Are the English ashamed to be English?

Today was St Georges Day, did you notice? Assuming you did, and you could hardly miss the fact given the media coverage, you probably weren’t that bothered any way, were you?

During our more recent PC years, there has been a mass of divided opinion about the rights and wrongs of celebration on this day. However, many people also continue to wonder why; is it right that St Georges Day should be seen as a social or political taboo?

Paul Vale, writing in today’s Huffington Post, was one of the latest in a long line of journalists to ask; Why Is England’s National Day Not Celebrated?

I think that Vale’s article made a refreshing change in that, it genuinely attempted to explore most (if not all) the reasons behind the answer(s) to his question. For once here was a piece that actually avoided the usually inept and stereotypical reasoning used to obtain an answer.

He avoided any attempt to lay blame at the door of a particular group, for our apparent lack of national pride. Thankfully that methodology was avoided for once. You see there is no singular reason for this lack of pride, if indeed we (the English) are allegedly wanting in that department. It’s probably down to apathy more than anything else. The final paragraph and quotation from Vale’s piece (probably) sums up many of the reasons for the multitude of answers to the current situation.

A cocktail of deepening cultural anxiety, rising economic insecurity and a growing disillusion with the political system has made the English Question something far more complex than simply a response to Scottish devolution and European integration…(Prof. Richard Wyn Jones – Cardiff University)

But Vale also pointed out how ”England is, after all, a country in which national outpouring is rare” and I would tend to agree. Long may it remain that way; I believe in our famous Stiff Upper Lip, it’s an important factor, but sadly now a declining facet of our society. It’s an area of Britishness (or Englishness in this case) which helps us to drive on during a struggle, and to strive and triumph over adversity.

It helps to prevent us from continually bleating on about trivia, that and incessantly blaming others for our (mostly perceived) poor lot in life. It’s about time that, as both individuals and as a nation, we finally got up off our knees. We have to stop feeling sorry for ourselves and/or apologising for our previous (but historical) national failings and/or mistakes. It’s time to move onwards and upwards again

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more / Or close the wall up with our English dead! - Cry ‘God for Harry, England, and Saint George!’ (William Shakespeare – Henry V, Act III, Scene I)

It isn’t wrong to think highly of your country or to have pride in it, despite all the contrived and politically correct ‘instructions’ from others.  The type that suggest you should be embarrassed, remorseful or that your pride in your identity may offend or exclude someone else. But trust me, it’s not a new phenomenon.

There is a forgotten, nay almost forbidden word, which means more to me than any other. That word is England…Sir Winston Churchill

I’m not always happy about many of the things that impact upon my life; I’m rarely happy about the predominance of self-interest in our society, I’m not enamoured with much of our political system and government. I’m upset and dismayed about our increasing social divide and often, I’m usually angry about declining standards in public services.

Despite all that I’m still – Proud to be British by birth and English by the grace of God; but I understand that even a simple innocuous and inoffensive statement such as this, was branded as ‘racist’ back in 2010 (see here). With this sort of prevalent silliness, is it any wonder many inhabitants of England tend to keep their heads down and/or often feel oppressed by their nation?

Irrespective of your nationality, ethnicity or creed, I hope you all had a Happy St George’s Day!

Related articles

• PM ‘proud to be British and English’ (bbc.co.uk)
• Prime Minister sends St George’s Day best wishes (number10.gov.uk)
• A plea for St George (express.co.uk)
• New call for bank holiday on St George’s Day (yorkpress.co.uk)
• Google honours Saint George’s Day with doodle (express.co.uk)
• Do the English need an anthem? (guardian.co.uk)

Police Scotland: The way forward for British Policing?

Today, Monday 1st April 2013, sees the formal start of the new Police Service of Scotland. This day effectively brings to end the history of eight separate regional police forces in Scotland but what of the future for policing, both in Scotland and the remainder of the United Kingdom?

From a purely nostalgic viewpoint, I would say it’s partly a sad day for policing, especially for those who serve (or have served) in any of those constituent police forces being disbanded. Led by one Chief Constable for the whole of Scotland, the service will be accountable to a single Scottish Police Authority.

But these should also be seen as exciting, productive and (hopefully) more cost-effective times for Scottish policing and the taxpayer. A time which heralds the beginning of an even more efficient police service for the population of Scotland.

The establishment of a single police service will safeguard Scotland’s excellent local policing from cuts, while also ensuring all parts of the country have access to specialist equipment and expertise…(scotland.gov.uk)

Former regional police force areas of Scotland

The eight former regional police forces being replaced by Police Scotland are:-

1. Central Scotland Police
2. Dumfries & Galloway Constabulary
3. Fife Constabulary
4. Grampian Police
5. Lothian & Borders Police
6. Northern Constabulary
7. Strathclyde Police
8. Tayside Police

The creation of a single National police force (full legal name - The Police Service of Scotland) was brought about by the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012. That legislation also paved the way for a single Scottish Fire & Rescue Service to join the already established Scottish Ambulance Service.

