A brief THREAD on the historical intersection between education and social inequality (i.e., class, power & poverty) in Scotland. In the sad debacle over exams, I went back to the writing of Scots historians like Knox & Smout for perspective. https://www.scran.ac.uk/scotland/pdf/SP2_1Education.pdf

2. Here follow a few significant quotes frm Knox's chapter that remind us how long 'the attainment gap' (i.e., power, class & poverty) has been a challenge for Scotland. It is a reminder why somethng much more radical is needed than what we are doing now. https://www.scran.ac.uk/scotland/pdf/SP2_1Education.pdf

3. "The Educ (Scot) Act 1872 laid t basis for t modern educ system. But it dealt only with primary educ, not secondary. The boards were dominated by clerical & business interests, thus the new system did not reflect the wishes of the wider society or cater for their aspirations."

4. "Secondary educ was the preserve of the Scottish middle classes in the 19th century. The 1872 Act helped perpetuate their dominance by failing to provide free education for the less well-off." Note: 1872 to 2020 = 148 years of class inequality. https://www.scran.ac.uk/scotland/pdf/SP2_1Education.pdf

5. "The period 1900 to outbreak of WWII did not witness the same degree of change in the Scottish educ system as in 19th century. There were important developments, but they did little to alter the class bias of education." https://www.scran.ac.uk/scotland/pdf/SP2_1Education.pdf

6. "Education in Scotland has been the subject of much myth-making as regards the openness of the system and the quality of provision. In the 19th & first half of the 20th century, the educ system catered mainly for an elite section of Scottish society." https://www.scran.ac.uk/scotland/pdf/SP2_1Education.pdf

7. "It was ONLY after the introduction of comprehensive education in 1965 that attempts were made to provide adequate standards for ALL children in Scotland." 1965. Well less than one lifetime. Old unconscious ideas & structures still thrive in that time.

8. "In t 20th century, Scottish educ has been marked by the same attitude that branded it in the 19th, which regarded it as a matter of low social priority once the perceived needs of the middle classes had been attended to...

9. ... and once a channel had been opened for a limited number of working-class children to use secondary school and university as a means of upward social mobility." https://www.scran.ac.uk/scotland/pdf/SP2_1Education.pdf

10. I'm just trying to do somethng very simple in this thread. I'm trying to bring historical perspective to this exams moment. Ideas about class, value & worth run deep in societies. If you don't LISTEN to the struggles of the people and ADDRESS those struggles, nothing changes.

11. Providing a 'route out' of struggles is not good enough. You have to address t SOURCE of t struggles: financial poverty, relational poverty, trauma, hunger, exhaustion, worth. This is where calls for basic income, 4-day workng week, drugs deaths, etc overlap w/ exams debacle.

12. T modern mantra of 'social mobility' is one of t problems. Let me repeat frm my history chap: "Scottsh educ regarded [change] as low priorty once a channel had opened for limited number of workng-class childrn to use secondry school &univ as a means of upward social mobility"

13. The exams debacle is a chance to think about wider questions, like the way in which society is structured, the impact of intergenerational trauma, the importance of a sense of belonging. Do not miss that this exams inequity in 2020 points out many others.

14. If you want to think more deeply abt stubborn class structures & why education matters so much in addressing those, t book The Working Class by @ITLWorldwide is a good start. If fixing t exams merely restores 'social mobility', it is a false solution. https://www.independentthinkingpress.com/books/teachingskills/the-working-class/

15/end. I know many of my colleagues like @KilkennyChris @jazampawfarr @realdcameron @musicmind @lokiscottishrap hv invested much effort in shining a light on these intrsections. I hope my writing abt it helps others of my followers feel confident stepping into t discussns too.