a series of guest blogs from festival speakers on the key questions of our time.

Kevin Rooney is the head of social science, Queens’ School, Bushey. He is speaking at the Battle of Ideas Satellite event “Free schools: do parents or teachers know best?” taking place at Hamilton House, London, Monday 4 October. http://www.battleofideas.org.uk/index.php/2010/session_detail/4367/

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