Huge privilege to be Education SofS. We're determined to drive up standards & lead govt’s agenda with renewed mission. We want to be at the forefront of change to improve lives & opportunities of children so they make the most of their abilities and lead happy & fulfilling lives https://t.co/vn66Tlf3yy
— Gavin Williamson (@GavinWilliamson) January 8, 2020
For some reason, when I read the Secretary of State’s tweet recently (see above, I was reminded of this notice I came across in 2015. I originally took the photo because the typo caught my eye. Even that seems strangely fitting in this context.
Fertiliser notice, by Terry Freedman
As I said when I undertook a textual analysis of the government’s education technology strategy, language is important, especially if you’re trying to convince people of something. I’ve been in education for decades, and I’ve never heard teachers talking about driving up standards or leading agendas (which makes a change from driving them I suppose). As for “mission”, the closest I’ve seen are school mottos, and more often than not they exemplify Stephen Potter’s law of the petrification of the implied opposite.
The kind of corporate guff which emanates periodically from the DfE is even against the government’s own rules.
I think we’d all be much better off if the DfE spoke the way most teachers speak, which is to say in plain English.