Letters / Remove the blinkers
For years we have been bombarded by Hayfield House with the necessity to changing the way education is delivered in Shetland.
Their focus has always been that change will be to the benefit of children, and they even have the temerity to suggest that adult learning will also be enhanced.
We know that the driving force has always been to save money, probably also to justify a new school in Lerwick, and to hang with the consequences for rural Shetland.
The continual change of emphasis in the argument is the evidence that they have struggled to maintain the lie that it is for the good of all.
The anxieties of parents and the general public have always been met in a patronising manner. Valid objections have been countered by shifting the goal posts from Curriculum for Excellence to minimising transitions, to a better learning experience for all, many more twists in the road, and finally to hire in an “independent expert” to give them the answer that they wanted.
In law it is common to use one expert to examine and/or rebut another expert – this is not a luxury to be allowed in Shetland. Only a one sided story to be told, it seems.
Today, I have been pleasantly surprised to have heard and read two counter arguments to the flawed Hayfield proposals, firstly on Radio Shetland tonight when EIS representatives stated their well-reasoned concerns, then I was heartened to see on the Shetland Times website, a response from Dr Lilian Moncrieff which also took a more reasoned path including research references.
I thought her observation that “the engagement of external consultants as an approach to supercede listening” hit the nail on the head, and says precisely what has been wrong with the (lack of proper) consultation to which we have been subjected.
I hope, like many others, that both the Childrens Services department and the full council will remove the blinkers, and take another more rounded look at future educational requirements.
J Sandison
Waas
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