Flag-elation
When Tom Hunt MP suggested that it should be 'compulsory' for all schools to fly the British flag, all I wanted was to avoid the trap that he clearly wanted teachers to fall into. The one where he gets to cast teachers off as a washy blob of unpatriotic liberals for not wanting to plaster our schools in massive Union Jacks. Why not call his bluff? All turn up at Tom Hunt’s office demanding multiple enormous flags for all schools, one for each office, a portrait of the Queen in every classroom and 12ft marble statue of Boris Johnson in every lobby? But no, best to retain a dignified silence on the matter. He won't get as much joy from his petty culture war if he's the only one playing. I think. But my very first post on this Blog was about Belonging. So... could a sense of patriotism be a helpful thing? Would it not be good if our children were possessed with a reassuring sense of belonging to the nation of which they are a citizen? Well, perhaps. But there are differen