‘The secret is to be useless at school and then get lucky’ –
that was the statement made recently by Simon Cowell on a US show. It was a tongue in cheek remark which was
however, taken up by the Education Secretary Michael Gove and disputed at
length in the Press. As a mum who has
recently entered the arena of the theatrical arts with her 8 year old son, but
has friends in both sectors, it was interesting to read about – whilst all the
time shaking her head. The fact of the
matter is, that from a Parent’s perspective, both of them are Right, and Wrong.
Mr Cowell is wrong in perpetuating the myth that Svenghali-like he will change
the fortunes of those who cross his path, regardless of qualifications. Gove is wrong because there are a lot of
unemployed graduates out there (I know, I’ve read their CVs). However, what was amusing about this tiff was
that actually, bravado aside, they were both saying the same thing – hard work
pays off. But for the artist to have an
education gives him or her that additional crutch, should they fall on hard
times in their chosen career (or get rejected at the X Factor audition stage).
And of course, school is about so much more than
education. It’s about sociability, it’s
about activity, it’s about respect, discipline and mobility. Rather like the arts. So Mr Cowell and Mr Gove, stop the tantrums, agree
to disagree, and get on with saving the world in your own unique ways…
It was with a drawn breath however, that I looked at the
final rehearsal schedule for the pantomime.
As I write, we have exactly 16 days until Opening Night. This is a big deal, and comes with a
timetable which necessitates Little Man leaving school early most nights, which
means my leaving work early most nights, which means that everything gets
slightly more crammed into an already packed day, and somehow we then have to
fit in homework, and the blessed concerts that come up as par for the course at
this time of year. On talking to other first
time panto mums, we all had the same reaction – it was going to be very hard
work indeed. There was a lot of talk of
getting the wine in, Dominos on speed dial, burnt sausage casseroles and so
on. The kids have been absolutely fine –
possibly because they are used to the discipline at school, it was just the
adults who were having the wobbles.
So far we have managed to cover 4 Christmas Light Switch
ons, with one more to go. As a little
troupe we have smiled and sung our way through Fleet, Odiham, Farnham and
Yateley, and will be appearing at Hartley Wintney shortly. We’ve coped with freezing cold weather, dodgy
sound systems, various quality of staging and the disappearance of Fairy Bow
Bells wand (luckily she had a spare). The kids have handed out fliers, smiled for
the Press calls, shimmered in tinsel and
remained entirely upbeat throughout perishing conditions in which the parents
are huddled, muttering about mulled wine and hot mince pies and Bah Humbug…
And this is only the beginning. Mr Cowell, Mr Gove – you are both
right. With a lot of hard work, you can
get lucky, you can achieve.
And a big coat and a flask of tea also helps.
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