Lessons from the Fonz

One said to inquire about his quiff? I did, but he didn't seem to understand what I was talking about. Which makes me wonder whether "quiff" means something different in America. For all I know I may have been asking him about some embarrassing medical condition.
Anyway, he was a cool guy. He was at Franche Primary School in Kidderminster, of all places, to meet the kids and sign copies of his Hank Zipzer children's book which have just been launched in this country.
Henry Winkler, the actor behind the Fonz, is dyslexic and the point of his visit - and the books - was to show young children they could succeed whatever hurdles they face.
The Fonz spent ages meeting every pupil in the school and stressing to them that they were special, fuelled by a strong feeling that he himself suffered being written off when he was young because of his reading difficulties.
And it struck me that this was what education is all about. Most parents are not that bothered about what numeracy and literacy level their child is at, though we know it's important.
Much more relevant is whether their child is nurtured and happy at school and will come out of it confident and with a strong sense of self-worth. These, surely, are the kind of skills that will get them through life and make sure they have a positive experience of it.
But schools these days are judged so much on their performance in tests and exams. Why is this so? Because the Government insists it is important. Why? Because they believe these are the skills needed to make Britain successful.
Success is here been judged in economic terms and, it is believed, people will be happy if they are being economically useful - to the country and to themselves.
So if a school - or child - fails to meet the right level in SAT tests or does not get five GCSEs graded A to C including English and maths, they are judged a failure.
But being an economically useful being does not necessarily make you happy. In fact, sometimes far from it.
It can often feel that we have created a pressure-cooker competitive results-driven survival-of-the-fittest society in which if you don't make the grade you are judged not as useful.
The relentless focus on tests in schools no doubt adds to this.
Surely the ultimate goal of society should be to maximise the happiness of its citizens. It is not completely in the hands of Governments to do this.
But they can help with the systems they put in place. Which has implications to all areas of public policy, including schools.
So Gordon Brown - I suggest you take a lesson from the coolest man in the universe. Who is the Fonz.