They need to learn the lesson

In the news over the last couple of days there have been a lot of stories about the state of our schools. Obviously this is because they have just returned after the summer holidays so of course it must be a good time to wheel out the same problems that were facing parents, children and schools at this time last year.
Firstly, there are not enough places for children who are just about to start school and many of them will have to travel considerable distances in order to attend a primary school. This, we are told is due to a sudden increase in the number of children of school age. Oddly enough, when I had my daughters (yes, I know it was a long time ago) I was monitored by my GP who kept records, then by the clinics who also kept records and we also filled out census forms when required. The births were registered and I received a child benefit payment book (although in those days it wasn't very much money), so someone, somewhere knew how many children were born in each year because of all the records that had been kept and so there were adequate places in the schools when it was time for my girls to start. Now, someone needs to check their maths because the answer seems quite simple, if you find out how many children are born in a particular year there will be another four and a half years for councils to ensure there are enough places to accommodate these children when they are ready to start school!
The other thing they are wittering on about are the 'poorly performing schools'. Well, excuse me but if a school is performing badly it's down to the teachers. If teachers are inspirational then children will be motivated and will be eager to learn which in turn will manifest itself in better exam results, so the school and also following generations of pupils will benefit. It doesn't matter if the kids come from a deprived or unconventional background or from a stable environment, social status is no measure of intelligence and if teachers can demonstrate their enthusiasm for their subject and make learning fun, the children will learn better and schools will reap the rewards.
We had teachers that were very passionate about the subjects they taught which made us all want to learn so we all did very well and the other thing was, we respected them too. Perhaps today's teachers could take a leaf out of their books especially with the dress code. Our male teachers wore shirts, jackets and ties or suits and the women all wore smart dresses or skirts, shirts and cardigans whereas today's teachers look as if they've just dressed themselves from the Oxfam shop or are just about to start decorating the house! Dressing down is certainly not the best way to get respect from students.
Perhaps the new Minister for Education could take note and come up with some solutions!