It’s odd the different forms which inequality assumes, particularly in education. Anyone who’s been involved with schools, and lots more who haven’t, know that the Eleven Plus in all its forms is an abomination. It sends a message of failure to a majority of children, and while many manage to clamber over or around that obstacle, many don’t.
However, inequality assumes more subtle and elusive forms in education as well. Let me tell you a little story.
Back in the day when I was a short-trousered cub going to Omagh CBS, we were taught by a gifted and empathetic Brother. He was particularly interested in music, so he decided to establish a recorder group to play four-part harmony. Because the recorders he issued were fragile, anyone joining the group had to put down …I think it was ten shillings but it may have been less. In our class was one boy we called ‘Elementary’ Wharton (work it out yourself, Virginia), who came from what is now called a deprived background but then was called poor. Elementary was musically gifted – he was self-taught on the harmonica and a joy to hear. Anyway, the Brother took our various ten shilling deposits. When it came Elementary’s turn, the Brother smiled and made a flapping gesture. “G’way out of that, Wharton – run along now”. “But I have the ten shillings!” Elementary protested. The Brother propelled him on his way and took the next pupil. Even with money in his fist, the gap between Elementary’s world and that of the ‘respectable’ middle class kIds was too hard to bridge. I often wonder what effect that incident had on Elementary. He never spoke of it.
That was over sixty years ago. Today, I’m told, school inequality still thrives. This is clear since grammar schools for the most part still insist on putting children through the Qualifying mangle. But there are other school situations where money talks.
My attention was drawn to one such by an acquaintance recently. It has to do with a school skiing trip currently being organized in a Catholic school on the north Antrim coast. If my information is true – and I’m assured it is – the school is organizing a skiing trip for the pupils. One catch: for you to go, your parents cough up around £900.
Now you may say good for the school, it’s providing an opportunity to have a marvellous experience, enjoyable in itself and widening of horizons. I’m sure that’s so. But one obstacle remains in the way: £900.
There will be children who would like to go and whose parents will be able to provide the £900. Equally, there are children who would like to go but whose parents will be unable to provide the £900. Those whose parents can’t provide the necessary moolah will, alas, stay at home.
On the glass-half-full philosophy of life, you could say that at least some of the children in the school will get to experience this exciting and different world. True. But how does Johnny or Mary feel, watching their better-off classmates jet away into the wild blue yonder? Pretty low, I would say. Maybe even inferior.
Inequality is a part of life and of school life as well. But just as my classmate Elementary no doubt remembered the Christian Brother’s thumbs-down for decades after, so too I imagine will those children unfortunate enough to have parents without the necessary financial muscle.
Childhood memories tend to stick with you. Our schools need to be careful what sort of memories they serve to the children in their care.
I sat and failed the 11+ test 30 years ago. I still to this day remember the Monday morning after receiving the result the teacher taking a head count of the pupils who passed and failed.
After jotting down the names he then informed us that from now until the end of term he would only concentrate his time on the pupils who passed the exam.
So there you are, written off at eleven years of age and they wonder why there’s so many problems in society.
Why did the brother turn down Elementary’s deposit?
Like Louis Armstrong said about jazz, MT – if you gotta ask, you’ll never know.
Poor and disappointing answer.
It seems I’ve maybe read this story wrong but I thought he let Elementary into the recorder group but didn’t take his money, does’nt say he was refused.
My inadequate writing, Páid – tá bron orm. El was refused and sent off, along with his money.
MT,
I suspect he was turned down because in the Christian Brother’s (I suspect jaundiced) view, what need would there be for a boy of limited academic intelligence and from a deprived background to be able to play a recorder?
I never associated playing the recorder with privilege or wealth. A violin or another orchestral instrument maybe.
But I get the attitude.
More likely the brother saw Elementary as being “not good enough” MT because he wasn’t from a middle class background, even though he had the talent and the money. Such ideology is still rampant in our society and maybe always will be. Its within the ranks of the Tory party, for example, that such ideology is entrenched and embraced.
Ryan, isn’t it very sad that intelligent people put up with those arcane and distasteful attitudes? People we all looked up to and held in very high esteem like our parents tolerated what was an abuse of the poor and vulnerable. You are of course right those attitudes still remaine today and are especially prevalent in some older and senior members of the Catholic clergy.
Thanks be to God modern parents wouldn’t tolerate such nonsense that Elementary was exposed to!
