It is not the best of times; it is the worst of times; it is the age of insanity; it is the age of stupidity; it is the age of foolishness; it is the epoch of incredulity. These are the dark times we find ourselves in.
When Labour came to power last month, a 2022-23 survey found that around 187,000 five-year-olds in England – 30% – are falling behind their expected reading levels. This is compared with 27% in 2018-19. In addition, one in five children struggle to read and write. This summer’s ‘What Kids Are Reading’ report, a study of more than 1.2 million pupils across Britain, shows a 4.4% decrease in the number of books children are reading compared to last year. Instead, we have students who identify as cats, dinosaurs and horses.
Clearly, England has a significant issue with illiteracy rates, but addressing this is not Labour’s main priority. Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, in response to the riots over the past week, has said she wants schools to teach children how to spot extremism and fake news online. This will be taught in primary subjects, alongside English and maths, to arm pupils against “conspiracy theories”. Children will learn how to spot ‘far-Right’ misinformation, which, according to the Government, was the sole cause of the recent social unrest. In fact, the ‘far-Left’ are responsible for just as much social unrest, if not more. Take the notions of ‘anti-gentrification’ and ‘anti-repression’, which are used to justify direct physical attacks by the far-Left on police officers, politicians and businesspeople – for example, the activities of Just Stop Oil (who recently disrupted the flow of traffic on the M25) and Extinction Rebellion.
In her definition of ‘misinformation’, the Education Secretary doesn’t include the volumes of woke gobbledygook foisted on children recently. On the contrary, she has put the proposed ban on schools teaching gender ideology under review. Starmer did not oppose this ban and agreed with it before he came into power, so why is his Government now reviewing it? Asked three times before the election if she would keep the ban or ditch it, Ms. Phillipson refused to answer directly but said: “There are trans people within society and their existence should be recognised.”
One thing it would be good to teach schoolchildren to be sceptical about is the media constantly telling them that our planet is under threat from ‘climate change’. In fact, temperatures have only risen slightly over the past 200 years and these are probably cyclical changes. Climate: The Movie should be compulsory viewing for all schoolchildren. It’s also doubtful if the last Government’s mismanagement of the pandemic will ever feature on the curriculum, despite the devastating effects of the lockdowns on education.
Philipson has also paused the implementation of the proposed law on freedom of speech in English universities (the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023). This means that students criticising gender ideology, for example, may well be placed under investigation by university authorities. Limiting free speech on campus is another example of this Government’s creeping authoritarianism.
It feels as if we’re slipping into an era when schoolchildren are being indoctrinated with propaganda (gender ideology, climate change and all social unrest is the fault of the ‘far-Right’) and being taught only what the authorities want them to learn (which doesn’t include English and maths).
We seem to be sliding into dictatorship. Let’s hope Keir Starmer and Bridget Phillipson meet the same fate as other would-be dictators.
Jack Watson, who’s 15, has a Substack newsletter called Ten Foot Tigers about being a Hull City fan. You can subscribe here.
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