MUSIC INSIGHT
by publisher Karin Sawetz
December 2010
Karin Sawetz is journalist, media researcher and fashion scientist (Mag. Dr. phil.).

Re-listen: 'Another Brick in the Wall' by Pink Floyd from the rock opera 'The Wall' (1979)

The video shows a boy who dreams of a protest against abusive teachers after he gets in trouble because he has a book of poems in the school class. The song 'Another Brick in the Wall' was a number one hit in several countries in 1979 - 80 and an anthem for kids in school. It is about self-determination and about the right to get a good education without being mistreated by teachers and the system.

I have chosen the song because it fits perfectly to the current situation in Austria after the results of the Pisa study had been released recently. Pisa is an international program for student assessment and tests the education and the skills that are delivered to young people. The results give an insight how far young inhabitants of a country can participate in the global society. (Results are published with graphical overviews on en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programme_for_International_Student_Assessment.)

Then there was this teacher yesterday (7 Dec 2010) who appeared on Austria's governmental broadcasting channel and stated that he thinks that the educational staff doesn't need academic training because it is more important to accompany young people than to teach them contents. Teachers without good qualifications are not so cost-expensive for the public school system.

I remembered my own school time and that my class has fired our teacher of French because she was low qualified. We had many very good teachers, so we knew high qualifications - it was simply the wrong school for her, and we had listened Pink Floyd.

 

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