During a Danish TV interview in 2005, George W. Bush stated that adhering to the Kyoto treaty on climate change would have “wrecked” the U.S. economy, and called U.S. dependence on Middle East oil a national security problem. In 2016, people in America are struggling with severe weather conditions. Lives have been lost and taken for granted commodities such as food and water are difficult to obtain in some areas.
Mr Trump recently attended Muscataine First Presbyterian Church. During the service, the Rev Dr Pamela Saturnia stated,
“Jesus is teaching us today that he has come for those who are outside of the church, those who are the most unloved, the most discriminated against, the most forgotten in our community and in our world”.
The concentration of wealth in fewer and fewer hands means greater inequality throughout the world, more so for Syrian refugees and Mexican migrants. Warships continue to bomb as men, women and children are drowned at sea. In Calais at present thousands of people are sleeping rough and it is reported that thousands of unaccompanied children remain at risk. What memories will haunt these the children in the future?
On reflection, it is good to know that in days gone by, a Christian Brother spotted inequality and took immediate action to ameliorate some of the circumstances. Today, Banksy’s artwork on the French embassy in London is also critical of inequality given the use of ‘tear’ gas in the jungle that is Calais.
so the ones who have the 900 nicker shouldnt go because wee johnny or mary cant go.
thats not the way things work such is life.
A socially responsible school would not organise activities which discriminate against the poor!
Fundamentally that school is in breach of guidelines set down by EA if it is organising an education trip in curriculum time and there is a pupil who cannot go because of his or her inability to pay!
If it is a grammar school, there is little likelihood that there will be any children who will not come from a middle class background!
To help bring the price down for everyone the school could have tried to set up a “ski trip fund”
They should have got some form of sponsorship
Sporting associations could have been asked to award “scholarships”, the cost of which would also helped bring the overall price down.
A jumble sale/cake fair could have been organised, with the proceeds going into the school ski trip fund.
Students could have bagged goods at the local supermarkets, gone carol singing, etc to raise money
A monthly or even weekly sum could have been collected from each pupil from maybe a year in advance, to make the impact of the costs less.
There are ways to ensure deprived children can participate in expensive events but teacher have to ensure money to cover the trip is sourced elsewhere, bringing the price down for all families at the same time.
Completely correct Billy.
I just hope you and Billy aren’t teachers, Neill…..
“thats not the way things work such is life”
I’m sure you’d be saying “such is life” Billy if it was your children or people you cared about on the receiving end of humiliation and embarrassment….
I have to question the educational value of a school ski trip.
Very true. I rem me getting the white envelope that results morning. to signify i had got the 11+ whilst my 2 school Mate,. My neighbours, my friends Got brown envelopes signifying failure.!!!!! I cried that day, that awful day at the prospect of being seperated from my childhood friends. It was the end of an era it was the start of seperatedness. What a divisive institutional mechanism that ripped the heart out of my chilhood world where friends mattered
Jude,
Why don’t we all just come clean about what is keeping academic selection alive here?
A significant number of middle and upper class parents want their children to go to the local middle class school, whoops sorry, I mean Grammar school, so that their children are not mixing with the children of the poor and the deprived!
Snobbery which those people are happy with because it is a move that once again money can be used to influence the outcome.
There is an army of tutors working away each evening (at £20 – £25 / hour) to improve the learning of those little middle class 10 year olds to enhance their chances of gaining a place in the local Grammar!
And when they get their place there is another army of tutors to make sure little Timothy doesn’t slip a grade here or there!
If Katie Hopkins wasn’t just so unpalatable she would have an army of middle class parents here supporting her views!
it might also put in johnny n marys mind,if i ever have kids they will never go without and it will push them on in life.
Billy, if you ever have kids I hope you have the choice that they will never go without.
And as far as pushing them on in life is concerned, you might find that encouragement will get better results.
yes i have kids and grandkids,i also have a pair of hands and i went and grafted so they didnt go without.on the other hand i didnt listen to the christian bros mate the priest and have 10 kids that i couldnt afford.
I passed the 11 plus, literally. I had to do a resit as I was late for the first test and at that time being a somewhat timid child I was too shy to ask the bus driver to let me off at the school where the test was being held, so the bus went on by. Story of my life!
