ABSTRACT
Discourses create worlds, and webs of discourse can create quite coherent nets of meaning. Discourse analysis reveals the connotations of these nets of meaning. It is always a subjective process; my interpretation may differ from yours. But the interpretation has, at least, the potential to resonate because of the common use of the words and phrases discussed (they are picked out in italics in this section) and because of the strong suggestiveness of their use. Occasional metaphors of violence may add up to little more than unfortunate turns of phrase, but I shall show that the present discourse far exceeds that. When leaders and policy-makers in education make frequent use of metaphors of attack, mechanized warfare and military occupation, this adds up to a convincing unconscious demonstration of aggression towards education, and is cause for concern.
