A letter from Eton College

 

            Yesterday I received an email letter from Eton College. It was a letter I have come to dread.

            It was well written and confident. It came from a sixth form boy. He invited me to speak to their Keynes Society.

             He explained that the Society invites people like me to address their Economics Club on a Thursday evening. He recited the impressive list of recent speakers including the Governor of the Bank of England. He asked me to join them for dinner before the lecture. He praised my work in my book “After the Credit Crunch” to demonstrate they have a serious interest in the issues I raise in public debate. He understood where I come from on  the issues of banks and Europe and will doutbtless wish to cross examine me with his fellow students after the lecture.

               He did not know that I have been a speaker at their Society before. I was greatly impressed when I went. The lecture was very well attended, though delivered in the evening with no teachers involved in organising it. I gave  a fairly demanding lecture. They listened in rspectful silence and then asked a searching  series of  relevant questions.

              So why should I dread the invitation? I am of course  delighted that there are able young men wishing to discuss these matters of great importance to our joint futures. My worry is the letter reinforces the sense I have of the large gap between the approach of the best in the independent sector, and the typical approach in the state sector.

                I have not had any invitations from economics societies organised by students in state school six forms. If the state sector does not offer the Governor of the Bank of England or leading figures in the UK economics debate the chance to go in and discuss with students, but Eton does, Eton will get more help and the state schools will not. Therein lies the rub.

60 Comments

  1. Gerry Dorrian
    November 14, 2012

    Hopefully state-school kids reading this post will invite you to speak, in the teeth of opposition from their teachers if need be? I’m going to show your post to my daughter when I get back from work this morning and ask her if she wants to contact a local MP about coming to speak.

    1. zorro
      November 14, 2012

      John, I seem to recall that you went to my daughter’s school (ME) not so long ago to speak to the sixth form. I hope that they behaved themselves!

      zorro

      Reply: Yes,I do speak in local secondary schools when invited by the teachers to do so.

      1. zorro
        November 14, 2012

        The Eton ‘Keynes society’…..They are probably out to ambush you with recent instructions from a former pupil….

        zorro

  2. lifelogic
    November 14, 2012

    Indeed we should do all we can to improve state education and pupil motivations and suitable selection, but we need intelligent builders, plumbers, sales people and manufacturers too. Indeed we perhaps need rather fewer over paid lawyers, civil servants, bureaucrats and dodgy economists and the like – we seem to have far to many already.

  3. NickW
    November 14, 2012

    I was at my daughter’s school yesterday talking about her subject options for the International Baccalaureate. (She wants to do the IB in preference to A Levels).

    The Economics teacher seemed a genuinely pleasant and competent teacher, but when I asked him if his course was apolitical he admitted that he was a Socialist and that he tended to teach from that perspective; but he did however tell his students that there were other points of view, and where they could find them if they were interested.

    I suspect that is typical of State schools, and that all the institutions of the State tend to be Socialist. Certainly there is a strong tendency for communications from the school to focus on “Cuts” and their effect on the school’s budget. The school is however taking full advantage of the opportunities offered by Mr Gove’s reforms.

    1. uanime5
      November 14, 2012

      Well socialists do tend to focus on the good of society, rather than making as much money as possible (like capitalists). Perhaps this is why private companies are so right wing and non-profit organisations are so left wing.

      1. lifelogic
        November 14, 2012

        Socialist are rather misguided alas, they may think they are focusing on the good of society but are usually just making a pigs ear of it in no ones interests.

      2. Sebastian Weetabix
        November 15, 2012

        Are you for real??? Polly Toynbee and her (property), Mandleson and his (word left out) mortgages, Prescott and his (two) Jags and so on and on and on?

        Nothing but the best for the workers, eh?

  4. stred
    November 14, 2012

    Surely, you cannot expect any State schools to invite a Tory speaker. The indoctrination might be comprimised.

  5. Richard1
    November 14, 2012

    I believe the BBC journalist Robert Peston organises speaker events by public figures at state schools. I’m surprised he hasn’t invited you to join this project. (actually perhaps it isn’t that surprising…..)

