Sonia Sodha, the Observer columnist seems fun. I was glad to finally get to the gist of what she was trying to say in the last two paragraphs.
*The SNP has dismally failed Scottish children, especially those from poorer backgrounds. Declining standards have been known about for years but, instead of serious efforts to address them, the SNP has tried to mask them with spin – last week, it claimed the data shows Scotland is “maintaining its international standing” – and shiny but unrealised manifesto pledges such as giving every schoolchild a free laptop.*
*This is the rot of populism, wherever it is found. For the SNP, it comes in the form of independence and launching constitutional fights it can’t win with Westminster; for the Conservative party, it has been Brexit and blaming EU membership for the country’s wider economic woes. Picking a fight with a big, bad villain allows governing parties with terrible track records to avoid short-term accountability for their substantive failures. But politicians should be warned: voters eventually get wise to the playbook.*
I mean it’s great that she can dismiss, Scottish government, teachers, pupils and parents in one go in a Sunday column and finally deliver a beautifully bundled mixture of her own hot takes on how Scottish voters are being hoodwinked, despite presumably our earlier better education…
Pro ‘exgay’ conversion therapy journalist Sonia Sodha
I don’t know about schooling as a whole, but I do know that what has happened to music in schools over the last 15 or so years has been shameful. Music being such an important piece of development for some children, and even possible career path, it should have been maintained or even improved upon. Instead, it has been completely decimated, whether it’s removing the basic music classes, limiting the number of instruments available to learn, pricing parents out of lessons, removing extra-curricular bands and classes, etc, the state of music in Scottish school is frankly shocking.
So all that’s to say, I am not surprised by a general decline of schools in Scotland.
Well, she managed to avoid blaming trans people, so I guess that’s something.
Honestly she’s right, curriculum for excellence has been a sh*t-show
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Sonia Sodha, the Observer columnist seems fun. I was glad to finally get to the gist of what she was trying to say in the last two paragraphs.
*The SNP has dismally failed Scottish children, especially those from poorer backgrounds. Declining standards have been known about for years but, instead of serious efforts to address them, the SNP has tried to mask them with spin – last week, it claimed the data shows Scotland is “maintaining its international standing” – and shiny but unrealised manifesto pledges such as giving every schoolchild a free laptop.*
*This is the rot of populism, wherever it is found. For the SNP, it comes in the form of independence and launching constitutional fights it can’t win with Westminster; for the Conservative party, it has been Brexit and blaming EU membership for the country’s wider economic woes. Picking a fight with a big, bad villain allows governing parties with terrible track records to avoid short-term accountability for their substantive failures. But politicians should be warned: voters eventually get wise to the playbook.*
I mean it’s great that she can dismiss, Scottish government, teachers, pupils and parents in one go in a Sunday column and finally deliver a beautifully bundled mixture of her own hot takes on how Scottish voters are being hoodwinked, despite presumably our earlier better education…
Pro ‘exgay’ conversion therapy journalist Sonia Sodha
I don’t know about schooling as a whole, but I do know that what has happened to music in schools over the last 15 or so years has been shameful. Music being such an important piece of development for some children, and even possible career path, it should have been maintained or even improved upon. Instead, it has been completely decimated, whether it’s removing the basic music classes, limiting the number of instruments available to learn, pricing parents out of lessons, removing extra-curricular bands and classes, etc, the state of music in Scottish school is frankly shocking.
So all that’s to say, I am not surprised by a general decline of schools in Scotland.
Well, she managed to avoid blaming trans people, so I guess that’s something.
Honestly she’s right, curriculum for excellence has been a sh*t-show