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That have real meaning to them, where you're notjust blaming the outside world all the time. as i always say to the children at school, there may very well be racism and sexism and so on. but you've got one life and you've got to grab it by the horns and you've got to do what you can with what you've got. and that doesn't mean that you're not going to be oppressed and there won't be obstacles. clearly, there's a very strong argument that that makes sense at an individual level. yes. to say to an individual child or to say to a school of children, whatever the barriers, you're up against backgr...

Them into the lessons. and when you're trying to catch children up at 11 years old who have a reading age of a six—year—old, you need as much time in the lessons as possible. so it's about loving the music and high expectations in your school. do you see yourself as imposing a sort of order, a safe environment that doesn't exist the second they leave that school gate? yeah, that's exactly right. the children, especially if you come from a chaotic background, you're desperate to be somewhere that's orderly and structured and some of the children try and stay late deliberately because they'd...

Up and down the corridors with whips and chains when actually i'm often in my office meeting teachers. what does strict mean is what i'd say. it means immersing children in love and keeping your standards high with regard to your expectations, both in terms of discipline and in terms of what you can teach them. that's what strict is. and the children always prefer the strictest teachers at school. think about who you liked at school. it was the ones that had the highest expectations of you. there's expectations, yes, but strict in some of the ways, isn't it? in the sense of it's often said tha...

You think the left left you, rather the other way around? yes, absolutely. because you went to oxford, you went to a comprehensive school. you then go to new college in oxford. yeah. word has it you are notjust left wing, but pretty radically so. no. so i like to give time to everyone. the socialist workers party because they're joining every club. it's pretty radical maybe. but i don't think i went along to lots of meetings. i mean, i used to read i think it was living marxism rather than marxism. and today one of them and i yes, i was a lefty, there's no question. so what explains the journe...

Rather be in that kind of environment rather than go home. and when you say imposing it, i'm not imposing anything. the children themselves love it. if you come to our school and eat lunch with the children and have a tour, they'll all tell you how they're so much safer here than they have felt elsewhere and how they really enjoy that, they like it. so, are you arguing that if there are lots of katharine birbalsinghs around the country, if you could kind of drop them, we could have schools all over the country like that with the results? even your arch critics can't deny that you have very, ve...