There is a scene in the television adaptation of Amor Towles' book A Gentleman in Moscow in which two ill-disciplined wolfhounds run amok in the Hotel Metropole's restaurant. Tables are overturned, fine tableware smashed, and diners terrified. The dogs belong to a working-class film star who apologises for their “lack of breeding”. The unrepentant aristocrat Count Rostov calmly corrects her: the dogs appear perfectly bred; the fault lies in their handling. With one loud gesture of command the animals are brought to heel.
The metaphor is instructive. Behaviour is largely a matter of handling and expectation. Watching the scene brought to mind the recent figures showing that physical attacks on secondary teachers in Edinburgh have more than doubled in four years ("Massive rise in attacks on teachers in capital’s secondaries", The Herald, October 17).
If Edinburgh's experience is any guide, the problem is unlikely to be confined to just that city.
Successive Scottish governments share responsibility for the decline in standards and the erosion of classroom order. Yes, the SNP’s long period in charge of education is a not insignificant factor, but the previous Lib-Dem/Labour coalition and local authorities also bear responsibility. The Scottish Conservatives have never had and still don't have a coherent, conservative education philosophy. Their failure in opposition is also, in part, responsible for the current crisis.
But deeper causes lie outside any simplistic political finger-pointing. The pedagogical assumptions that have shaped teacher training, the Curriculum for Excellence (its architects cannot simply wash their hands and blame faults in its implementation), and the activist guidance issued by Education Scotland have for years undermined the teacher’s traditional didactic authority. They have collectively promoted approaches that have allowed the wolfhounds to run wild. Effective, consistently enforced behaviour policies in every school would be a necessary first step. But policies alone will not suffice whilst the prevailing culture continues to prioritise mediocrity over merit, empathy over expectation, and management over authority.
A final word in case anyone should misread this missive as an argument for the return of “the belt”. The dogs in the Hotel Metropole are not beaten; they are whistled at, and they respond to authority because they have been trained. What is required is a decisive turn away from the laissez-faire liberalism that has transformed too many classrooms into battlefields and left too many teachers with neither armour nor weaponry. Restoring the teacher’s right and duty to set and maintain firm boundaries would be a good place to begin.
Graeme Arnott, Stewarton.
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The Scots and Trafalgar
Today (Wednesday, October 21) marks Trafalgar Day, the 221st anniversary of the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar, in which Scots played a major role.
Far from being an English victory, epitomised by the famous "England expects" signal, five of the 27 captains of the fleet were Scottish, and George Duff of Banff, captain of the Mars, was one of only two captains killed.
A substantial proportion of the fleet’s crew came from Scottish towns and fishing villages, and the woman who helped embalm his body after his death, Mary Buick, was from Dundee.
Scottish industry also played a major role, providing iron and manufacturing cannon at the Carron Works in Falkirk. Charcoal from the forests of north Argyll fuelled the gunpowder that fired the cannons, and timber from Scotland’s woods built the fleet of participating ships.
For some, this victory symbolises a great British triumph over the French and the Spanish; for others, it epitomises English imperialism, with Scots as unwilling, press-ganged accomplices.
However, we cannot disregard the prolific and willing role Scots played in a naval encounter that changed the course of European history, a history we in Scotland cannot simply turn a blind eye to.
Alex Orr, Edinburgh.
Deferential is detrimental
I was in the newsagents the other day and the person serving me called me "sir". I replied: "Less of the sir, as you have clearly mistaken me for someone else."
Why are the British so consumed by their rank in the class system?
The working class strive to be middle class. The middle class strive to be millionaires. The millionaires strive to be billionaires. The billionaires strive to be trillionaires. It all just seems to be a Rich List competition for the few. Do you remember the Cleese/Barker/Corbett skit? Nothing seems to change.
Most Europeans look at our behaviour with a confused frown, and no wonder. Those who do have some form of class system keep it well out of sight, and instead concentrate on being part of the wider society.
Some kneel to pray or receive their knighthoods (whatever they are) from the King, but why do we kneel to our "betters"?
We have no betters, just equals, although not in wealth.
Sandy Reid, Prestwick.
Zone in on zebras
I have read in the local press that there is serious concern in the east end of Glasgow that motor drivers are not stopping at a zebra crossing. This is alarming news and obviously puts other people in great danger of injury or even death. Do all drivers get their eyes tested regularly (there's no excuse – the tests are free)? Have they ever read the Highway Code? How can children, and others, be encouraged to cross at a zebra crossing when drivers ignore them?
I have just returned from a fortnight visiting cities in Europe where zebra crossings are simply painted stripes on a road and yet drivers always stop and are clearly looking out for people who wish to cross. In the UK there are the flashing Belisha beacons, in addition to the stripes on the road, so again, there's no excuse for missing them. Come on drivers, you can do better.
Patricia Fort, Glasgow.
Time to return to the office
Am I wrong in thinking that hybrid working was introduced during the Covid pandemic, to minimise contact with others?
If that was the case, then surely when the pandemic was over everyone should have returned to their place of work.
If that had been brought in, then the current difficulties and under-use of offices etc would have been prevented.
Gordon W Smith, Paisley.
Cue a change in routine
Memories of ITMA (Letters, October 17, 19 & 20) remind me of one episode in which Mrs Mopp signed off with TTFNQ instead of her usual TTFN (Ta Ta For Now).
"What's the Q for?" said a member of the cast. "Fish" was the speedy reply.
Food rationing was still in place.
David Miller, Milngavie.
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