Gave a talk last night about my new book, The New School Rules, and I have to say, but I think it went rather well. A lot of friends and colleagues came along, and some member of the public as well. I talked about what my book was about, and then took questions. Channel 4 were filming the event for a documentary made by Teacher Of The Year 2004, Phil Beadle who was also star of the Unteachables. They’d planted some guys in the audience who were there to give me a bit of a hard time, basically implying that I am a MCT (Middle Class Tosser). I answered their questions well I feel, and while not entirely disproving their theory that I am a MCT, I also managed to get them nodding their heads in agreement to my belief in educational vouchers (Cf previous articles in my journalism). I got them excited by saying that with vouchers people like Phil Beadle would be able to set up their own schools of Kung Fu Punctuation and so on. Dr Lloyd, my former headteacher, who helped me a lot with the book, didn’t agree with the vouchers idea in the debate we had, but supported me nobly with other points I made in the book.
The parents at the meeting couldn’t stop asking questions once they got going. A very merry time was had by all. After the two session at Eastside books, we adjourned to the Pride Of Spitalfields, where the discussions continued. I greatly enjoyed the night, and felt privileged to expound my ideas to such a diverse range of people. So thanks Phil, thanks Dr Lloyd, and thanks to everyone who came and helped me with the book.
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