Blog
1. Invitation Introduction Welcome
Hi.
I am Scribart, welcome to my Blog.
I
am new to this type of communication, so please bear with me.
Throughout my life I have been involved in political activity in a
variety of ways. My first overt political act, that I can remember,
was in 1945 when I persuaded
my Mam and Dad to put up a window poster for the Labour candidate in
the General Election of that year. I also remember having
a large paper from the Daily Herald, which we placed on the table in
our front room, listing all the constituencies. As the results came
in, over a period of time, we marked them down on the sheet.
Things
were very different in those days. We did not have television, we did
not have a telephone. The press was much better then than it is now.
Every day we had the Daily Herald, then the TUC newspaper, and the
Daily Mirror, then a supporter of the Labour Party. Other papers such
as the News Chronicle, which I later used to buy, also provided
information supporting what I would call progressive causes. On the
wireless there was a weekly programme ‘Any
Questions’ (or was it
‘Question Time’)
which discussed political issues. I remember speakers like Richard
Crossman, who seemed to have lots of ideas, some of which actually
proved fruitful, and John Foot, a member of the Foot Family who was
a liberal in a progressive sense.
These
were some of the influences upon my developing sense of politics.
However, much more important were my Mam and Dad, both skilled
craftworkers, with the independence of mind and opinion that came
with that group of workers in the East Midlands. As far as
organisations were concerned, of great influence was the Methodist
Sunday School that I regularly attended. Prior to the merger, it had
been a Primitive Methodist Chapel and retained to a large extent the
working class attitude that I believe pervaded the Primitive
Methodists. The other influence was the Working Mens Club. My Dad and
two uncles were on the Committee, in fact, my grandfather was a
founder member. Add to this the Co-op, of which my Mam was a member,
and you have my institutional background as a young boy. I should add
that both my parents were loyal members of their trade unions.
As
far as my formal education is concerned, I attended my local primary
school and won a scholarship to the Grammar School1,
being an early beneficiary of the 1945 Education Act. Here I found
the first challenge to my working class background, as my form
teacher rejected my culture and I in turn rejected hers. My ability
at Mathematics enabled me to survive and things improved, especially
in the sixth form where I took science subjects. I only realised how
much I wanted to leave that school when my results confirmed that I
could do so.
At
University I studied Mining Engineering, supported by a scholarship
from the National Coal Board. The Engineering Department was separate
from the Main University in location and in times of lectures. In
addition to this, we had a full timetable, so the concept of a
University education as projected at that time proved not to be a
reality. That is not to say I did not enjoy my time at University. I
learnt a lot and have no complaints. I had good colleagues and a
pleasant informal atmosphere pervaded our small department.
Whilst at University, during vacations, and for two years after that,
I worked at different collieries latterly as a Directed Practical
Trainee. This meant I worked with many different people, at different
levels within the organisation, and at different jobs. I underwent
the full coalface
training, although I have to confess I would never have made a
collier. My job was to understand how the men I was with worked, how
they understood their work. One day I might have been responsible for
them and their work, I had to know what it was like for them. Of all
the people I worked with only two people resented me in any way. I
was a shy, young methodist at that time. Of all the experiences in my
life, I learnt more about life, myself, and other people during the
time I worked with those coal miners. The programme I was on aimed
for me to either go
into Mine Management or to become
a Specialist Engineer of some kind. The programme should have lasted
three years but by the end of the second year I could not see a
future for me in the industry. I had no desire to be a manager, I
was far more in sympathy with those I was working with than with
management. Nor did I feel that a specialist engineer was appropriate
for me. I left the industry and became a teacher. I have taught in
all the main types of school, Secondary Modern, where I began,
Comprehensive and Grammar. I have taught in Boys and Mixed schools,
three form entry and twelve form entry. I have been head of
Mathematics and Head of Faculty of Maths, Science and Home Economics.
Whilst a member of the teaching profession I gained Diplomas in
Educational Administration from London University Institute of
Education and in The Management of Secondary School Mathematics
Department from Avery Hill College (now part of Greenwich
University). I have of course been a member of the NAS and the
NASUWT.
It
was whilst working at my third school, when called upon to lobby our
Country Councillors,
that I finally joined the Labour Party. As a member of the Party I
have served in different constituencies
as Secretary, Chair and Treasurer.
I have been a Prospective Parliamentary Candidate (but not an actual
candidate). I have always been on the left of the Party and left when
I was in a situation where I could no longer be effective. I was a
member of the Socialist Worker Party for a while and am still quite
close to them but decided that I can work better as an individual
rather than as a member of a particular group.
I
began as a Christian Socialist, however
I moved away from the Christian aspect along the way and would now
describe myself as a Revolutionary Socialist. The basis of all my
belief is in the fundamental, basic,
absolute equality of all people. I am opposed to sectarianism of any
kind. I hesitate to use the term socialist because I feel a need to
define what I mean when I say that I am a socialist. It is a term
easily misused. The purpose of the introduction is to let anyone who
reads my blog know where I am coming from. If you stay with me, I
hope that my beliefs will become apparent. Over the years I have
worked in a variety of ways to do what I can to make life better for
everyone. I am very conscious of the fact that my Mam and Dad left
the world a better place than
they found it. My great fear is that I will leave the world a worse
place than they left it
to me. I am getting old and am no longer able to work in the way that
I used to be able. This blog gives me a final chance to make a
difference. Recently I have been concerned with education, an
important aspect of my experience. The question I have been asking
myself is “Why do we educate people? What is the purpose of
education?” I have set myself a project of investigating this
question. I will be sharing the results of these investigations,
I hope you stay with me and share your thoughts with me.
Scribart
23.10.19
1 Loughborough
Grammar School is an endowed establishment founded in 1495
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