ABOUT

I was commissioned by Education Week to illustrate an opinion article about the growing trend of treating education like customer service, with teachers expected to prioritise parent and student satisfaction over genuine learning.

The author argues that doing so undermines teachers’ professionalism, encouraging grade inflation and pressurising teachers to placate rather than educate - harming both students and the integrity of the school system.

The article concludes with an interesting metaphor, encouraging the reader to think of education as a serving of vegetables. “You can steam them and cover them in cheese, but they’re still vegetables - and they must be eaten.”

© Zara Picken 2025