Lo, can you hear the sounds of 2014? Hark now as Michael Gove sings
glory to the free school kings? O little town of Birmingham? It’s been a big old year in education, but rather than trying to round
up all the action in what would be a lengthy tome, we’ve selected
choice quotes that touch on some of the goings on. All you have to do
is take a scan of the words of wisdom below and tell us who said what.
The answers are at the bottom of the page (no cheating) and don’t
forget to share your results with us in the comments thread or via
@GuardianTeach.
Quiz
1. The year 2014 was one in which Michael Wilshaw accused headteachers
of blurring the line between friendliness and familiarity. But who set
some firm classroom boundaries with this line: “This is not the time
for bantahhh. This is the time for workahh”?
a) Michael Gove
b) Joe Bispham
c) Lily Allen
2. “You have had more contorted positions on free schools than some
Indian sex manuals that I could name.” We love a little political tit
for tat. Who dared to profess knowledge of the kama sutra in the
Commons?
a) David Cameron
b) Toby Young
c) Michael Gove
3. “Lab rats have more professional privacy.” Who showed a penchant
for analogies when discussing the use of CCTV in schools?
a) Hugh Grant
b) Chris Keats
c) Tristram Hunt
4. It was handbags at dawn this year when one MP who enjoyed an elite
education attacked another MP for their elite education. But who spoke
the classic line, “Cameron has moved on little since his time as a
low-rent PR man”?
a) Ed Miliband
b) Boris Johnson
c) Tristram Hunt
5. “It isn’t rocket science. Children need to know the rules and
teachers need to know they will be supported in enforcing them.”
Straight talking, keeping it real. Who could be so eminently sensible
among the education powers-that-be?
a) David Cameron
b) Michael Wilshaw
c) Nick Clegg
6. Time to enforce rules then. Who used Game of Thrones spoilers to
quieten a class, saying: “I’ve read all the books. If there is too
much noise, I will write the name of the dead on the board.”?
a) A maths teacher in Belgium
b ) An English teacher in China
c) Stephen Fry
7. Full of oratory and “otions”, who felt moved to produce this line
of Ciceronian wisdom: “Demotion, emotion, promotion, locomotion, I
don’t know how you would describe this move – though move it is.”?
a) Michael Wilshaw
b) Michael Palin
c) Michael Gove
8. “We are very proud of you as you demonstrated huge amounts of
commitment and tried your very best during this tricky week. However,
we are concerned that these tests do not always assess all of what it
is that make each of you special and unique.” Too kind and genuine for
a politician, which headteacher shot to fame in 2014 with this phrase?
a) Rachel Tomlinson, headteacher of Barrowford primary school
b) Richard Harman, headteacher of Uppingham school
c)Mike Roden, headteacher of the University of Birmingham school
9. Taking pride in his work around healthy eating in schools, who
said, “The naysayers about this policy can eat their hats, and all the
leftover sprouts”?
a) Jamie Oliver
b) Nick Clegg
c) Heston Blumenthal
10. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years it’s that
kindness gets in the way of goodness. Being kind to the children is a
camouflage often for low expectations.” Clearly someone who believes in a tough approach, but who said this?
a) Michael Wilshaw
b) Michael Gove
c) Rory Fox
How well did you do? Answers
1. Joe Bispham, an English teacher at Frederick Bremer school in Walthamstow, which featured in Channel 4’s Educating East London
2. Michael Gove, ex-education secretary
3. Chris Keates, general secretary of NASUWT
4. Tristram Hunt, shadow education secretary
5. Michael Wilshaw, chief inspector at Ofsted
6. A maths teacher in Belgium
7. Michael Gove
8. Rachel Tomlinson, headteacher of Barrowford primary school
9. Nick Clegg, deputy prime minister
10. Rory Fox, head of Basildon academy in Essex
If you scored ...
1-3 – Congratulations, you are now under special measures
4-6 – It’s “requires improvement” I am afraid
7-9 – You are officially rated as good but not satisfactory
10 – Outstanding (but only until next year’s quiz)
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