Why punish parents for doing the right thing?

[...] it is now illegal - a criminal offence - for a primary school head to conduct an interview of any kind with the parents of applying pupils or to request any information from them which might, in any way, indicate their class background or provide clues about their own educational achievements.

What exactly does this mean, and what measures would be required to see to it that the law was strictly enforced? Are heads forbidden to engage in conversation with prospective parents when they come to school open days? (After all, the social connotations of British speech being what they are, a five-minute chat could tell an experienced head a great deal about a family.) Perhaps open days should be held in strict Trappist silence and visitors provided with all-enveloping overalls at the door to conceal any identifiable distinctions in sartorial taste. Or should parents who attend such events be automatically suspect since only the more educationally ambitious would be inclined to do so? How ridiculous - and how morally repugnant - are we prepared to get over this? Read more
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