Gary's News and views
Gary writes a weekly article which appears in the Plympton Plymstock and Ivybridge News in South West Devon. The articles are published here.
Thursday 3 September 2015
A NEW MONTH . . . A NEW SEASON
I have always favoured the month of September. It heralds the start of the new school year and for those of us who loved school that was always a positive. All over the constituency our young people are returning to their lessons with various degrees of enthusiasm.
Our little granddaughter came in at the weekend to proudly display her new green and grey uniform, going to "big school" (infants) for the first time.
I have said it before and will keep on saying it: our teachers work hard and do a great job. It is a profession that has got harder over the years as the public behaviour of children has tended to decline and the back-up from parents has also lessened. Add to this social change a new tidal wave of pressure and scrutiny from league tables and Ofsted and we have served up a challenging cocktail.
It is not a job for the faint hearted and a true sense of vocation is about the only thing that can sustain teachers through the minefield. Thank you to all our teachers.
September is also the start of the rugby season and this year this anticipation from us supporters of the oval ball is heightened by the mouth-watering prospect of the Rugby World Cup just around the corner. Great news that Plymouth lad and Exeter player Henry Slade looks set to play a significant role. I have got my place in front of the TV booked for the England games.
It has been a wet second half to the summer, which usually means that autumn might compensate. We could do with an Indian summer this year.
But September is also the start of the new Parliamentary term. Initially we go back for two weeks and then break for the traditional conference season. This has added spice this autumn as we await the unveiling of the new leader of the opposition. After that we plough on until Christmas. We have a packed legislative agenda and it now has to be crunched through the Houses of Parliament at every stage.
For the first four weeks of the term I will be chairing the highly contentious Welfare Reform Bill during its stormy committee stages and very much look forward to that. The run into Christmas is always busy anyway and this year looks like it will be no exception. With our clearly defined seasons, there is always something to look forward to.
I have always favoured the month of September. It heralds the start of the new school year and for those of us who loved school that was always a positive. All over the constituency our young people are returning to their lessons with various degrees of enthusiasm.
Our little granddaughter came in at the weekend to proudly display her new green and grey uniform, going to "big school" (infants) for the first time.
I have said it before and will keep on saying it: our teachers work hard and do a great job. It is a profession that has got harder over the years as the public behaviour of children has tended to decline and the back-up from parents has also lessened. Add to this social change a new tidal wave of pressure and scrutiny from league tables and Ofsted and we have served up a challenging cocktail.
It is not a job for the faint hearted and a true sense of vocation is about the only thing that can sustain teachers through the minefield. Thank you to all our teachers.
September is also the start of the rugby season and this year this anticipation from us supporters of the oval ball is heightened by the mouth-watering prospect of the Rugby World Cup just around the corner. Great news that Plymouth lad and Exeter player Henry Slade looks set to play a significant role. I have got my place in front of the TV booked for the England games.
It has been a wet second half to the summer, which usually means that autumn might compensate. We could do with an Indian summer this year.
But September is also the start of the new Parliamentary term. Initially we go back for two weeks and then break for the traditional conference season. This has added spice this autumn as we await the unveiling of the new leader of the opposition. After that we plough on until Christmas. We have a packed legislative agenda and it now has to be crunched through the Houses of Parliament at every stage.
For the first four weeks of the term I will be chairing the highly contentious Welfare Reform Bill during its stormy committee stages and very much look forward to that. The run into Christmas is always busy anyway and this year looks like it will be no exception. With our clearly defined seasons, there is always something to look forward to.
posted by Gary @ 09:34
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