Ed West Misses the Point

I've suddenly started taking to having a moochies on the Telegraph websites blogs. Don't ask me why, curious morbidity probably. It's all a bit depressing on there really (God help us if we really do all become more right wing as we're older. Cause I don't wanna go there!) But I did come across this piece by Ed West, who is not last years winner of "Person who's name sounds a lot like the most like a famous serial killer, and could be used as a tribute act.", but a blogger on that site. His entry is 0n comments by Michael Gove (Education Secretary) about being receptive to every ones favourite God hater; Richard Dawkins - idea to set up a "free thinking" school, in response to government plans to allow groups to set up their own schools with tax payers money. The article says that he wants to set up "atheist" schools, to which the following rebuttal is issued.

"“I would prefer to call it a free-thinking free school,” he said.

"I would never want to indoctrinate children in atheism, any more than in religion.

“Instead, children should be taught to ask for evidence, to be sceptical, critical, open-minded."

There is little for me to disagree with there. One of the greatest gifts we can imbue kids with is the ability to think for themselves. To think critically and open mindedly, with a sense of independence of spirit. Youngsters have a way of looking at things, that adults sometimes lose. It must be nurtured. It is fucking criminal in my mind for kids, who are browbeaten into unquestioning compliance, their independent spirit treated as "youthful impertinence". To be hamstrung or strong armed into being taught to "think" on only the terms of what "tradition" or "religion" or "the wisdom of the elders". To swallow whole, at face value; gold standard truth, a load of opinions of other people. This educational reform would be beneficial in perhaps nurturing that independent spirit. However it is just as likely that religious groups will seize on it too, and when we learn that school texts are teaching "AIDS is the wages of sin" as truth, and that Jews are "monkeys", we must ask at what price to kids education, are better whack in ofstead league tables worth?

It seems that West (pretty right wing guy) agrees. It's sometimes good when someone from the other side of the fence has a view you hold, you see how a mutual view can form from quite different origins, expanding your philosophical scope a bit. So kudos for this:

" Once again Michael Gove proves himself to be the best classical liberal in the Government by saying he would be interested in athiest, free schools. These “free-thinking schools” – as Professor Richard Dawkins said when he suggested the idea last month, they wouldn’t indoctrinate children with atheism, just teach them to think for themselves – are in the finest tradition of liberal thought.

It could also be good news for the 20,000 or so church schools in England, since one of the main causes of resentment among parents is that often the only decent state secondary schools in their area are Catholic or Anglican, and they’re neither."

Great stuff. Although people may come from different parts of the political spectrum, it's good to see a broad support for the intellectual autonomy of youngsters. However at this point, things start to go wrong. In fact I knew they would in an article written by a conservative, with the words "Marxist indoctrination." This means it's a muck slinging article, about horrid old liberal elites being worser than Pol Pot, and taking over the universe. Marxist has become such an overused buzz word in right wing polemic, it's become an equivalent to the overuse of fascist, that George Orwell complained about. It really has lost any real meaning, just makes liberals sound a bit evil. So we get this.

"But if the New Atheists can set up a school free of religious indoctrination, can I set one up free of Marxist indoctrination, which in my experience is being far more successfully force-fed into young minds, and is a far greater menace to society?"

Religious indoctrination ain't THAT big a deal after all. I seem to have missed the rising up of the proletarian collective as well.

Yeah, education through any form of indoctrination is bad. Or is it?

"Can I set a history syllabus that focuses primarily on English history and our island story, and is told with a heroic narrative that glories in British success? Can I not have a history course entirely devoted to trans-Atlantic slavery and Nazi Germany? Can I not mention Mary Seacole since, from a purely objective point of view, she’s not even in the top 10,000 list of significant British figures?

In geography can I leave out the module about human development that teaches an entirely Marxist view of the theory of racism? Or the continually driven-home idea that the Third World’s problems are due to free trade and the West, not political corruption?
In English can we leave out the trendy patois poetry until we have mastered the classics of English poetry and literature, and not teach children that all art should be valued equally because, in fact, some art is rubbish?

There’ll be no diversity lectures, no sinister “race equality awards”, no “sex and human relationships” – it is up to parents to teach children the rights and wrongs of sexuality, rather than the biology – and no earth-worship. Teachers won’t be expected to replace parents and priests as state-appointed role models, and so all sorts of drunks, weirdos and social deviants will be allowed to work there."

Oh be open minded and free thinking, but only if it's on my terms. Bloody hypocrite. I've always suspected that some of the people who expend thousands of words on the pinko conspiracy at the heart of the BBC would soon shut up if they started putting out a right wing slant. If it's your opinions being put out, that seems fine. Talk about not seeing the forest for the trees!

That's the problem I have with this article. I don't think there is some great Marxist agenda being taught. If their was it'd be totally out of order. Children should be allowed to think for themselves. This guy seems to think that it's only bad if it's not your ideology being taught. Missing the point. It should be a broad education, not a socialist, a monetarist, a postmodern, a Sunni, an Asda or a "The Gospel According to Chris Moyles" themed education. Let kids see the all the evidence for themselves to make their own minds up about Britain's role in history (I actually think they would come away pretty proud of it. Most teenagers are usually pretty patriotic anyway.) or the cause of third world poverty. They aren't stupid, and giving them the resources to see all the evidence for themselves, and a well rounded education, is as I said one of the most precious gifts they can obtain.