29 November 2004
FE Colleges
As I'm still off work, I have time to read articles about the appalling state of UK FE colleges. In my strictly limited experience (sessional teaching of philosophy/religious studies/critical thinking), it's clear there are certain massively entrenched problems without obvious solutions: the lack of desire of a large minority of students to want to attend (and what are the alternatives? getting a job? It's unlikely you'll get JSA if you live with your parents. Just how widely available are apprenticeships these days?); the bad behaviour of this minority (anything from low-level messing about, to open hostility). There's also very little support available to students - whose home and private lives often couldn't be more unhappy.
There certainly aren't enough teachers, and some of them simply hate their students without exception. But what can colleges do to be more attractive? If someone offers you twice as much money to go and teach a bunch of docile kids in a private college, it's no surprise that FE recruitment and retention is so bad, especially in London. And of course, if you spend several decades convincing people that anything vaguely communal and civil is bad and irrational, then the number of people coming forward to do a difficult job for not enough money is going to be slim. I'm amazed and impressed that anyone still works in public industry these days, when any old twat can set themselves up as a 'consultant' and seemingly earn tons for doing nothing of any use to anyone.
There certainly aren't enough teachers, and some of them simply hate their students without exception. But what can colleges do to be more attractive? If someone offers you twice as much money to go and teach a bunch of docile kids in a private college, it's no surprise that FE recruitment and retention is so bad, especially in London. And of course, if you spend several decades convincing people that anything vaguely communal and civil is bad and irrational, then the number of people coming forward to do a difficult job for not enough money is going to be slim. I'm amazed and impressed that anyone still works in public industry these days, when any old twat can set themselves up as a 'consultant' and seemingly earn tons for doing nothing of any use to anyone.