    1. lifelogic
      November 14, 2012

      The London standard is even suggesting Robert Preston to run the BBC, are they serious?

      I suppose at least then we would no longer have to listen to his hugely irritating and contrived voice, his delivery laced with silly pregnant pauses with no intelligible message ever being discernible.

  6. Brian Tomkinson
    November 14, 2012

    You shouldn’t have dreaded the invitation, you should be rejoicing. The worst thing would be if Eton College stopped such activities. One problem in this country is that there is too much envy. Rather than trying to learn from and emulate the ongoing achievements of a great school which has been in existence for over six hundred years, there is an attitude of derision towards the school and those who have attended it. This is particularly noticeable in the media. Some would be happy if such activities at Eton were stopped because state schools don’t have them. Perhaps your local state schools need your help and encouragement to organise something similar rather than wait for the invitation.

  7. alan jutson
    November 14, 2012

    Summed up in a few words John.

    Its a difference in mind set.

    From my very limited experience of private schools, they seem to have a willingness to be rather more open in their thinking, and also complete plays, visits and hold a whole host of events outside of the school working day.

  8. william
    November 14, 2012

    You spoke at the same school whose political society enjoyed debating with Dennis Skinner,many years ago.

  9. Bemused
    November 14, 2012

    I grew up on the South Coast in a very ‘Blue’ area. Ten years ago, I took ‘A’ Level politics and in my first class both of my new teachers on introduction, announced that they were card carrying Labour party members. The next two years consisted of a sustained although quite faulty attack on Thatcherism and the free market and was completely without balance.

    One of these teachers seemed to spend the majority of her time in trying to get rid of performance led ‘setting’ in some subjects, something unfortunately that she was successful in.

  10. Neil Craig
    November 14, 2012

    I wonder if Eton, or indeed any state school, would consider asking anybody to debate alleged catastrophic global warming. I am certain they would have no difficulty finding informed sceptics willing to speak.

    I suspect that in any state school the teachers would either prevent the debate or take over and rearrange it so that only 1 side was represented. I hope Eton is still more free.

    Having done this myself I can say that they would have infinitely more difficulty getting anybody prepared to speak on the alarmist side, except somewhere like the BBC where it could be guaranteed that dissent would not be allowed.

    This is the list of those in Scotland (which has the most destructive “climate change” legislation in the world) who refused to publicly promote their alleged views.

    All 129 MSPs

    All 5 party organisations

    SEPA

    Scottish Natural Heritage

    Scottish Civil Service

    The Carbon Trust

    NERC (a quango you’ve never heard of but it gets £500 million a year to promote alarmism & did previously call for a debate)

    Scottish Renewables

    Renewable UK

    Any of the 5,000 RenewablesUK Conference attendees in Glasgow that day to “network” for windmillery”business opportunities”

    WWF

    Friends of the Earth

    Stop Climate Change Scotland (an umbrella organisation covering around 90 other alarmist groups)

    Professor Ann Glover (former Chief Scientific Adviser to the Scottish government, now to the entire EU, who once claimed that global warming would increase day length)

    Royal Society of Edinburgh

    and some individuals we won’t embarrass by naming.

    Between them these get several billions a year to promote alarmism

    Also Glasgow University

    Strathclyde University

    Glasgow Caledonian University

    The BBC

    Channel 4

    Glasgow Skeptics (spelled that way to avoid being confused with sceptics)

    The environmental correspondents across the Scottish press.

    By all logic this unanimity of the warming alarmist community statistically proves they know the catastrophic warming scare story is a fraud to keep us obedient & willing to pay more taxes and ever higher electricity bills & that it simply cannot survive free debate.

    1. uanime5
      November 14, 2012

      There is unity among those who warn of the danger of climate change because they have science to back them up, unlike the deniers who are fragmented because they each believe different claims from different cranks.

