Did you have a very strict teacher at school? I did. I'll never forget 'Mr. Strict'. If you didn't get your geography right, you would wish to run to the end of the earth to be far away from him. That tall man with a very loud voice knew how to frighten you and put the fear of God into you.  Nobody dared to be late for his class. No one dared to chat in his class no matter how boring the subject was. And not even the naughtiest pupil would dream of cheating in his tests. I thought about my old teacher when I read about a new government program in England to train former soldiers with no degrees to become a teacher. They can act either as secondary school subject teachers or as primary teachers. From next January those selected for the program will earn a salary and train on-the-job four days a week and one day at university. In two years they will be considered 'newly qualified teachers'. Education Minister David Laws said: "We know that our highly-skilled soldiers can inspire young people." He believes that values  in the army such as leadership, discipline , energy and teamwork would benefit children. But not everybody is happy with the government plans. Brian Lightman, from an organisation called the Association of School and College Leaders, thinks the training offered to the former soldiers who want to be teachers is not enough. Christine Blower, of the National Union of Teachers, believes that teachers need to understand how children develop. According to her, teachers need a high level of education themselves and thorough teacher training before they can educate the young. I'm not sure how much 'Mr. Strict' knew about child development. What I know is how happy he was when we did well. I'll never forget the broad smile on his face when I got a very high mark. My teacher was a soldier, but to me his smile was a medal for bravery in our war against ignorance ! Who supports the new government program in England?
Mr. Strict David Laws The author himself Brian Lightman