Life Lessons: The Case for a National Education Service

by Melissa Benn

A radical agenda to make our education system fit for the twenty-first century

Our education system has been damaged by politicians who have arrogantly imposed a regime of market-driven reforms. It is time to reframe education as an essential public good, one arising from a hunger to find more engaging ways to learn and the powerful imperative to make our society genuinely equal.

In this timely and provocative essay, Melissa Benn argues for a National Education Service. Like the NHS, the NES would provide the framework for a life-long entitlement to education: from early-years provision to apprenticeships, universities and adult education. It should be free at the point of delivery. It should nurture teachers and scholarship, moving beyond an obsession with exam results to create fully rounded, questioning citizens. Its eventual aim should be an integrated, comprehensive system available to all.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Education

176 pages, Paperback

Published October 9, 2018

Reviews

[Donald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of the argument is presented as a detailed critique of Conservative (and New Labour) education policy in the United Kingdom. This involves a lot of criticisms from educators directed at specific policies. This is necessary to fill out the book because the aim is to defend a national education service as a reform project within the present political moment. I had bought the book thinking it would be much more about the vision of a national education service, in the vein of other Verso books about experimental socialist policy projects, but this is a small share of the overall book. I still felt it was rewarding to learn about the state of education in the UK.

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

pretty good pretty clear pretty cogent !!! not quite radical enough though - didn’t really engage with the idea of lifelong education as being potentially anti-capitalist. Not much engagement with a wider critique of the capitalist and fascistic systems/ govts who have moulded our education system. That being said, it was a short, precise book that wasn’t meant to cover everything. 3 and a half stars. I also felt that it was very similar to school wars? I have read that really recently and felt like there was much overlap. Still liked them both though! Give it a read if you’re interested in political education reform ✨

[Effie Simmons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but still worth picking up. A refreshingly balanced look on the education system, how we've got to where we are now and where we should go. Unlike many other books of its kind it offers solutions, funding plans and discusses the varying points of view. It's clear we've made some mistakes and our thinking nationally hasn't always been correct, it's time to take a step back from individual beliefs and look at the facts of how what we have designed so far has affected our children and by extension our future. 

[Phil]

A cogent and concise roadmap (of nine essays) for the reintegration of private, selective and 'academy' education within a National Education Service. Took me too long to get onto this one; will share widely.

[Josh Heyes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great in that it gives us something extremely concrete in terms of 'what can be done' (NHS-style education provision), but more time should have been spent on this rather than rehearsing all the stuff we already know about how f***** our education system is...

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Difficult to find fault with. My only reservation is that concessions to the idea of a proxy graduate tax seem unnecessary and strangely at odds to the general thrust of the essay.

[Jacob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Makes some very good points and highlights a whole load of issues, but is very fact-and-figure heavy. Very good at explaining how we've arrived at the broken system we're currently in