Seriously though 3 of my 4 children went to a grammar school. My youngest boy failed and at that stage of his life he really felt like a failure at 11 years of age. However he went to a good comprehensive, enjoyed his time there, got himself a trade and is training to be a quantity surveyor and doing very well.
Another son had to be removed from his grammar school as it neither suited him nor the school for him to be there. He went to an educational resource centre for kids who had fallen out of main stream schooling and he is now completing a Phd and is one of the brightest people I have ever known.
My other two children both did well at their schools but neither of them would say that their experience of a grammar school education was exceptional. Thank God they are both doing fine.
There is no good reason why all schools cannot give our children a fulfilling and inclusive education. I see no difference in an “A” level gained form a grammar or a comprehensive or does the fact that you went to a grammar carry a certain social cachet and let me be blunt “snob value” in certain quarters namely the professions?
That musical man of the CBS cloth who wasn’t cursed with a cloth ear, Esteemed Blogmeister, sounds like he had been incorrectly streamed at source. Taken the wrong tuning fork in the road, as it were. Sounds like he might have been better assigned to the CBC stream.
The CBC is to the CBS as Ireland’s Call is to Sinne Laochra Fail; as an egg to a nutmeg; as Ireland Inc is to Paddy Stink ; in short, the gulf between a College and a School. Down here in the Free Southern Stateen, the CBC represents Q for Quality while the CBS stands for Q for Quantity.
In mathematical terms, the CBC is to the CBS as 2 is to Too Many. (Maths and music tend to go together). The two CBCs south of the Black Sow’s Dyke are located in Monkstown-sur-Dort in Dublin and in Sidney Hill in Cork, like. For some, possibly unfathomable reason, these two CBCs are known as ‘sister schools’.
Also known as ‘elite schools’, as overheard on a rugby urinalysis programme on radio last week. Perhaps the best way to explain the nonsanguinity between the CBC and a CBS is along the following lines:
-the CBC is a wannabe Castle Catholic College (e.g., Belvo, Rock, Rockwell, the Knock etc) which in turn is a wannabe C of I college (e.g., St. Columba’s Rathfarnham) .
While the old school tie is the distinguishing Windsor knot of the old boy in each and every case, what essentially differentiates the Wannabe Wing of the West British System of Finishing Schools, oops, Colleges from the commonality is one simple little letter: r.
As in the difference between (gulp) fee and free.
While the annual fees for, say, Rock and Rockwell fall just short of the whitewash, i.e., a score of thous those of the non plus ultra St. Columba’s C of I College just don’t go in for that disreputable form of Papish vulgarity, i.e., financial disclosure.
A fellow of endless fascination, St. Columba. A saintly man, at least a millennium before his time, when Marty Lu nailed his 95 cholers to the door.
A pointer to the poshness of the pushy dosh with which St. Columba’s is awash, even as it condescends to look down on the hoi polloi from its lofty height in the foothills of the Dublin, erm, Mountains, is the fact that (gasp) Equine Studies form a pivotal part of the non-gurriericulum.
Or, at least used to be. Alas, since two of its most illustrious alumni of a blue, political stripe, Brian Faulkner and Ivan Yates, both, sadly, came a cropper, albeit at opposite ends of the equine spectrum – riding to hounds and the bunching up of beaten dockets – it is understood that there may have been some reining in of E.S. Not entirely, mind; you pays your fee, you still gets your, at least, foal.
While there may well be a certain, erm, disparity between the fees of these non-free schools, oops, colleges there is still a remarkable homogeneity between these august establishments. As eloquently enunciated the Sunday before last by the eminent Conor Brady, former editor of The Unionist Times.
During the course of a harrowing interrogation by the politically coy hostess of the legendary Mimsy O’Call-again Show , the guest/ victim introduced the following startling non-sequitur, apropos of faic-all in particular:
-I was educated as a boarder in the Cistercian College, Roscrea, just a couple of years behind Dick Spring, and Iam happy to say this college was NEVER mentioned EVER during all the clerical child abuse revelations.
So, it wasn’t.
Mind you, lest the contrary vibe be imbibed, it ought to be stated and most unequivocally that the Egg-chasing Elite (soi disant) have been contributing massively (a daaarlin’ word, Jasper, of the rugga, rugs around the knees set) to the gaiety of the nation, of late. Or at least that headless part of the n. which chickens around south of the Black Sow’s Dyke.
