Vale Albert Finney

[Belle]

Here's a fabulously well written piece from Brendan O'Neill about the death of Albert Finney. O'Neill explores the cultural milieu of Finney which gave rise to his success and this he attribues largely to the grammar school system in the UK which allowed the working class to rise to the top. The author himself is a product of just such a system. His stinging rebuke about the modern world, and how Finney might not have made it today, is right on the money!

(I would take issue, though, with O'Neill's rather fanciful views that only the very top students could succeed in those times, leaving the remainder to languish in the 'comp' system and their social class. My experience in life and teaching has taught me one thing; individual enterprise, aspiration, the capacity for risk and a work ethic all make HUGE differences to life outcomes on even the most scant educational foundation. I have one son in just such a situation; he left school before the final two years, with a minimal educational attainment. A childhood and adolescence of poor health led to our decision to take him out of school at 15 to work for us on our farm. Today at 40 he's earning in a high income bracket - more than 2 of his university-educated siblings - and he has attained this due to diligence, loyalty, willingness to learn and enthusiasm - impressing his bosses at every stage. Now he is being head-hunted by another company and offered a consultancy. Meanwhile, his peers from school who left when he did are still working in the supermarkets or in low-skilled, low-paying work. When I was teaching some of these kids I encouraged them to think outside the square and move away somewhere to find work opportunities; more often than not they looked at me as though I was speaking Japanese.)

https://www.spiked-online.com/2019/02/1 ... rt-finney/