Modernization and the Curriculum: Portraying Education in Bennett's Play Anonymous 12th Grade

Bennett uses his characters to explore the British education system of the 1980s and convey his views on it in doing so. The play is set once the new curriculum had been brought in by Thatcher’s government, and the publication of ‘league tables’, which compared various school’s results and therefore pressured schools to do better. Different characters - Irwin on the side of modernization, Hector on the side of tradition - are especially useful as models of contrasting attitudes towards education.

Irwin’s character reflects the modern attitude toward education and shows a more shallow outlook: “It’s a performance. It’s entertainment. And if it isn’t, make it so.” The short series of declaratives mirrors how his views may seem dismissive - and also how he only sees the benefits of education in the short-term, solely focusing on the aspect of exams. Furthermore, the abstract noun ‘performance’ has connotations of dishonesty, which heightens his lack of deep respect for his subject, and the abstract noun ‘entertainment’ has denotations of playfulness, showing how he doesn’t take it overly seriously. Thus, Irwin’s views on education could be considered a result of the modernisation of the school system, as he focuses on the exam...