A Lucky Escape.

Have you ever had a lucky escape?  A time when something you thought you really wanted didn't happen and sometime later you realise how awful your life would have been if it had?

When I was 18 applied to University to do Medicine.  There was no real reason behind my decision, other than it wasn't music, which I had decided was a subject you only did if you wanted to spend your life miserably regretting it.  As I vomit in sympathy if people are sick, hate the sight of burns and have absolutely no patience with people who moan it was lucky that I didn't get those 3 A grades that I needed. I went to a Polytechnic instead to do Psychology, which was interesting and not very time consuming, leaving me lots of time to play music.

My daughter may also have had a lucky escape at the same age.  She is due to go to university to study journalism in September and after the Grand University Open Day Tour her  favourite was Kent.  We were all impressed with the professor's credentials, as he'd worked on the Today program and was regularly on Newsnight.

It was the only University to reject her without an interview.  They wanted 3 A's.

When we went to look round one of the students had just had an article published in the Independent. We were impressed.

I started to stalk the professor on Twitter.  Over time I started to realise that he didn't suffer from any journalistic impartiality and was happy to nail his right wing colours firmly to the mast.  Yesterday, the same student had another article published in the Independent.  He tweeted: "More impressive writing from Sarah Malm  Kent - where students learn to think for themselves."


Had she written something he disagreed with? No.  It was a very odd, right-wing opinion piece about how teachers shouldn't strike.  The girl could be the next Samantha Brick and I'm sure she's going to have a great career with the Daily Mail.  

Looking at the tweet again I noticed that someone had replied, "No offence to the student or university but the idea that striking is wrong is as old as the hills."  The professor then used 4 tweets to explain why teachers shouldn't strike.  


"Kent - where students learn to think for themselves" and decide that they should hold the same opinion as their professor. 


 If that were not true he wouldn't not have defended her point but would have defended her right to an opinion and suggested that opinion pieces should be inflammatory.  They are designed to get people talking.


Make up your own mind about the piece by reading it for yourself.


http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/sara-malm-going-on-strike-is-disgraceful-selfish-and-quite-frankly-pass-7643118.html


Personally, I think anything that compares a striking teacher to someone who doesn't turn up for their shift at McDonald's because they are hung over and ends with the phrase 'grow a pair' is probably ill informed.  


My daughter would have been so unhappy at this University, if she were expected to adopt opinions like this and even more unhappy if her professor thought this was good writing.  Phew.  Lucky escape.