      1. zorro
        November 14, 2012

        Indeed, you are on their side and you are always right about everything…

        zorro

        1. Edward
          November 15, 2012

          “Cranks”
          cranks to unamime5 means anyone who has a different view.

        2. uanime5
          November 15, 2012

          Glad to see you finally admitted it.

          1. zorro
            November 15, 2012

            ……..except military history, and politics and economics in general 🙂

            zorro

      2. Neil Craig
        November 15, 2012

        Uni’s claim represents the standard of honesty of the alarmist community generally. It is, of course, a complete total and deliberate lie.

        There is no “science” that backs up the claim we are experiencing catastrophic warming. Not “insufficient scientific evidence” but NONE WHATSOEVER & I challenge the liar or any of the 630 odd MPs who claim to believe in it to produce some.

        He is also, of course, wrong about differing sceptical views and all the alarmists being in total agreement. Sceptics are on a range from believing cooling of a fraction of a degree to warming of up to 1.5C is credible. Alarmists say anything from 0.5C to 30 C- all they are agreed on is that it will be catastrophic. Clearly the alarmist range of scares is far wider (& far more obviously made up).

        1. Edward
          November 15, 2012

          Indeed Neil, if we now were to re-run the Al Gore film its predictions can already be seen to as false and alarmist.
          Why are the islands predicted to be submerged in the film still above water?
          Why has the predicted runaway increases in temperatures in the film not happened?
          Come on Al, when is the second DVD coming out, “Gore 2 The Apology”
          Less than one degree rise in average temperature on the planet during the 20th century and now no increase in this century.
          Is that what we are meant to be calling catastrophic

      3. lifelogic
        November 16, 2012

        Perhaps they have some state sector funded “scientists” to back them up but very little science and no thermometers or (honest) temperature records suggest anything remotely catastrophic.

      4. Lindsay McDougall
        November 16, 2012

        Lord Lawson has often argued that it will be cheaper to deal with the consequences of global warming once they have occured, rather than spending a lot on prevention, expenditure that may fail in its intent. Now that the rate of climate change appears to be slower than originally thought, might there not be something in that idea?

        Another peculiarity is that those most vociferous about climate change never advocate world zero population growth, nor do they propose zero immigration as a tool for enforcing it. Could it be that they are afraid (a) of the backward hordes of organised religion and (b) of being called racist?

  11. martyn
    November 14, 2012

    I think this article really distinguishes you from some of the Parliamentary intake of 2005 and 2010. Few of them would have written this article with the depth of feeling that you have shown. I respect that.

    I would love it if you came to speak at our comprehensive in Brighton. Would you come if I organised it?

    Reply: I am willing to speak at schools in and near my own constituency, but do not have the time for travel over longer distances. I also wish to see the students invite speakers – that is the point of the piece.

    1. Judith Mossman
      November 14, 2012

      With the greatest respect, and a consciousness of your many responsibilities, Brighton is not that far from Wokingham (I speak as one who has travelled a good deal to give talks on Classical subjects, and I have spoken in Castlereagh prison in Sligo as well as Eton) and I think an invitation from anyone in a comprehensive is well worth accepting: where teachers lead, pupils will follow. These engagements are indeed tiring and time consuming, but they are worth it. For the record, I much enjoyed my excursions to both, and I don’t think I have ever spoken in a school and felt it was a waste of time. I think it would be very greatly appreciated if you were able to speak there.

      1. martyn
        November 15, 2012

        Thanks. I think the point that JR makes at the beginning is that he has received an inviation from a sixth form student. Presumably therefore aged 17 or 18. I am not sure if the students at our local comprehensive (up to 16) would make such an invitation. Also JR – in a nice way – you are kind of being party to the privilege that you so clearly despise: if you go and speak at Eton they are getting the benefit whereas our students are not.

      2. John Wrexham
        November 16, 2012

        Students should be contacting their local MP first and then MPs of different political persuasions who are within a hour’s drive at the most. I don’t want my MP traipsing round the country giving evening talks to whoever can put together a letter. Considering we are told by the teaching profession that A Levels are really challenging and students are working harder than ever, then surely writing a letter should be easy peasy. Or perhaps things aren’t so rosy in the garden after all.

