David Richardson

I trained as a teacher at Goldsmiths' in 1976-77 and worked in the UK for three years as a secondary school teacher of English. In other words, I've missed out on the National Curriculum, targets - even on having a set number of working hours per year. I've been teaching abroad since 1980 more or less continuously, and I'm often asked if I'd ever go back to teaching in the UK. My response has always been "No Way!" My principle objection is probably the nit-picking controls which British teachers seem to be subjected to … but if I had stayed in the UK the choice of staying in the profession would almost certainly have been out of my hands. In my estimation, I'd have been sacked around 1985 for questioning targets, written lesson plans, the school prospectus or any of the other millstones around the necks of British teachers. However, the factor which is perhaps most influential in my not coming back is the feeling of being a 'persona non grata' for the people running the system. Where I work now, I am treated as a professional who can be trusted to have a great deal of control over his daily working life. I'm expected to work to professional standards, and to cooperate and collaborate with colleagues. I'm also expected to work openly and to participate in external reviews of my work. However, this takes place without my being treated as basically a suspect character who needs to be monitored all the time …