As some of you may know, part of my work is in education and those who have heard me ‘speak’ will know I have several educational soapboxes.

For some time I have been thinking about setting up an educational blog as a distinct and separate entity. Now I am thinking that perhaps such a blog and the comments it would contain need to be part and parcel of this set of rants, moans, comments and raves.

So here it is!

On the learn2learn website I make the point that education needs to focus on four key skill areas or domains…

a) The ability to access and assess information
b) The ability to communicate in a variety of ways (including IT)
c) The ability to lead and manage self
d) The ability to manage change

We are living in dynamic and changing times and the eduicational system is not keeping pace with the real needs of the young person. This is not meant to be a ‘dig’ at teachers – many of whom are working extremely hard – but at the ‘system’ they are foreced to work within.

It seems that, at the chalkface, there is a desire to do something different; to find new ways to engage pupils in EMOTIONAL, RELEVANT and PURPOSEFUL activities. The problem is that there are mixed messages coming from those desgining the legislation.

For example how can we enocurage DEEP LEARNING when assessment of both pupil and teacher is based upon ticking boxes and making observations based upon things that can be assessed through SURFACE LEARNING apprpoaches. Recall and acquistion oif knowledge seems to be the focus rather than construction and development of understanding.

It’s easy to see how this happens – techniques and approaches to encourage critical and creative thinking, questioning and play take time froim an already over-crowded curriculum. Teachers (and pupils) know that they will be asssessed by their performance in activities that focus largely upon recall. We are locked into and educational performance agenda.

At a recent teachers conference I presented various frameworks for developing thinking skills with pupils. A ‘hot topic’ at the moment, one that seems to have the ‘governmental nod’. During the discussion I was told that one of the senior teachers had been having a conversation with an OFSTED representative about engagement of children and the rather dismissive comment came back to suggesting that there was no interest in ‘psychological stuff’ only in what could be ‘measured’. That comment was from one of the people entrusted with the assessment of quality education!

There exust within the educational assessment framework a number of practical, if not intellectual, double-binds.

How can we encourage ‘personalised’ learning without acknowledging that idividual cognitive development does not necessarily fit upon the graphs of ‘predicted performance’ which are set against national standards?

How can we meet, genuinely, the entitlement outlined by SEAL, when the ideas it contains are often treated as ‘lessons’ to be delivered rather than an ethos to be developed?

Citizenship – what the hell is that?

In intent it is a superb initiative…. exploring sociological, politcal and personal values and ethics; roles, rights and responsibilities. In practice it is a series of dry lessons about constitution, law and British History.

I guess, then, it might be possible to ‘fail’ citizenship…

The tick-box mentality is rife in schools not because of choice but because of pressure.

“We did bullying last week, this week its sex…” Suffering from ‘content overload’ it’s a race to get through the things that are expected to be delivered (and will be tested). Teachers and pupils are working harder; striving and driving for ‘success’ or ‘excellence’ and in doing so are perhaps sacrificing creativity.

In very practical terms this can serve to increase the gap between the “functional”, “adpative” and “engaged” children and the “, inflexible”, “dysfunctional” and “dis-engaged” pupil.

I’ve never met a demotivated pupil!!!!!

I mean that …

I have met and worked with lots of pupils who are not motivated in the direction we want them to be or think they should be however.

Where in the ciurriuculum (especialy the Secondary curriculum) are we builidng in time for reflection and play?

“Reflection” isn’t time spent in idle musing, but can have a structure..

“Play” is not about running aound, but it is about being given the time to explore ideas…

It is a sad fact that some of our so called Gifted and Talented students who go onto University will ‘drop out’ becuase they do not have the skills needed to be the independent learners Universities want.

It is a sad fact that, as Ken Robinson has noted, the school curriculum is “education from the ‘waist up’ ” and appears to be “one long university application process”.

Alan