Grammar Schools

My mother went to grammar school. She didn't go to university, foolishly chosing to go the 'arty' route. Which pretty much sealed her fate for poverty later in life.

However, her grammar school education put her a step above most other working class girls/women. The knock on effect of this was to give her children the value of education. We went to comprehensives (which were then and still mostly are bad) BUT went into further education later in life, DUE to our value of education instilled early on by our mother.

Both of her children are now postgraduates and earn good salaries. The knock on effect of a grammar school education.

As a teacher now (have worked in 5 UK comprehensives), I can testify, comprehensives mostly don't work. The lower level students drag down the education of the higher level ones. Cruel, but true.

I don't have a solution. Or I'd be a politician. I guess the same old things for teachers. NOT pay. Reduced workload. An exhausted teacher can't give those higher level working class children the extra time they need to counteract the lack of entry advantage middle-class students have. Handling bad behaviour day in, day out is part what exhausts teachers. Also 35 students per class. The sheer amount of lessons taught (each lesson necessitates at least 30 minutes planning). Marking. Meetings. Data. Reports.

I teach just as many hours now in a private school. But no behaviour issues. Much smaller classes. And my stress load is more than halved.

Our whole education system needs a complete overhaul. The present system of 'one size fits all' is unfair on the brighter children.
Children are not all the same and shouldn't be treated as though they are. Most quickly show where their aptitudes lie at quite a young age. They should then be separated, so their particular skills can be developed.
This was the thinking behind the 11+, and generally, it worked well.
Bright children from poorer families should be given the opportunity to reach their full potential. Grammar schools do exactly that. At the moment many are held back because teachers have to waste time instilling discipline into those who really would be better off learning practical skills.

I went to a grammar school but I am absolutely convinced that these were not the main reason that there was working class progress in the 60s. There were areas where upper and middle class people tended not to compete, they were the arts and theatre and engineering. Now state education severly restricts children's access to the first two of these and the privately educated have realised they are the way to make money. Engineering hardly exists any longer although computing which could be regarded as its successor offers some hope for poorer students. Returning to grammar schools would do little to open pathways. There are still very few poor people reaching the highest levels in any of the most influential fields such as law, politics or banking. But then there were even less in the '60s. And when they do acheive progress these people bring with them the values they have learned growing up, so a successful barrister will choose not to work in the most lucrative areas but will choose human rights or immigration because they have a social conscience.
There is a problem with schools and education but it is a problem which permeates society and children bring their home problems into the classroom. Expecting teachers to fix things is a bit like caling a plumber when there's a flood. Until there is proper funding and support working class families will struggle and education will be pot luck. It's not a problem grammar schools could fix.

Yes, you're right trisher...social skills are an obstacle to many children's careers. I live in a rough part of the north and I know that I would be reluctant to employ any of the local school-leavers, simply because of their lack of good manners and respect for others.
However, I went to a grammar school myself, and was taught high standards. Manners and attitudes do matter....passing exams is not enough to get on in life. I wish more schools realised that.

It's not just manners if you grow up with neighbours who use and deal drugs, if your clothes and shoes are the results of shoplifting, if being sent away for a bit to a young offenders institution is commonplace you aren't going to flourish in school. And if your family is simply a nice one living in the same area you really will struggle to access and progress in school and an overworked teaching staff can only give limited help.