The idea behind establishing a single service is ”to ensure more equal access to national and specialist services and expertise.” Resources such as major investigation teams, firearms teams and marine units etc are expensive functions to maintain, especially for smaller police forces with limited finances.

Image Credit http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk

Back in January this year The Daily Record spoke with Stephen House, the new Chief Constable of Police Scotland (see here).

He was talking about the formation of a new National Roads Policing Unit for Scotland and said; “the performance of Scottish forces on road safety is very strong already and all we are doing is trying to make it that bit more efficient, that bit more focused, but certainly more local through divisional units.”

The ‘visionary’ claims may well be based a little upon corporate PR however; isn’t that what we all want from our police – efficiency that is focused upon on our society’s problems and issues, one that deals with them effectively in an accountable manner?

The provision of a single force should help these specialist resources be available to all, whenever and wherever they are needed and (partly) irrespective of any ongoing equipment and training cost implications. That has to be something of a win win situation from an operational perspective. There are also some serious cost-saving implications on the policing budget which in turn, has to be good for the taxpayer.

Regular visitors will already know that I don’t subscribe to the Scottish Independence proposals (see Here) which is another matter however; I’ve long been an advocate for some (if not total), rationalisation of policing south of the border. I first wrote about the operational possibilities of police mergers for England back in 2010 (see here). My thoughts are still broadly similar in that; it makes little or no sense, from an operational or financial viewpoint, to have 40+ separate police forces in England and Wales.

But this view isn’t just mine and it certainly isn’t new. The subject of police force mergers has been rambling on for decades now. Back in 1981, James Anderton, the then Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police called for 10 regional police forces for England and Wales, one for each region that would eventually be adopted as Government Office Regions.

That could have been a sensible start to a process, eventually over time resulting in a National Police Force, but it never happened. Are we really that much further forward in the ‘visions’ for rationalisation of services, functions and policing expectations than we were 30+ years ago? In real terms, probably not.

There was too much parochialism from self-interested police chiefs, that and the inherent pompous fear from police authorities across the land, who all believed they would lose control of ‘their’ police. What both sets of antagonists against those proposals tended to forget, and often mischievously sought to combat against is the fact; it’s not their bloody police service, it belongs to the people and our society.

In recent years there have (thankfully in my opinion) been some key players influencing the police service we have now, and will have in the future.  Bernard Rix to name just one, although I don’t necessarily agree with all their views but at least they are engaged in the process. Perhaps some from within the service would do well if they were a little less insular and fixated in their views on how policing in the UK should develop?

Back in November 2011, just before the elections for Police & Crime Commissioners, the much maligned think tank Policy Exchange UK (seen by many as horsemen of the apocalypse for policing), at least tried to progress the debate about what our police service should look in the future. 

Policing 2020: …The police leaders of tomorrow will need to prepare for the type of society that will exist in 2020, and adapt to what that will mean for the policing mission and responsibilities, as well as how those services are delivered….(policyexchange.org.uk)

For those who are interested, the full report Policing in 2020 can be downloaded HERE (pdf 30Mb) and the video clip below outlines the policing ‘vision’ that was delivered by some people involved in the debate and subsequent report on the future of British policing.

But back to Scotland… Despite the unfortunate choice of date for Police Scotland to be born, all be it a necessary requirement to coincide with the changing fiscal year – Scotland and Northern Ireland with the PSNI before it will quickly show; creation of a National Police Force does not automatically mean loss of local control or public accountability in policing. Neither does it mean that we’re developing a bloody police state, as some less than knowledgable commentators have suggested in the past.

In my opinion there are still far more advantages than disadvantages to a National Police Force for each constituent country forming part of the United Kingdom.

The opportunities for enhanced operational capability, coupled with all the financial advantages created by economies of scale (which alone is so important during the current budgetary constraints) should outweigh the (mostly unfounded) grumbles of the nay-sayers. A National Force for England could enhance the policing service that our society deserves but sadly often fails to receive, it’s just a pity there’s no political will to create one.

To all the officers of Police Scotland: Good luck as you embark on your new journey serving the people of Scotland and my the future reflect the proud records and history of your past. As you strive to remain Always Watchful – Stay safe!

Related articles

• Police Scotland: Out with the old and in with brave new world (scotsman.com)
• Police boss ‘ready for force D-day’ (bbc.co.uk)
• Q&A: Scotland’s new police service (bbc.co.uk)
• Scots police merger ‘sets example’ (bbc.co.uk)

Read all about it – We’re actually getting thicker – If you can read?

It’s hardly surprising that as many as ”one in six adults struggles to read”. Despite all the government rhetoric about the improving standards of education, I and many others continually question that claim. In fact, some even think that we’re actually getting thicker (see below)…

Previous visitors to my blog will have noticed how often I’ve commented about the poor state of our education system. Any claims suggesting a ’dumbing-down’ of that system are usually vehemently countered by our government.