    2. zorro
      November 14, 2012

      Without putting too fine a point on it, perhaps they might be apprehensive about costs in inviting people to speak or getting approval from headteachers….

      zorro

      1. martyn
        November 15, 2012

        No I would pay for and arrange it.

  12. Matthew Parris
    November 14, 2012

    I share your responses, here, John. I’m always getting asked to speak at “independent” schools, almost never at state schools – though recently the Blue School in Wells did invite me. Robert Peston, to combat exactly this, has been organising a Speakers for Schools programme, getting potential speakers to sign up as willing to speak at state schools. I’m told one of the problems is that state schools and teachers are not good at dealing with extra-curricular stuff and so do not invite; and of course boarding schools do have their pupils captive at all hours, and so can do evenings, for instance.

    Reply: Thanks for your helpful response.

    1. Rebecca Hanson
      November 14, 2012

      “I’m told one of the problems is that state schools and teachers are not good at dealing with extra-curricular stuff.”

      Let’s be more specific.

      State schools and teachers are being forces to relentlessly focus on pleasing Ofsted and other external dictators by doing lengthy lesson plans for every lesson and extensive cycles of formative marking of every piece of work and so on.

      They are already working extremely long hours and many have virtually no lives beyond that. Those who get involved in the dark arts of actually doing what children need them to do are always the first to be culled when ‘school improvement through cullings’ is required to be shown as it so frequently is.

      Most teachers I know are very good at dealing with extra-curricular stuff. The problem lies in the fact that there is a cultural revolution on in State Education (search for Michael Gove my revolution for culture to read his own account of what he’s doing).

      1. JimF
        November 14, 2012

        No lives in school holidays either?

        1. Rebecca Hanson
          November 15, 2012

          Ask them.

          1. Rebecca Hanson
            November 15, 2012

            Or chat to them on Facebook or something.

      2. Sebastian Weetabix
        November 15, 2012

        The joke when I was a student was that aspiring teachers did a B.Ed degree because they could be relied upon to never get out of it before midday.
        Reflecting on my private sector job, this year I have been away from home on business trips for 22 weeks, including weekends, and weekdays in the UK office start at 0700 and rarely finish before 8pm due to having to deal with customers and colleagues from Japan to the west coast of the USA. I don’t get 6 weeks off in the summer either. Teaching well is difficult demanding work but don’t pretend it is uniquely taxing in terms of demands on time. It is not. I suspect half the trouble with the profession is teachers have mostly gone from school to uni to school again so too many think working 48 hours a week rather than going from 9 until 3:30 is exceptionally draining and demanding.

        The real difference here isn’t Ofsted or Baker days or lesson planning. It is that private schools in general (and Eton in particular) feel they can and should summon the likes of the Governor of the Bank of England and expect he will turn up, whereas it never even occurs to the state sector. That isn’t to do with time or money – it is partly arrogant presumption on the part of the Etonians and poverty of ambition in the state sector.

        1. Rebecca Hanson
          November 15, 2012

          Are you relentlessly forced to spend a large proportion of your time doing pointless exercises which will reduce rather than improve the quality of what due to the actions of politicians who care only for their own popularity and not a jot for the purposes of your work Sebastian?

          1. Sebastian Weetabix
            November 18, 2012

            If the teaching “profession” hadn’t produced such dire results after 50+ years of lefty domination, such supervision would not be required.

      3. Lindsay McDougall
        November 16, 2012

        The teaching profession could lessen its workload by agreeing that a formal examination should be the main means of measuring achievement. Then time spent on marking homework would be for the benefit of the child, not a means of formal assessment. Then you would have every reason and opportunity to tell Ofsted to take a running jump. What you mustn’t do is discourage those children who want to do extra work to better themselves.

