Comments on: Parenting versus politics – Ruth Kelly’s choice

By: Neil Harding

Neil Harding — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 14:32:55 +0000

The point for me is not that a Labour minister (we expect it of Tories) has sent one of her children to private school but that she can actually afford the fees.

For a long time the majority of the Labour Left have accepted that you cannot ban private education and Ruth Kelly certainly hasn’t advocated banning it, so she is not a hypocrite.

State schooling is still not good enough but that doesn’t mean that Labour haven’t improved it. Labour have improved it and it is still improving, no mattter where politicians send their children.

By: Jonathan Sheppard

Jonathan Sheppard — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 22:42:45 +0000

cityunslicker – what grave is tony benn in?

By: Snafu

Snafu — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 10:36:30 +0000

Ellee, isn’t it somewhat ironic that both Sir Winston Churchill and Sir Richard Branson attended private schools!?!

By: Tom Paine

Tom Paine — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 00:06:06 +0000

I don’t understand those who think that State schools would somehow be better if attended by the children of people who can afford private education.

They have paid, through tax, for many places in State schools and have then generously donated them to people who can’t afford anything else.

They are benefactors and the only correct response to them is “thank you.” Reflect calmly and I think you will find that anything else you want to say to them is merely driven by envy.

Thank you Ruth, in your capacity as a parent. As for your performance as a Minister, I am afraid that’s a different matter.

By: cityunslicker

cityunslicker — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 22:14:59 +0000

Pathetic. What little faith she has in her own beliefs. Tony Benn would turn in his grave.

She oversaw the cutting of the number of specilaist schools. The hypocrisy is incredible.

Imagine DC not sending his kids to Eton!

By: Welshcakes Limoncello

Welshcakes Limoncello — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 20:53:03 +0000

It’s a case of “Do I sacrifice my child for my principles or my principles for my child?”. To me, the answer is clear. If you are a socialist you should fight for the state provision to be improved, not remove your child from it. If the articulate and informed parents just remove their children from the system, what hope is there?

By: Jean-Luc Picard

Jean-Luc Picard — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 20:05:38 +0000

I have sympathies for Ruth Kelly, but what would be her opinion of private schools had her child not had this problem?

By: Teri

Teri — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 19:00:55 +0000

Sorry – I meant purport. Dam Anmeisa.

By: Teri

Teri — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 18:51:55 +0000

Buster – thanks for the link.

So why wasn’t the school good enough? I mean Ofsted claim there’s not an issue with the SEN teaching in the Bolton LEA. So why fork out 15k on a private school when a mainstream school is good enough?

I wonder how many other Ofsted reports proport to the same findings in other labour lead constituencies. Could there be Ofsted hotspots as well as NHS hotspots? Can of worms I feel.

By: Teri

Teri — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 18:42:48 +0000

Elle

Have a look at this site. It gives details about how diagnosis of dyslexia can made at what type of age. I roughly estimate RK’s son to be about 9 years old.

http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/DS/00224.html

So why did it take so long? Poor education? Sub standard parenting? My question is why didn’t the education sec of 18 months and parent to her son of nine years miss his learning difficulties? New labour as
we say up here in the North – MY Arrrrse!