Failure of leadership

William Hogarth’s set of four satirical cartoons, Canvassing for Votes, published in 1758, showed prospective parliamentary candidates pouring beer down the throats of their constituents in the expectation of buying their votes.  We smile tolerantly at such stupidity, and reassure ourselves that nothing so stupid could happen nowadays, thanks to the rules that apparently govern parliamentary elections and electioneering expenses.

But we are not that clever, nor are we above making false promises.  Regrettably we are no more honest, it seems, than in Hogarth’s time as was shown earlier this year in the Cash for Honours scandal, and more recently in the abuse of parliamentary expenses.  Every generation needs a Hogarth to show up the shallowness of political sound bytes as we prepare for the final sprint to the 2010 Election.  Elections are won or lost by a party’s ability to capture the floating voter.

Consider education.  Do the politicians need the votes of the teachers or the parents?  It is simple if you do the sums.  There are probably 20 times as many parents (an average of say 1.25 parents to every child) as there are teachers/teacher assistants/administrators and other support staff.  It is all too obvious.  To say something that appeals to parents which might reduce their level of anxiety and lighten their consciences, would win many votes, but to remind parents about their responsibility to prepare their children for school, and then to consistently back up the agreed and stated policies of that school, would make a massive impact on who gets the teacher’s vote… but it would probably have relatively little impact on the parents.  At the time of a general election to be critical of teachers wins votes: to suggest that schools should take on ever more of what earlier had been the responsibility of parents, wins still more votes.

At the State Opening of Parliament on the 18th November the Queen declared “Legislation will be brought forward to introduce guarantees for pupils and parents to raise educational standards.”  The proposed Bill claims to provide guarantees for parents and pupils, and will set out what they can expect from a twenty-first century school system.  It is said that families will be made more aware of what they are entitled to expect from the schools.  A new school report card will be introduced.  But, of course, there is very little about what school teachers have the right to expect from parents.  There are few votes in that.

And that is the problem.  Twenty-first century politicians are no better than their eighteenth century predecessors in failing to recognise that what the country needs of its elected leaders is leadership.  Leadership requires moral courage to do the right thing in the long-run, and does not fall for the offer of a free drink.

See Actions 3, 4 and 9 of the Briefing Paper and
Chapters Eight and Nine of Overschooled but Undereducated

This article is tagged: leadership, parents, politicians, teachers, william hogarth.