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Review
A tremendous book. It is a passionate polemic about the most important policy divide of the day, schooling, the area changing more at the hands of the coalition government than any other. --Anthony Seldon, Observer
A poetically eloquent ... [and] important watershed. It is a clear-sighted re-statement of why universal, comprehensive education is obviously the best option. It should, and hopefully will, be taken as a rallying call to the left. --Phil Beadle, Independent
Short, well written and passionate. --Francis Beckett, New Statesman
A poetically eloquent ... [and] important watershed. It is a clear-sighted re-statement of why universal, comprehensive education is obviously the best option. It should, and hopefully will, be taken as a rallying call to the left. --Phil Beadle, Independent
Short, well written and passionate. --Francis Beckett, New Statesman
Review
"Partisan but surprisingly fair ... refreshing, in a debate usually full of denunciations." Andy Beckett, Guardian "A clear-sighted restatement of why universal, comprehensive education is - obviously - the best option. It should, and hopefully will, be taken as a rallying call to the left." Phil Beadle, Independent "This is a tremendous book. It is a passionate polemic about the most important public policy divide of the day, schooling." Anthony Seldon, Observer "In this polemic, Benn sets herself up as a one-woman commission of inquiry, analysing the social, political, and financial case for comprehensive schooling in a climate of spending cuts and a culture of privatisation." The Times
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I read this book as I began the labyrinthine local authority school application process. Living in an area where there's everything from community schools to faith schools to academies and parents tie themselves up in knots about where to send their kids, I wondered how our school system got so complicated and whether all this 'choice' does our children any good. This passionate and well argued book provides the answers. It explains how the concept of a non-selective comprehensive school system never got the chance to prove its worth, how these schools got a bad name in the process and why, after endless reforms, we are left with a bewildering range of schools that deliver far less than was promised. The book ends with ideas about how we might build an education system that serves everyone well. In setting out her argument Melissa Benn describes her own experience of the state school system, first as a pupil and then as a parent, and speaks to other parents and teachers (in both state and private schools) as well as drawing on academic research. She pulls together a great deal of information about the history and politics of post-war education but her style is very readable and you end up feeling informed rather than overwhelmed. Even as a supporter of the state school system, this book challenged my prejudices about what lies beyond the school gates. To borrow a phrase, this book shows that 'we are all in this together' - if we want the schools in our neighbourhoods to thrive then we have to support them and use them. This is an energising, important book that left me fired up with determination to defend our local schools.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a considered account of present and historical education systems in England that cuts a swathe through the current education hysteria. Questions are asked of those who hold opinions of the present education provisions and proposals for change, whether they be parents, politicians or local authorities. Arguments for and against free schools, faith schools and comprehensive schools, in particular, are laid out clearly for everyone to understand from the facts, rather than biased polemics. Well worth reading.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
In her introduction Melissa Benn sets out her stall- her wish for her children ' to experience just relationships with persons': she then goes on to demonstrate how many lost opportunites there have been in terms of achieving this goal.
Carefully listing the gains that have been made in state education, despite societal barriers, she examines the barriers that have been placed directly in the path of a developing education system.It makes you realise how impressive the state system is...having achieved so much, in a relatively short period of time, despite the obstructions that have been placed in its path! It left me feeling that the argument for a non selective , democratically controlled state system is something we ought to be fighting for- and that current developments ought to be actively challenged and exposed for what they truly are.
Carefully listing the gains that have been made in state education, despite societal barriers, she examines the barriers that have been placed directly in the path of a developing education system.It makes you realise how impressive the state system is...having achieved so much, in a relatively short period of time, despite the obstructions that have been placed in its path! It left me feeling that the argument for a non selective , democratically controlled state system is something we ought to be fighting for- and that current developments ought to be actively challenged and exposed for what they truly are.
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