ABSTRACT

When New Labour came into office in 1997, its commitment to 'education, education, education' captured the imagination of the public. This collection of humorous articles by Ted Wragg between 1998 to 2003 exposes the real state of education during this period, when educational policy was never far from the headlines.

No one escapes Ted's sharp-shooting wit: from the 'blamers and shamers' who try to turn teacher-bashing into a national pastime to the 'pale policy wonks' in the Department of Education, who issue regular hare-brained initiatives from the mysterious 'Tony Zoffis'.

Split into seven issue-focused chapters, this hilarious collection will be a tonic for anyone finding themselves unsure whether to laugh or cry about recent developments in the world of education.

1. The wheeze factory 2. Cogs in the machine 3. Just testing... 4. Blame and shame: teacher bashing 5. Inside the classroom 6. Keep taking the prescription: commandments from on high 7. Problems, Problems (aka 'challenges, challenges')