School wars: the conflict of British Education in the official discourse and its representation in Sue Townsend’s early narrative

En las ultimas decadas del siglo XX la sociedad britanica fue testigo de un ataque abrumador a ciertos postulados historicamente asumidos relativos, por ejemplo, al estado del bienestar, el papel de las autoridades locales o el denominado «consenso de postguerra» que habian marcado la historia de Gran Bretana desde el final de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. En los anos ochenta, el discurso oficial impuesto por Margaret Thatcher sobre la familia, la sanidad o la educacion tenia como objetivo evidente desmantelar la supuesta persistencia de la ideologia laborista, lo que resulto en un conflicto abierto entre los sucesivos gobiernos de Margaret Thatcher y los diferentes grupos sociales implicados, entre ellos la comunidad escolar. En este ultimo caso, el conflicto fue tan evidente que pronto se convertiria en materia literaria, gracias especialmente a la habil pluma de Sue Townsend. En The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 and ¾ (1982) y The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole (1984), la autora describe en formato de diario ficticio las desdichas de un adolescente neurotico, provinciano y pseudointelectual. Sus observaciones sobre las restricciones en el mundo de la escuela, inspiradas por las politicas oficiales en conflicto y la consiguiente reaccion de profesores y estudiantes ilustran en que medida los colegios britanicos se estaban transformando en pequenos campos de batalla donde se dirimia una realidad mas alla de notas, cursos o libros de texto; en concreto, una vision predominante de las reglas del juego socioeconomico. In the last decades of the twentieth century British society witnessed a ferocious attack against long-term assumptions on welfare provisions, the role of local authorities or the so-called post-war consensus that had marked the history of the country since the end of World War II. In the 1980s, the official Thatcherite discourse on family, healthcare or education was clearly aimed at dismantling the alleged persistence of Labour ideology and resulted in open confrontation between Margaret Thatcher’s successive governments and the different social groups involved, the school community among them. In this last case, the conflict was so evident that it soon became literary matter, particularly when depicted by the skilful pen of Sue Townsend. In The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 and ¾ (1982) and The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole (1984), the author describes in diary format the misfortunes of a neurotic, pseudo-intellectual, provincial teenager. His remarks on school impositions instilled by official policies and the subsequent reactions of some teachers and students illustrate the extent to which British schools were turned into minor battlefields, where things beyond marks, forms and course books were at stake; namely a prevailing vision of the rules of the socioeconomic game.