Think, the egregious exit, stage left, only yesterday of the Eireland Eggchasers from the, erm European Rugga Championships. The ullagowning of the ultra-Collegians who comprise the rugga commentariat in the homogeneous hackiariat has been hilarious in the extreme; not so much The Fields of Athenry as The W.C. Fields of Athenry.
To hear them fulminate against the Moneybags and Les Sacs de l’Argent of the English/ French leagues who supply all eight clubs of the quarter-finals, is to be treated to comedy of the cat-laughter variety, such as maketh les rafters ring. Much of the bile is directed – and in keeping with the humourosity of the harangues – at the comic-book billionaire, Mourad Boudjellal, Bainsteoir Toulon RFC.
Coming from the collegiate chaps whose old boy network is hermetically based on the low income / no in come basis, aka the Mickey Mudd / Not so Good paradigm, this is all rather rich, in the comic meaning of that phrase. While unilaterally ditching the national tantrum in Leprechaun in favour of the more palatable Ireland’s Whatjamaycallit, they still assume that the gullible generality will still answer to their General Kitchener-annointed finger-point and rally to the lost cause.
Brass necks make for blank cheques,not.
And to think, alas, that it is only a few short months ago since the RWC games involving the Shoulder-to-Shoulder Soldiers of the Rearguard attracted most of the LARGEST telly audiences on RTE. Every last man jack of them to be wearing the green gansey, to be sure, to be sure. Alas, such a telly flop. A prelude to the failure, utter , of Le Coup Cullen.
To conclude on a continuing comic note from the same reservoir of ribald ribtickling: an extract from the Side-splitting Book of last year, The Maximalist.
On the occasion of the wedding of Ms Waterford and Ms Wedgewood, the happy father of both bride and, erm, bridegroom, Sir A.J O’Reilly proudly and unequivocally stated:
– I have seen the future: it lies in Branding.
Being both an illustrious old boy and modern day mouthpiece of Brand Belvo , where the junior entrants are taught in music class how to play the silver spoons with the mouth, Tones is one to know.
(Do the St. Vincent de Paul and the Samaritans classify as, erm, Brands?).
Oops, please cancel the last supplementary question. Unworthy. Totally uncalled for Schadenfreudian slip of the Poor Mouth/ An Beal Bocht.
If there is any justice, Jude , hopefully “Elementary” grew up unscathed and after taking on his brand new stage name of “Little Walter”, “Snooks Murphy” or somesuch , he joined Muddy Water’s’ band or similar and became a world-renowned master blues harpist while raising one middle finger to his unimaginative former -teacher…
The irony was, PK, the same Brother in many respects was a wonderful teacher. But not in this instance.
I have to say Jude that I found the CBs harsh at times but the ones I met always put themselves out for the poorest children and would have paid out from their own pocket rather than see a child deprived in relation it’s peers.
In relation to your “Johnny n Mary” theory have you some sort of evidence to draw on to show that if kids have it tough when they are young that they are generally able to improve the lot of their own children?
There is plenty of evidence to the contrary to show that it is now much harder than ever for youngsters to break out of the social class/ status into which they were born which is why the term “poverty trap” was coined!
Do you know any parents who would be content to see their kids do without or not want the best for them?
I have taught hundreds of children and have never encountered a parent who didn’t want the best for their child no matter what their own circumstances were like!
The theory you espouse is one peddled by the rich and powerful to keep the poor blaming themselves on their worsening circumstances. If the theory had any merit Norman Tebit would have been right and all we would have to do was “get on your bike” and we would all be made men and women!
Unfortunately the Conservative’s capitalism does not function without there being poor people to be exploited to satisfy an insatiable greed which they use their media to propagate as being a good thing and obtainable by anyone working hard. Don’t fool yourself it is not!
This one means a lot to me at the minute as I have a year 10 son (third year in old money) who is about to go on his school (local grammar, yes Virginia) skiing trip.
As I am sure most parents would, within their own means and without getting into debt, I do all I can to make all my children’s lives pleasurable. I am not lucky enough that I can afford to bring the whole family skiing, as much I’d love too as we love to be active and outdoors as much as possible, but this is an opportunity I can provide for my son, which was denied to me through lack of funds and opportunity while I was growing up. I did pass the 11 plus and attended grammar school myself. I didn’t go on any school trips, apart from a few geography field trips in A levels but if I cant afford the family trip but can afford to send one son, then I chose to pay. I certainly didn’t feel inferior at the time
I do not reflect and refuse to pay because others may be less fortunate, but I do impress my children to give thanks for the lives they live and opportunities they have.
