Grammar schools again....

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/may/11/grammar-schools-in-england-to-get-50m-expansion-fund

An article in the Guardian today (see link, left) says:Grammar schools in England will be given tens of millions of pounds to expand, after the education secretary, Damian Hinds, unveiled a fund for selective schools that agree to improve applications from disadvantaged children.

The £50m fund will potentially allow the creation of new “satellite” campuses of grammar schools away from their existing sites, although the Department for Education said there would be a “very high bar” for such expansions.
“By creating new schools where they are needed most and helping all great schools to grow, we can give parents greater choice in looking at schools that are right for their family and give children of all backgrounds access to a world-class education,” Hinds said.


One of the things I teach about is social justice.  and what concerns me here is access to education.  We know that marginalised groups do not have access to the same educational opportunities as do other groups, for all kinds of intersecting reasons. 
Some great tweets this morning say it all:

Angela Rayner‏: All schools need more funding, Tory answer? Pour more money into a few grammar schools. Buildings crumbling&class sizes increasing, Tory answer? Build more free schools(a programme that is failing). Tories continue to ignore parents, school leaders,teachers&evidence based policy.

and Professor Tim Bale, who teaches politics at Queen Mary:
Tim Bale‏: The main argument against grammar schools is not that they are 'elitist' & 'divisive' (even if they are), it's that all the research shows that they just don't do the job they are supposed to do, namely to promote social/educational mobility. And yes I did go to one: so shoot me.

Teachers I work with are in schools that quite literally are falling down round their ears; children are going hungry; teachers are spending money on school supplies  73 % – of teachers surveyed said that they regularly purchased stationery items, such as pens, pencils and board markers. Fifty-eight per cent had paid for books. And 43 per cent had paid for art materials. This is from a TES survey of more than 1,800 teachers, conducted jointly with the NEU teaching union and reported in Setember 2017; it reveals that 94 per cent of teachers are having to pay for school essentials such as books, stationery and storage equipment.
https://www.tes.com/news/exclusive-teachers-are-spending-hundreds-pounds-year-classroom-supplies


Teaching is and always has been the most important  job in the world, for all kinds of reasons, one of the most salient of which is fighting inequality. Michael Apple, in his 2013 book 'Can education change society?', finished with the words (p174).  'There is educational work to be done'.   Let's get to it!