Childhood is meant to be in some way precious and we believe that children need to be protected, whilst having instilled in them a sense of right and wrong and a intellectual basis for their futures. An appalling number of students I have taught have escaped persecution or war in other countries. Several I know have seen their parents die, violently or otherwise. I can no longer send such children home in disgrace to change their socks. This is just one example.
Failure is unacceptable.
As time has passed I have moved from feeling uneasy with this to feeling morally opposed to it. I hope to be able do my job, and just my job, not spending more time on pointless admin tasks than on my designated role. I will be paid properly. And best of all, I will be respected. Whiteboard is our space for those involved in education to reflect on how it is going from their perspective.