Wednesday, March 26, 2008
The NUT and the army
The National Union of Teachers has voted to oppose military recruitment activities in schools if they employ “misleading propaganda”. The MoD has denied recruiting in schools and said that its activities are to raise “general awareness of the armed forces in society, not to recruit”. The army can clearly offer a good career to young people; there are also of course very considerable risks. As one of the NUT delegates said of joining the army this is not a decision people should take lightly.
I am most impressed, however, by Mr. McGarr, a teacher from London, who said “Join the Army and we will send you to carry out the imperialist occupation of other people’s countries”. I was worried that teachers no longer held views like this. Clearly some still do: I hope Mr. McGarr also wears a cord jacket with leather elbow patches for teaching. Maybe the world has not changed after all.
Turgon @ 12:10 AM
“One of the things I liked about england is it does not in the main go in for big military parades, the odd historic bumpf where betty takes the salute, but by and large in England the troops stay in their barracks. “
They ran the Empire with bandstands, the Brits were frequently in the position of simply not having the soldiers to deliver a strategic solution, they had to bluff their way quite a lot.
The Brits acted big, they had ( at one point) troops in Russia, Turkey, Mesopotamia, Ireland of course, if the Domions wouldn’t play ball they could be shafted for the lack of a few thousand squaddies, sometimes, they simply didn’t have them.
Places like India were also a bit of a risk that could go pear-shaped very big style. In retrospect, Ireland was more of a nuisance, they were unable to hammer because we were too like them to go medieval on.
If we were Arabs, they’d have dropped mustard gas on Cork instead of burning it.
G.
Posted by on Mar 26, 2008 @ 10:40 PMMr McGarr has it spot-on, Turgon. I’ve seen the RAF in schools because they visited mine to give a glossy, glorified piece of propaganda on the career prospects in the RAF and then actively tried to recruit pupils. I am sure the army are much the same. They target schools in more impoverished areas too because I can hardly see the upper middle-classes wanting to send their kids away to be blown up in illegal wars.
Posted by on Mar 27, 2008 @ 01:31 PMHarry Flashman, your comments about teachers really are nasty, and misguided. There are actually plenty of teachers who share your right wing views. Most of what is taught in schools is apolitical or taught with a balance that reflects dominant rather than radical currents in society. As for incompetence - what your argument relies on is........actually, on reflection you don’t really argue, you just spew invective on a whole class of people. 0/10
Posted by on Mar 27, 2008 @ 01:34 PMTeachers are extremely political.
You get what it says on the tin, or maybe not,
compulsory sex-ed is essential (we’re told) because of teenage pregnacies, however only 4 out of 10,000 kids who opt out.
It is political activism, the gay groups couldn’t stand the four kids getting to her how normal it was to do anal sex.
The very same NGO heading up the sex-ed campaign named a prize after a leading pedophile.
You couldn’t make it up.
G.
Posted by on Mar 27, 2008 @ 02:07 PM*Harry Flashman, your comments about teachers really are nasty, and misguided.*
Oooh, sorry Miss, should I stand in the corner or will 100 lines of “I must not be nasty to teachers” suffice?
Posted by on Mar 27, 2008 @ 02:25 PM“The very same NGO heading up the sex-ed campaign named a prize after a leading pedophile.”
What??!!
Ruane’s named a prize after Patrick Pearse? OutrageousPosted by on Mar 27, 2008 @ 03:08 PMYou might do better with Casement by way of sex tourism. Pearse wasn’t like that.
In fact if you are looking for a Shinner scandal C. Ruane is the one to go for. That portfolio is about to go pear-shaped on her.
Ian Dunn was the real deal. In fact he was one of the founders of the Brit pedophile movement. I gather the Catholic media are about to do a mea culpa on the PIE funding.
I ws picked for the Ruane campaign because my pro-gay liberation credentials are impeccable.
Whatever my present pro-Vatican leanings may be, nobody can accuse me of not running enough gay clubs & happenings.
I’m really surprised david Trimble didn’t recruit me as the UUP ‘dark’ consultant.
I am more cool than Eno.
I still sell records. Having said that my old band dumped me for their NYC radio award thing. I’m too good-living these days.
G.
Posted by on Mar 28, 2008 @ 01:43 AM
