Moylesy posted:
Harking back to the education reform debate on the first page, I found this interesting;
Schools should be focussed on preparing our children, from each according to his or her abilities, to each according to their needs, to serve society and the nation. A society and nation that needs more electricians, plumbers, fitters, engineers, chippies and brickies, farmers and craftsmen, scientists and soldiers and doctors and nurses. And fewer accountants, lawyers, City wide boys, bureaucrats, corporate apparatchiks and holders of third-class degrees in “Media Studies” from the University of Luton.
Technical and craft education needs to be massively resourced. It was the neglect of this vital component by successive Labour and Tory Governments that wrecked the original 1944 educational vision.
Schools for future workers by hand need as much support, and prestige, as those for future workers by brain. Children should be sorted and guided over a period of several years toward the type of education which will best bring out their own unique talents, mental, physical, artistic or whatever and place them most effectively at the service of the nation.
The uniqueness of all of our children should be celebrated and harnessed to bring out in each of them their own separate, personal, and essential contribution to the family and unity of the Nation.
A contribution which they need to be taught to value and take pride in. All Britons, doctor and dustman, cyberneticist and carpenter, physicist and farm labourer, are needed, working together to build our nation’s future.
Makes sense to me. Now, which political party would you associate with that statement? 
Essentially, what you are talking about here is "personalising learning" (read 2020 Vision Gilbert Report) which is a good thing although there are some challenges that come with it not least the danger of labelling young people too early in their educations. I didn't know I wanted to be a teacher until the second year of my degree. Serving society and the nation doesn't seem to take in to account one's freedom to choose one's own path in life - which of course personalising learning tries to do also.
You cannot get into a situation where you change the very fabric of the education system every 5 - 10 years based on the nation's employment needs - education is about more than that - its about equipping young people to be able to make a contribution in society not just serving an employment need that society requires.
As for the general tone of the statement, I think you’ll find that all the major political parties support it – it’s the way the idea is delivered that there is a difference.
Also, I think that many schools do value the differences in the talents of their pupils and students. Unfortunately, employers and central government demand a certain number of A* - C grade passes. If you allow teachers to teach you would be half way there. Central government, pressured by parents who demand easy to read information regards to plausible and measurable success will never allow that to happen.
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