The man that hath no music in himself

I wonder if like Jessica, Shylock's daughter,  Michael Gove's children think this of him after today's announcement over the GCSE's.

You see with the announcement of a return to a single examination at the end of a course he has clearly signaled that he does not care about education. Or rather that he cares about some children but certainly not all.

One swallow does not a summer make yet one result may a child's life break

Education should be inclusive and Gove's attempt to bring about an English Baccalaureate is another example of how he has no understanding of diversity in our society.

http://www.mydaughter.co.uk/educating-your-daughter/11-16/education-choices/english-baccalaureate/

It is reprehensible to this commentator that a man, who owes his good start in life to a State Education system,  is trying to take us back to a time of elitism. From a psychological perspective alone the idea of a system that ends in a single exam is horrendous. Even my son who is studying at my University, Liverpool, is no longer saddled with a series of all consuming examinations at the end of a year. Now they undergo module examinations throughout the year, a system which rewards consistent application not a one off hit. For true educational prowess there needs to be a clear combination of formative and summative assessment so that a true picture of a learner's ability can be built up. Relying on one exam in summer can have devastating results.

For example a child suffering from hayfever, asthma or allergic rhinitis can find themselves in a terrible position during the pollen season and that can ultimately lead to bad examination marks. I remember doing one paper at sixth form so doused up on drugs to combat my allergies that I could hardly keep awake.

The ongoing assessment that formative methods bring to the table means that a child has a fairer chance of reaching a better standard. That means a child has a better chance of a better future. 

I urge every parent of a child entering secondary school this year, like my son has, to oppose the plans of a return to sleepless nights and high pressure. For if a child thinks they cannot achieve then they are likely to look for other outlets in their life to get ahead. That could mean many things including the horrific spectacle of the gang colours. We have spent years attempting to include all children in learning and with this decision we may end up with an even more unfair society.

I regularly come across middle aged adults who can neither read nor write properly and when I work with them the common theme running through their life has been one of a feeling of not being good enough. Are we going to destroy more children by this?

We don't need to dumb down we need to work smarter. Use divergent thinking to solve the problems of poor assessment don't return to the depths of despair of an outdated system.

Make sure that our children have the best chance and that we can all grow together. Make sure that all children have the music inside them. 

When a Knight has no honour

What really beggars belief is the day after the most damning report ever in relation to cover up and conspiracy in the UK, one of the main players, Norman Bettiston has come out and held on to the same ridiculous story that has caused pain beyond belief to the families of 96 dead Liverpool supporters.

Being a Knight of the Realm is supposed to be about honour and integrity, but not for this one. This is the first positioning of saving one's own backside.

For three years during the 1980's I stood on the Kop or at Goodison Park watching some of the greatest football and the greatest teams I had ever seen. I stood in crowds where you could hardly move. I even stood in the middle of the Kop and cheered for York City in an FA Cup tie.

And not once did I feel like I was ever in danger!

Merseyside Police were impeccable at handling large crowds in tight situations week in week out, the same crowds that arrived at Hillsborough that tragic April afternoon. They were experienced, capable, forceful, directed, jovial, constantly chatting to the fans and most of all organised.

Yet in South Yorkshire that day there was complete carnage that was brought about not by the fans of two great football clubs but by the ineptitude of one or two key players who were either too wet behind the ears or too arrogant to realise that they were out of their depths.

I do not blame individual officers on the ground, from what I can tell most of them performed to the best of their ability on what was a dark day. No I see this as a clear failure of management and organisation.

So Norman Bettiston better needs to get real and needs to act in a more contrite manner as all I see is the light of his career going out like a flame in nitrogen.

And rightly so.

Justice for the 96, justice for the families, justice for the whole of Merseyside,

NOW!

You'll Never Walk Alone

Tonight my son will sleep in his Liverpool home and I am grateful that he has followed his father to a city that is vibrant, diverse, funny, harsh but most of all compassionate. As a Yorkshireman I am proud of my roots and deeply in love with the moors and hills where I grew up yet I have a second home in a land of Gerry and his Pacemakers, in a place where I grew up and learned of wine, women and of course song.

People often say to me where have I enjoyed living the most? France? Switzerland? Kent? Yorkshire? Wiltshire? My answer will always be the same Liverpool.

This is the city that taught me how to be me, for the first time in my life I actually began to know myself there. I discovered who Trace Senior really was and believe me that took some sorting out. I discovered love, deep love and friendship that will never be put asunder. And to know my son is experiencing the same is of great relief to this slightly balding, overweight middle aged man.

Yet I have that luxury, the knowledge that I saw my son only a few hours ago and spoke to him on the phone whilst I wrote this blog. Tonight in Liverpool the families of 96 children, for they were all someone's child, cannot do that. They cannot do that because of institutional mismanagement, negligence and lies.

I am convinced that this report will go deeper to the heart of British politics and institutionalisation than even perhaps the Bloody Sunday inquiry. I am of the belief that elements of our society and so called ruling bodies were absolutely clear, long before today, of the nature of what had happened that fateful day April 15th 1989 at the Leppings Lane End of the Hillsborough stadium.

The question is what was known and by who and when? And what should we do about it?

Firstly let us be clear. Whatever is done it will not bring back those poor souls who died that warm spring afternoon in Yorkshire. Nor will it take away the 23 years of hurt that the families of the 96 have fought for justice. But it may bring some kind of closure, closure on a wound that festers on the very soul of our society that like an infected pussy carbunkle has been allowed to continue to grow by inaction, ineptitude and instictive self survival of a few in the know.

Everybody at that ground that day has suffered in some way. Everyone who has any connection with Liverpool or Nottingham Forest Football Clubs have suffered in some way. Everyone connected with the Taylor Report have been affected by the realities of what they knew and saw and did, or rather didn't say.

Yet at the end of the day there are people, powerful people, who clearly know more than they have told and it is those who have caused much of the suffering and they should be held accountable.

Will that happen? Possibly not, probably not. Why? because in the words of Mulder "The truth is out there" And we all know what happened to Agent Mulder.

This is without doubt a conspiracy of the highest order and I like a good conspiracy theory like the best of us. Unfortunately I fear this conspiracy will turn out to have real truth behind it.

Tonight as I go to sleep and think of those back in Liverpool and those connected with the city I will pray that those involved will sleep a little easier tonight as the healing process can begin. I hope that we as a great nation will help those in Liverpool to do that.

For one thing I am certain of, once you have been taken in as a child of the city then you will always be part of that city. Liverpudlians are known for doing that. Tonight however if this nation wishes to be truly great then we need, each one of us, to put our differences apart and to put our collective arms, and hearts around those who are in pain under the shadow of the Liver Bird!