At the chalkface
News
The New Barbarians
The laTe, great Ted Wragg silence where pupils could escape
said that “satire is easy these the Moronic Inferno and get lost in
Lee campaigns to change
days – just copy out official other worlds. Full of old and dusty
documents and the world tomes. Many suddenly binned.
convulses with mirth”. We went on rescue missions.
every new wheeze promotes like leavisite hitmen, we made
laughter. Or tears. Well, this latest night raids. We didn’t save many.
‘food culture’ in schools
is beyond satire. Some of us were caught on CCTV
Clare Broadbelt, a – blasted by modernity. That
librarian from a Chesterfield library is now a Business Studies by Chris Parr
comprehensive, is to be sacked. Virtual Interactive learning Suite
Why? No library. It must emporium. Progress. Teachers and students across the
go. Why? Because “of a Then they came UK should be kicking up a fuss
move towards relocation for the main library. It about the damage being caused by
and redistribution morphed into an Ikea our “food culture”, according to one
of non–fiction and hell. It is now bereft of student from a Yorkshire school.
fiction resources in books and chock full of lee Dawson, 16, from St
the light of the new computers. Things go pip Wilfrid’s Catholic high School in
developments in virtual and click and bleep and Wakefield, wrote to SecEd after his
learning environments and blink and pupils go Google school became involved in the Food
interactive learning”. and Yahoo and twiddle and for life Partnership (FFlP).
Read that again. paste and gaze at Beyonce The lottery-funded scheme
Read it and weep. This and Kung Fu head Crusher. aims to put more fresh, local and
is where language Research. organic food on the canteen menu,
goes to die. This is the Then they came for and get pupils, teachers and parents
language of the New us. The english office got cooking and growing food, and vis-
Barbarians. Pusillanimous. sacked. hot desked. De- iting local farms.
equivocating. Treacherous. booked. My goodness, it hurt. lee told SecEd that over the
Insulting. and gibberish. Nothing can replace a proper past few decades the way in which
Virtual gibberish. It makes you school library. everything starts young people are fed within our
want to hit things. like computers. with reading. Whole books. schools has become “almost disas-
This is just the “tip of the They’re terrifically interactive. I trous”, as school caterers seem to
iceberg”, says writer alan went from the Beano to Biggles have lost sight of health, nutrition
Gibbons. a “national tragedy”, to Beowulf, from Molesworth to and sustainability where school din-
says Michael Rosen, children’s Wordsworth. If the Barbarians ners are concerned.
laureate. “I despair,” says Philip bin the librarians then a universal he added: “In November, I Foodforthought:LeeDawsonpresentshisideasonchangingthe‘foodculture’inschools
Pullman. There are rumours of darkness buries all. attended the FFlP Student Summit
books being binned in skips, and These are deep culture wars. in Bristol, which saw pupils aged the summit, the students had devel- a flagship school for the FFlP, and is lee added: “Ranging from seek-
even burned. We must stop these new philistines. 14 to 16 come together from every oped a manifesto on what needs to aiming to be awarded the scheme’s ing local and organic suppliers, to
Well, they’re not just So come on Mr Balls. enough corner of the country to spread the be done and in what order.” Gold mark. This means that the improving the way in which we
rumours. My school got done of virtual environments. Get real. message that the food culture within The manifesto calls for only free school’s catering team will be sourc- as students eat our meals, the film
a while back. Our fabulous Give the children back their library. every school can be perfected, with range meat and eggs to be served ing at least 75 per cent fresh, 50 per shows others how easy it can be to
librarians just gave up and left. Give Clare Broadbelt back her job. global issues in mind. in schools, more farm shops to be cent locally-sourced, and 30 per cent improve the way we treat food in
First they came for our 6th Go on. It’s Christmas. “We enjoyed discussions and made available to help get local organic ingredients for school meals. our schools.”
form library. It was a fantastic workshops on concerns such as the food in school canteens, and for Students at St Wilfrid’s have put For more information, visit
place with ivy walls and beech • Ian Whitwham is a London amount of oil used in the food chain more land in urban areas to be used together a film to outline how they www.foodforlife.org.uk and
wood floors. a sanctuary of secondary school teacher. and the effects on animals when for growing food. think schools should be sourcing for more on the school, visit
intensively farmed. By the end of St Wilfrid’s has been selected as their food. www.st-wilfrids.wakefield.sch.uk
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20 SecEd • December 11 2008
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