'To Kill A Mockingbird' - and a stupid politician!

 

So, Michael Gove hates ‘Of Mice and Men’? Well, I’m pretty antagonistic about him, but apparently that doesn’t stop being in charge of the education of our young people. 

To remove Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ and John Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men’ from the GCSE syllabus is typical of a man who seems to know nothing about education, or the need to instil the values, morals and ethics demonstrated by the two in our young.

 In today’s increasingly shallow and amoral society, introducing 15 & 16 year olds to Atticus Finch, Boo Radley, George and Lenny seems to me to be one of the few ways in which we can teach them about doing the right thing, about maintaining a strong moral code, about being a decent human being. 

I studied ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ when I was just a little 15 year old Steve, but I read it, and I read it well ahead of the rest of the cast.  I was drawn in by the injustice of a man being put on trial for something he didn’t do, but would accept the consequences imposed on him by a prejudiced world.  I wanted to be Atticus Finch for a while, I even contemplated law as a career, but more crucially, I wanted to know him, or someone like him.  He was someone who was brave enough to stand up for a wronged man, someone with a strong enough sense of morality to say ‘No.  This is unjust.’  

As someone who has been involved in the teaching profession, however briefly, and who has a degree in English (just like Michael Gove), I want the next generation to understand that people used to stand for something, not just want to be famous.  I want kids to know that humanity and compassion are better things than a fake tan and having people know your name. 

Someone on twitter said to me today that Gove hates these texts because ‘humanity cannot be sold off for profit’ and I think they are right.

When I have children, regardless of if the books are on the GCSE syllabus, and they should be, my children will be reading ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ and they will be reading ‘Of Mice And Men’.  And not only will they be reading them; they will be talking about them, and exploring the characters and the decisions and choices that they have made.  I want my children to know, that in the world there exists good and evil, and that there exists a right and wrong.  My children will know that everything is not a shade of murky grey; that they should stand up for the little guy, and fight for what is right.

So, after all that, Michael Gove, don’t deprive our children of learning something which will make the world a less crappy place to be, just because you didn’t like them, doesn’t mean generations of kids shouldn’t have role models as strong as Atticus and Scout (a great female character with guts and brains).  Put these texts back on the reading lists. And if you could go away after that, that would be great...

Benefit Street? If only it were that easy...

With all the media coverage of the TV show ‘Benefit Street’, I thought it might be a good time to look at what life is actually like on benefits in York.  As you may know, I recently lost my job when my employers closed the shop I was managing without telling me, leaving me owed a lot of money, just before Christmas. As a 34 year old, educated, experienced man I figured I would be able to find a new job relatively easily, I have always had a job, never needed to sign on.

My first experience of signing on was relatively positive, but the following couple of visits, not so much. I want a job, I want to work, but the guy next to me at the Job Centre has arrived for a 10am meeting already drunk.  I’m glad my appointments have been in the morning, after being there in the afternoon I never want to go back to that!

Now, eight weeks later I am increasingly reliant on my £71 a week Jobseeker’s Allowance and am at a point where I might have to move out of my flat because I only qualify for £11 housing benefit.   My wife has a job, which is good, but she doesn’t earn much more than the minimum wage, however that is apparently enough to mean that I can’t get any help from this government.   According to the Benefits Agency a married couple needs £137 a week (after deductions) to live off, not including rent or council tax.  Because my wife earns around this much, I am not entitled to anything more than my JSA.  Not entirely sure where I am supposed to find the £600 a month, which is roughly average for York, to pay the rent, or the £150 a month in council tax.  

I’m not entirely sure where the people of ‘Benefit Street’ are getting these funds, because after spending 18 years paying tax and National Insurance, I can only get £11 to help pay my rent.  Thank whatever deity you believe in for the fact I have an amazing support network of wife, family and friends, without whom I would already be homeless!           

Going to the Job Centre once a week is probably not going to help me get a job, it helps me leave the house. The reality of being ‘on the dole’ is that I spend two or three hours every morning looking for jobs, I usually spend my afternoons being ignored by recruitment consultants who have never worked in the industries they are recruiting for and trying not to leave the house, because even spending the bus fare into town is more than I can really afford.  I have had some interviews, been rejected for many jobs without interviews and never heard back from at least fifty applications I have made. I have applied for an average of three jobs per day, most of them I am horribly overqualified for, but I need and want a job.  There are only so many afternoons you can spend watching TV, I’m finding myself less and less motivated to do anything other than look for jobs.   Long story short, if I could work out where to get some of this alleged benefit cash, I too would take it!