        1. Rebecca Hanson
          November 17, 2012

          All teachers need is the right to challenge Ofsted when it behaves in ways which are clearly damaging to schools and which contravene the standards set for their inspections of private a public schools (and virtually all organistions in the UK) Lesley. It would be helpful if you didn’t overdramatise things.

          Why would reducing the quality of assessment lessen teacher’s workloads or allow them to focus on marking books in ways which are beneficial to the child rather than to inspectors Lindsay?

          Why on earth do you think I’ve ever discourage children who want to do extra work? I find that a very odd comment.

  13. Rebecca Hanson
    November 14, 2012

    Today I have written to 9 local secondary schools to invite their headteacher (or their nominated replacements) to bring their nominated students to meet Chris Davies MEP to discuss environmental issues and the European parliament (which are, of course, his forte as economic issues are yours John.

    These events are a doddle to organise. Why don’t you just get someone in your office or local party to organise one for you to meet students nominated by their headteachers from you local state secondary schools to discuss economic issues John? I find people from all walks of life are genuinely fascinated to have the opportunity to talk about these issues. We need economists who understand society and the economic behaviour of communities in deprived areas to work alongside those from places like Eton. We need to work to help voters in all areas become better informed. Let’s go out and encourage those who are interested!

    Reply: I do visit and talk to local sixth forms. I am not short of people to talk to! The point I was making was that at Eton the students themseleves form societies and extend the invitations. That does not happen in most state schools.

    1. Rebecca Hanson
      November 15, 2012

      Fair point,

      now accepted and understood.

      In general these things happen because students have the example of older students and people they know who are dong the same thing.

      So to bring the same thing to life in state schools we somehow need to cross pollinate that example. I think state school teachers are, in general, unaware of this kind of student behaviour. If we still had teachers TV or if we hadn’t shut down the development of teachers forums we could use them as places to inspire people with what’s possible.

      I wonder if there are other ways we could reach the children themselves and inspire them directly by letting them see the examples of others in which some of them will believe that they can do the same?

      1. Rebecca Hanson
        November 16, 2012

        Given that the normal processes of communication of good practice from government have been shut down, the best way to inspire lots of people in state schools to believe that they can do this kind of thing would be to persuade a soap editor to get something along these lines written into the plot of a major soap (perhaps Waterloo road?).

        You could start the storyline with some kids becoming aware of this happening in private schools and thinking they can’t do it, but with the support of a charismatic teacher finding they can.

  14. Christopher Ekstrom
    November 14, 2012

    Your touching antipathy to privilege is touching; time for a Republic?

  15. uanime5
    November 14, 2012

    When I went to a state school the only clubs were for drama, music, and sport; all of which I knew little about because I wasn’t directly involved with any of them. There was also a Government project where students were encouraged to work together, create, and sell a product but that was only available to sixth formers.

    Neither the students nor teachers organised any clubs for people with specific interests, unlike the university I went to which contained a whole variety of clubs. Perhaps older students should be encouraged to create clubs.

    1. zorro
      November 14, 2012

      We had a military history club at my school but it was dependent on hving teachers who were interested and could inspire others. I fear that this philanthropy has been beaten out of teachers by the bureaucracy/potential threat of disapproval in general. However, there are some exceptions in the state sector of which I am personally aware…..

      zorro

  16. Kenneth R Moore
    November 14, 2012

    I don’t find this surprising – it’s what happens when you dumb down educational standards with one size fits all exams and ensure that there are many many damaged kids in the system from what used to be called ‘broken homes’.

    The majority of children of those that go to Eton will be most likely to be amongst the most hard working and succesful people .It’s not surprising that their parents (more likely to be two active parents ) have instilled the same values that drove them to success (willingness to learn through curiosity, working like stink etc.) into their own children.

    There will be far less kids at the same level at state level – they will be in the minority and labelled as ‘boring’ or ‘uncool’ if they wished to debate politics.
    If you don’t like the situation, ensure that there is adequate streaming to weed out students that aren’t interested in learning and just bully and hold back other kids. Stop paying people to have kids for the wrong reasons and make them take responsibility.

