Towards a More Perfect Union

Finito World has no political allegiance, and it’s precisely for this reason that the efforts of Edapt and former teacher Stephen James to promote a model of support and representation for teachers that isn’t allied to any particular side of the political spectrum caught our eye. These times are out of joint, and to mend ourselves we believe that the times demand not divisiveness but togetherness. Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, the unions have been repeatedly unhelpful both in the workplace and in the vital question of returning our children to school.

British Airways CEO Alex Cruz has stated that it took months of trying and 500 invitations to meetings before the unions agreed to negotiate. This is unacceptable at a time of crisis.

Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer – though a figure of promise – has so far indulged the unions in prioritising their own membership ahead of the welfare of children. At a time when he might have moved memorably – as he has done on antiSemitism – to distinguish himself from the left of the Party, he has instead hedged.

The Labour leader may eventually pay a penalty at the ballot-box for this. The teaching unions’ refusal to countenance even a phased return to school effects particularly the mental health of those children who come from impoverished backgrounds. In truth, the return of schools should never have been a political question. All along, it was a moral one. One might also wonder –at a time when the unions are calling for an extension to the furlough scheme - whether the unions themselves are playing their part. One looks in vain for evidence of the unions freezing contributions from their members, or making return of contributions to those in severe financial hardship.

When we caught up with former education secretary Estelle Morris over the summer, she was blunt: ‘The unions have got a role, but I don’t think they’re always their own best friends. I would call sometimes for a more conciliatory tone.’

Morris also agrees that unions create a bias towards ‘non-entrepreneurial, statist types’. As an organisation committed to the dignity that comes with work, Finito World considers it a source of concern that the influence of the unions is creating a sense of torpor at the very heart of our education system. Who can measure the extent to which the presence of a ‘statist’ ethos might be impacting the values of teachers, and therefore the values passed onto children?

It is possible to have these misgivings while also – as Morris does – celebrating the likes of Sir Michael Barber (see page 7) who came up through the unions. The relevance of this topic could hardly be stated enough as Sir Keir Starmer leads the Labour Party into the winter and beyond conference season. As shown by our feature on page 44, the left has an opportunity which must now be seized to reimagine its approach to education.

It was W.B. Yeats who wrote that ‘The best lack all conviction/while the worst are full of passionate intensity’. But for Starmer, to be as good as he can be, he must discover conviction on this question – and he hasn’t a moment to lose.

23

10,000 HOURS

Designer Thomas Heatherwick’s tips for would-be architects

25 TOMORROW’S LEADERS ARE BUSY TONIGHT Euan Blair is taking on the universities

27 THOSE ARE MY PRINCIPLES

54 SUCH A JOKE

How much funny is too much?

59 MENTAL HEALTH SERVICE

Reports from the Covid-19 frontline

64 PHOTOGRAPHS FROM A PANDEMIC Sam Pearce photographs our new normal

71 DON’T DREAM, IT’S OVER Emily Prescott on when to settle

75 BARD TIMES

How Shakespeare managed the plague

Briefings

Sharon Hodgson on arts education

28 WATERFLY

"We look at the whole idea of an elite university the wrong way round: an elite university to me should have a lot of people from disavantaged backgrounds, brilliant graduate outcomes, and should embed work experience in the curriculum."

Our gossipy view of the changing waters of education

79 SPECIAL EMPLOYABILITY REPORT

From productivity to the crisis after Covid-19

89

HOW TO ZOOM

Liz Brewer gives her etiquette tips

90 LINKING UP

Clair Marr on your online presence

92 IT’S TIME

Andy Inman on filling your day

93 RECESSION PROOF

Guy Fowles on his corona job hunt

94

TECHNICALLY BRILLIANT

Ty Goddard on the businesses making the running

95 BACK TO CHARACTER

96

BEHIND THE RED WALL

Our Woman in China gives her view from Shanghai

97 LETTER FROM AN AMERICAN

Jeffrey Katz on Trump and protest