Is Britain Broken?

its my opinion that its in the interests of those governing us to "divide and rule", Turning people against each other is a tactic to take our eyes of the ball.

I agree Wyllow3.

Okay joanna
Well either you are a really exceptionally brilliant teacher; or I did a totally wasteful, useless non- job working with children with sometimes profound SEND (an 11 year old Roma girl with the mental age of a 3 year old)
And the many, many children I taught the English language to from scratch.
Some of whom who have started university this year.
Could you have handled a class of 30+ on your own with half of them with little or no English?
With a couple of g&t kids thrown in, just to add to your differentiation woes.
Not to mention the kids with behaviour problems who I stopped from being permanently excluded.
I could go on and on.
You’ve actually made me quite angry.

Iam64

Joanna - schools now have children who in the recent past would have been in special education of some kind
I support the aim of inclusivity but it’s a disaster if not properly funded

Too true. I watched the gradual inclusion of children from a special school, first just mornings with 1-1 support, then whole days, then the support dwindled to a ‘chat’ on handover with the supporting staff member at the start of the week and a request for feedback at the end of the week.
But in Toxteth, Liverpool I still had 39 children and no support. Did those children suffer? I did my best not to let it happen.

FannyCornforth, I worked in Moss Side, Manchester, and East London.

Nobody in France works cash in hand? Nobody avoids paying their tax? Nobody is employed by unscrupulous people? No people trafficking?

I don't think so.

Living 'under the radar'in France is quite difficult if you do not already have a source of revenue.
I D cards establish your rights

GrannyGravy13 there will always be people who live under the radar, there always have. Like the rich who hide money offshore or have clever trickery to salt away assets. If we took them to task that would be a good start.

I agree there are currently indeed more of the least well off living under the radar and to me the answer is to give them adequate means not to do so. I know of someone doing this and if I am totally honest managing on £77 for everything I don't condemn that person totally out of hand getting a small bit of cash earnt. There, I've said it, as a respectable law abiding Quaker!

GrannyGravy13

volver

Zoejory

The appropriate response is "How can we fix it?"

Excellent questions. And I have no idea. Do you, volver?

Not blaming the underclass would be a start.

Electing a government that try to do the best for the country, maybe?

There are people who are more than happy to live under the radar volver how do you think any Government could/would deal with them?

I asked the question, I didn't say I had the answer.

As for those living "under the radar", they've always been there. I'd stop trying to blame everything that's wrong with this country on the tiny proportion of people who live "under the radar". (Whatever that means)

volver

Zoejory

The appropriate response is "How can we fix it?"

Excellent questions. And I have no idea. Do you, volver?

Not blaming the underclass would be a start.

Electing a government that try to do the best for the country, maybe?

Oh I agree, I've never blamed the underclass whatever that may be.

We could definitely do with a new government and I'm sure we'll get one.

We'll just have to wait for that event.

Joanna - schools now have children who in the recent past would have been in special education of some kind
I support the aim of inclusivity but it’s a disaster if not properly funded

volver

Zoejory

The appropriate response is "How can we fix it?"

Excellent questions. And I have no idea. Do you, volver?

Not blaming the underclass would be a start.

Electing a government that try to do the best for the country, maybe?

There are people who are more than happy to live under the radar volver how do you think any Government could/would deal with them?

travelsafar, yes we've had a fairly fortunate period to live through. I think the rot set in long ago, though, (around 2010) and gradually, with services cut to the bone and more recent worldwide problems - the cracks are really showing now. There's no contingencies, no slack to take up in a crisis - we were stretched to (or beyond) breaking point already.

The word "underclass" should have been in inverted commas in my post, sorry.

Zoejory

*The appropriate response is "How can we fix it?"*

Excellent questions. And I have no idea. Do you, volver?

Not blaming the underclass would be a start.

Electing a government that try to do the best for the country, maybe?

But I bet that you didn’t work in a school like mine Joanna.
It was an extremely challenging environment.

When there were cuts backs a few years ago, they lost three teachers in order to save the TAs.

It would have been impossible to run the school without support staff.

If a child has an EHCP it is law that they get the support that they are entitled to. So if a one to one is needed, so be it.

I’ve worked in lots of schools, and my family are, or were, all teachers, so I do know how schools differ.

Broken and sad. I wonder if I was young and starting out would I stay here?

The appropriate response is "How can we fix it?"

Excellent questions. And I have no idea. Do you, volver?

There are indeed areas that have become as described, although there have been no go areas for centuries on and off. (Streets at day or night time in Victoria Britain?)

Its this that is the point strikes me when looking at things as a whole...

...*I'm sure we can all think of people who have lied and cheated their way through life who have done very well for themselves* ...

Plus, in town centres - where it is more noticeable, a major factor locally without doubt is the closing of key businesses - JL and similar closures for example - during and soon after covid that has taken the heart out of my very own city centre. There are pockets in the town that were like this before, they just didn't get noticed in the same way.

Look, in terms the healing we are searching for there is no doubt at all that social deprivation is the driver a substantial % of what we find. This much is so well documented and our means to tackle it limited, but its my opinion that its in the interests of those governing us to "divide and rule", Turning people against each other is a tactic to take our eyes of the ball.

Kent is in a heck of a mess financially, I guess there are going to be all kinds of cost cutting. Depressingly we have had a murder in a village pub near us, something which would have seemed impossible just a few years ago.

LizzieDrip, it's not just the poor turning to drink and drugs. Great friend of mine died from a heroin overdose. Private schooling, great job, addiction took him over.

I was partially watching the news last night and assumed these people were talking about the state of Britain. No, they were talking about USA.

Many, many countries are in a mess at the moment for numerous reasons.

yougov.co.uk/topics/economy/articles-reports/2022/10/13/new-cost-living-tracker-reveals-extent-crisis-west

If Britain is broken, the appropriate response isn't "so is everywhere else" or "where do you want to move to, then?"

The appropriate response is "How can we fix it?"

Re schools, I taught for 20 years in Primary schools. Just me with a class of never less than 30 children. No support staff whatsoever. And some schools were in really “deprived” areas, one of which I grew up in.
Did some of those children “really, really suffer” ?

The meaning you have attributed to the term underclass is incorrect Skydancer. Underclass refers to the lowest social stratum, usually made up of disadvantaged minority groups.

My DD in Australia works in the care industry.

It’s not just us.

They can’t get nearly enough staff to do that type of work, people over there fill up A&E departments because they can’t get doctors appointments.

Oh, and she has to pay whenever she visits the doctor, nothing free unless you are on a low income.

It’s not all great everywhere else either.

We need to ask ourselves why some people turn to drink, drugs and behaviour that is outside accepted norms. They do this to help themselves forget how hopeless their lives have become, and because they see themselves as ‘apart’. The increase in ‘dregs’ (as described in a previous post) is a symptom of a broken society - not the cause of it.