Teach First is recovering from a frenetic two weeks. The last fortnight saw leaders from business, sport and politics enter classrooms across the UK in our fifth annual Teach First week, we hosted the Schools Secretary and Lord Adonis at a recruitment event in Oxford - we are on track to appoint at least 450 teachers to the 2009 cohort - and the Prime Minister entertained nearly 100 of our participants, alumni and supporters at Number 10.
It has become fashionable to talk about the new and unique challenges of our age - financial, environmental, diplomatic - and remark that their resolution requires us to contemplate an unprecedented level of cooperation between countries and between individuals. Yet some of the most meaningful and urgent fractures in our society are the longest standing.
It strikes me that we are creating something of a movement here at Teach First. The Teach First experience equips a generation of young people with the understanding, skills and heartfelt desire to do something about educational disadvantage. Not only this, but the constituency of people who can claim membership to this community span a variety of backgrounds, cross political allegiances, and are drawn from the public and private sector.
The success of Teach First demonstrates that even age-old and pervasive challenges like educational disadvantage inspire - and reap great benefit from - a touch of shared purpose.
( 0 comments )