Chris Woodhead

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Sir Christopher Anthony Woodhead (born October 20, 1946 in Cockfosters , London , † June 23, 2015 ) was a British educator.

Life

Chris Woodhead studied English at Bristol University , where he also received a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE). He later studied at Keele University , where he received a Master of Arts .

From 1969 to 1976 he worked as a teacher in general schools in Shrewsbury , Gloucester and Portishead . From 1976 to 1982 he was a lecturer at Oxford University . He then worked in various school authorities until 1994. In 1994 he was appointed head of the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted). This authority assigned to the Ministry of Education is responsible for assessing the quality of teaching at all schools. Woodhead made the remark there in November 1995 that there were 15,000 incompetent teachers in British schools who were about to be fired. The comment caused considerable unrest in schools and in politics. In a 2009 interview he said that he no longer wanted to maintain this number; the school inspection could never confirm this figure. He said that this was a consequence of political pressure that teachers no longer gave freedom. David Blunkett , who was British Education Secretary from 1997, judged in retrospect that Woodhead's estimate was probably underestimated. Numerous disputes between Woodhead and Blunkett led to Woodhead's resignation in November 2000.

Woodhead saw it as his job to inspect the school system to reveal its weaknesses, even if this meant controversy. His work as director of Ofsted is judged to be very influential in the English school system.

In 1999, Woodhead's personal life caught attention after failing to condemn teacher-student love affairs at a student question-and-answer session and after it became known that he was in a relationship with a student he met while at Portishead. Woodhead's ex-wife accused him of getting divorced as a result. Woodhead denied that the relationship with the woman he lived with for nine years began during his time at school and dated this to the beginning of his tenure in Oxford.

After resigning as director of Ofsted, he became a professor at Buckingham University in 2002 and chairman of Cognita , a company that operates private general education schools, in 2004 .

In 2006 he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , which he made public in 2009; later I was diagnosed with liver cancer. When Woodhead announced his illness, he stated that he had been considering suicide . However, he excluded the help of the Swiss association Dignitas . He supported the British Dying in Dignity movement, which advocates euthanasia in Great Britain.

Woodhead was promoted to a Knight Bachelor degree in 2011 .

Chris Woodhead was married from 1969 to 1977 and in 2006 in second marriage. In his first marriage he had a daughter.

Publications

  • Class War: The State of British Education , Little Brown, 2002 ISBN 978-0316859974
  • A Desolation of Learning: Is this the education our children deserve? , Pencil Sharp Publishing, 2009 ISBN 978-0956257307

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 'Don't say I was wrong' in: The Guardian , May 12, 2009, accessed June 24, 2015
  2. ↑ a b David Blunkett: I was tough, but Chris Woodhead was tough. In: theguardian.com. June 23, 2015, accessed June 24, 2015 .
  3. ^ Former school inspector Woodhead this on BBC News, June 23, 2015, accessed June 24, 2015
  4. ↑ Sir Chris Woodhead, Ofsted chief - obituary in: The Daily Telegraph , June 23, 2015, accessed June 24, 2015
  5. ↑ Chris Woodhead 'considering suicide' after motor neurone disease diagnosis in: The Daily Telegraph, May 3, 2009, accessed June 24, 2015
  6. ↑ Christopher Woodhead ( Memento of the original from September 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on: Dignity in Dying  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.dignityindying.org.uk
  7. ↑ The London Gazette Supplement 59808 11 June, 2011
personal data
SURNAME Woodhead, Chris
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Woodhead, Christopher Anthony (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British educator
DATE OF BIRTH October 20, 1946
PLACE OF BIRTH Cockfosters , London , England , United Kingdom
DATE OF DEATH 23rd June 2015