GCSE and Equivalent Results in England, 2010/11 - 79.5 per cent achieved 5 or more GCSEs at grade A* to C or equivalent, an increase of 4.1 percentage points from 2009/10 (Department for Education)

Michael Gove MP may have argued recently that exam success makes children happy however; is all that ’happiness’ based upon falacy? A false sense of achievement delivered without any real substance or foundation to back it up?  One “apolitical retired teacher of the old school” summed up the news well.

…what is really needed in this country is for education to be taken out of the political sphere completely…(see here)

Obviously education is an emotive subject to all those impacted by it; students, parents, employers and politicians alike continually toss the education hot potato about. Consequently, it also follows that the subject of education is usually the source of good copy for our media machinery. Another commentator to the news, this time from Sweden pointed out;

PISA, the international inspectorate showed UK’s poor standards were caused by excessive state intervention, obsession with targets, exams. In successful countries politicians accept they’re amateurs, and let professionals, not tabloids, run education…(see here)

Irrespective of all the political and media wranglings; when you consider that students are buying essays online, many teachers have admitted “fiddling” exam grades and the latest GCSE results are likely to spark a Judicial Review, surly you have to start wondering, what the hell do we do to resolve it all? It ain’t getting any better…

Thousands of UK teenagers cannot read well enough to understand their GCSE exam papers, a large-scale analysis of pupils’ reading ability suggests…(bbc.co.uk)

Something that kind of supports my arguments surrounding certification of academic ability, that and seemingly endless love affair with educating to the lowest level of ability. Simply ensuring that all are awarded for their efforts, irrespective of actual ability or considering realistic standards of quality (see here).

What are GCSE results supposed to say about a pupil? – We have to decide whether GCSE grades represent a concrete indication of knowledge, or where a student lies in that year’s league table..(guardian.co.uk)

All that said, and irrespective of (anticipated) improvements resulting from the proposed EBacc; it amazes me that in these days of so-called education for all, there are still so many people that simply can’t read or write by the time they leave school. The fact educationalists can’t agree on the best way to teach our children to read (see here) is probably a compounding issue however; as a society we should still hang our bloody heads in shame!

Recently The Reading Agency launched their Six Book Challenge in an attempt to help those who have been failed by our education system. It’s aim is to improve the life of people who find reading difficult, by building their reading confidence and motivation. Because, as they say and most would agree, “everything changes when we read.”

It’s right, reading can change your life; the award-winning author Andy McNab is happy to attest to that fact. Andy is also happy to admit that he could hardly read when he joined the infantry as a boy soldier in 1976.

I’m a perfect example of how reading became so important in my life and really changed my life because when I was 17 I’d never read a book…(Andy McNab)

McNab subsequently joined 22 SAS Regiment and after his highly decorated and exemplary military service, he left the army and began a very succesful writing career. He has now written several best-selling and award-winning books about his experiences.

Despite reading being of benefit educationally, the debacle surrounding the quality of our education system (or the lack of it) will continue to rumble on. Perhaps now there is actually a scientific argument to justify some (if not all) of that decline?

The controversial hypothesis of a leading geneticist suggests that, despite the immense capacity of the human brain to learn new tricks, it is under attack from an array of genetic mutations. Ones that have accumulated since people started living in cities a few thousand years ago…

Human intelligence peaked thousands of years ago: Is the human species doomed to intellectual decline? Will our intelligence ebb away in centuries to come leaving our descendants incapable of using the technology their ancestors invented? In short: will Homo be left without his sapiens? (independent.co.uk)

Gerald Crabtree, Professor of Developmental Biology at Stanford University‘s School of Medicne in California, has put forward the iconoclastic idea that rather than getting cleverer, human intelligence peaked several thousand years ago. Our levels of intelligence are actually in decline.

THE DESCENT OF MAN

• Hunter-gatherer man: The human brain and its immense capacity for knowledge evolved during this long period of prehistory when we battled against the elements
• Athenian man: The invention of agriculture less than 10,000 years ago and the subsequent rise of cities such as Athens relaxed the intensive natural selection of our “intelligence genes”.
• Couch-potato man: As genetic mutations increase over future generations, are we doomed to watching  soap-opera repeats without knowing how to use the TV remote control?
• iPad man: The fruits of science and technology enabled humans to rise above the constraints of nature and cushioned our fragile intellect from genetic mutations.

Whatever your personal views on education and intelligence, reading is always a very good starting point if you’re trying to improve your academic ability. It’s also enlightening and can often be fun too. If you’re thinking about improving your reading, would like to read more or even volunteer to help others with their reading, then perhaps the Six Book Challenge is a good option for you!

Related articles

• The descent of man (independent.co.uk)
• Civilisation is making humanity less intelligent, study claims (telegraph.co.uk)
• GCSE scandal has damaged my students’ views of education (guardian.co.uk)
• What is the EBacc all about? (schoolsimprovement.net)