    1. uanime5
      November 15, 2012

      I wouldn’t say those who go to Eton are the most hard working, though they’re often successful because of their connections rather than any personal abilities.

      The problem with your solution is that removing children who don’t want to learn just create a lot of adults who lack the education needed to work.

  17. NickW
    November 14, 2012

    Are Eton pupils presented with a balanced picture of the Science on global warming, or are they, like the pupils in State schools, only allowed to pass their exams if they regurgitate the politically correct view on global warming?

    The BBC had their climate meeting in 2006, at which it was decided to exclude all anthropogenic global warming sceptics from the air waves and push A.G.W.
    on all BBC programmes wherever possible. They made a deliberate decision to bias their reporting.

    The Climate Change Act was passed almost unanimously in 2008.

    To what extent was the BBC’s deliberate bias responsible for influencing Parliament to pass the Act?

    Should Parliament reconsider the Climate Change Act now it knows that the BBC presented a biased viewpoint to MPs and their constituents regarding climate science.?

    1. uanime5
      November 15, 2012

      What do you mean by “balanced picture of the Science on global warming”? Science is based on scientific studies, not a plethora of ideologies. Would you also want schools to teach that fairies are responsible for chemical reactions to ensure “diversity of ideas”?

      The sceptics were excluded because they’re a bunch of cranks without any evidence to back up their claims.

      1. NickW
        November 15, 2012

        On the contrary; the cranks without any evidence to back up their claims have been all those scientists who proclaimed “Certainty” about anthropogenic global warming, and on discovering they were wrong, conspired together to suppress any alternative point of view.

      2. Edward
        November 15, 2012

        Fairies , cranks..I dont think this qualifies as a a scientific debate unanime5,
        Predictable smear tactics I suppose, but not much more.
        The problem for you alarmists is that the current temperature statistics do not bear out the dire predictions of Al Gore and his friends.

  18. Jon
    November 14, 2012

    A good point to raise, lets broaden it out.

    Would a Tracey Emin inspire more state students doing art or a Theo Paphitis , what about Adrian Newey F1 engineer or a Patrick Head or a Sir Norman Foster. Wouldn’t it be good just for the inspiration it may give.

  19. sm
    November 14, 2012

    Sounds like Russia Today catch phrase …Question more!
    Ask the asking Schools to put feelers out to other local schools to participate as well?

    Get it broadcast mp3 or webcast , i am sure the students are savvy enough, i would also probably listen to it if available.

  20. Lindsay McDougall
    November 15, 2012

    You could prepare a talk entitled “Keynsianism is bunk”. That would get you a few invitations.

    1. Lindsay McDougall
      November 15, 2012

      Or even better, you could bring up to date “International charity: a sacred cow”, an article by Enoch Powell published in New Society on 6th July 1965. All credit to New Society for publishing it, although they added a footnote “There will be a rejoinder to this article”.

  21. Electro-Kevin
    November 15, 2012

    There are some exceedingly good state schools. These are turning out worthy Russell Group candidates.

    The issue is not, therefore, one of standards.

    I expect the state school pupils are not imbued with the sense of audacity and derring do that they ought to be.

    It comes from the parents, not the school. Both private and selective education filter out the type of parenting that makes maintaining standards difficult. At the higher level of public schooling we see parents who may well even be the peers of people such as yourself – therefore the boys may feel well within their comfort zone when inviting you.

    (My lads aren’t quite old enough but they are showing great promise – one of them was awarded his prize by Graham Brady yesterday.)

  22. David Jarman
    November 15, 2012

    I guess you wont post my comment because the truth hurts don’t it? A day of reckoning will come. When 14 year old girls in Africa can make engines run on water your time for burying this is, is coming to an end. When the sleeping public finally realises whats been going on, it will be a real ugly sight.

    1. Bazman
      November 19, 2012

      Perpetual motion. Got the right tinfoil beeny on today Dave?

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