Are ski trips banned or available in secondary and all ability schools? Or are they only offered in grammar schools?
Great.and.sad.story.jude.
Indeed.Indeed.Jim.
It strikes me that “MT” is empty-headed, even if he/she “passed” the 11 Plus.
The exam was introduced with the Education Act (1944) – The Butler Act.
The 11 Plus was adopted because it was promoted by one Cyril Burt and forty yeas later it was proved that Burt was a charlatan.
I went to fee-paying Christian Brothers and Holy Ghost Fathers schools in the Republic and have no experience of the 11 plus. I remember bright pupils denied secondary education because their families were poor. That said, when my father had to retire on a small pension because of ill-health my fees were waived by the Brothers, and a Priest Uncle of mine paid my fees at the Holy Ghost School.
I know very clever and able people in England who “failed” the 11 Plus and were written off.
Should be 11 PLUS.
No, Donal, its not so brilliant that it needs capitals.
I have heard many stories of such views being practiced by the likes of Priests and Monks but also by other occupations/people too, of course. Its even portrayed in some movies.
Take “Angela’s Ashes” for example, the movie based on the book (I’ve watched the movie and have the book but haven’t got round to reading it yet), Angela’s young son Frankie repeatedly tries to become an Altar Boy in the hope he’ll get tips in order to ease the dire poverty the family live in. He repeatedly gets rejected. His mother says bitterly its because of the Priests wanting “the boys who come from families who have clean hair and have the fathers with the steady jobs”, aka well off families, not poverty stricken families like Angela’s.
Later in the movie the teenage Frankie is sent off to the Brothers by his head teacher who says that Frankie is intelligent and should be in a better class and could even go to University. Again, to the head teachers disgust, Frankie is turned away and his head teacher urges the boys in his class to emigrate to America because “we still have a class system forced on us by the English and which this so called free and independent Ireland continues with!”. How true that is….
I grew up in what would be called a “poor, single parent” family. My mother and father divorced when I was just 1. My older sister went to St Dominic’s Grammar School on the Falls Rd (still one of the top schools in the North) and her experience there was terrible and it was mainly due to the fact she didn’t come from a middle class family. My mother even went as far as to travel up to the school and met with the principle, which got her no where and my mother was forced to threaten that she was going to the papers unless something was done. One of the problems was my sister was being bullied by much older pupils and nothing was being done about it by the teachers. My sister, even as a 13 year old, wasn’t a soft touch and beat her bullies in turn but the blame was often put on her for the whole affair despite the age gap of 3 years. Believe it or not, at one point my mother was informed by the principle that the bullies parents were “doctors”, as if to say they are her “betters”. That’s when my mother threatened to go to the media, the issue was getting that bad. With this threat, however, the teachers suddenly did their job and got the issue sorted.
My sister left St Dominic’s after 5th year with good grades but couldn’t wait to leave the place. She did her A-Levels somewhere else. She met some lifelong friends amongst the pupils but the teachers were terrible and snobbish with her. My mother and sister to this day, almost 20 years later, still advise people, especially from a disadvantaged background, not to go to St Dominic’s.
Most Children from disadvantaged families who are subjected to this snobbish, “your not good enough” behaviour from teachers or schools are being cruelty belittled and are being put off education in general. And could we blame them for being put off? Of course not. Its an embarrassing and humiliating situation to be in for any child/person. That’s why education should always be open for all, regardless of background and why the ideology of ” some children are better than others” needs weeded out, once and for all. Every child is entitled to a good and rewarding education but, if anything, a child from a disadvantaged background needs it more than any other.
When I came of age, my mother refused to let me do the 11 plus, so I went to Corpus Christi College where one of my older brothers was (my other elder brother went to St Mary’s Grammar school and had a situation similar, but not as bad, as my sister). The teachers in Corpus Christ College were excellent and engaging, though I wouldn’t have described them that way at the time, homework on Fridays made me despise them 🙂
Glad to hear your mother didn’t tolerate second class treatment for her daughter!
My eldest is entering his final year of primary and we (all) have to make stark choices about which school would be right for him.
Jude – where did you send your brood to school, what factors influenced the choice of school and what was your perspective of the education they received?