Tag: school

Do as I say…

Don’t you love how we tell kids to do things (or not do them) and then undermine the whole concept with our own actions and decision?

Over the last week I’ve gone over the concept of Internet Safety with three classes.  A key concept in the lessons is “Don’t give out your personal details to anyone”. That is, don’t go publishing your name, address, school and photo on your Bebo page then opening it up to the world.

That’s sensible enough.

I was talking to another teacher (I say “another” as if I’m qualified… roll on summer 2011!) who had the following thrust at him as a question:

“Well, sir, in that case what happens if I lose my school bus pass? It’s got my name, photo and address on it and it’s got the school name printed across the top.”

Of course, he thought this was silly. There’s no way it would have all of those details on.

Actually. Yes. Yes, it does. He looked and was struck dumb. The obvious answer is “well, don’t lose your bus pass” but these things happen. They go walkies, they get dropped, they get stolen along with the bag they’re inside.

And then someone has their hands on this young girl’s school and home addresses.

Does anyone else think this is madness? It’s a school bus pass for a bus that runs from a locale to the school direct, not a public bus. As long as the pupil has a pass, their address is immaterial. It needs a photo to show that the carrier is the one entitled to the bus trip. That, I accept. Even having the name on isn’t the end of the world. The name of the school makes a bit of sense, but why would they be on the wrong bus? If they were colour-coded or had some other identifying feature even that wouldn’t be necessary.

But home address? If the pass is lost, the student applies for another. If it’s got the school name on it then the finder can return it there – the school would be able to find the pupil.

So while we’re telling them not to publish their details somewhere public, the school is handing them a piece of card that they have every chance of dropping with just that information on. Not as bad as shoving a poster up, but depending on who finds it every bit as worrying.

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Someone’s out of touch

Photograph of a conker in it's shell, partiall...
I may disappoint you

I just read a story on the BBC News where the Chairman of the Independent Schools Association warns that children are living in a virtual prison, not being prepared enough for adult life. He cites many things – and I’ll actually agree with him, up to a point.

He points out that kids aren’t getting out enough. They’re not enjoying the traditional games and experiences that people my age an upwards did. These include, mending bike tyres (actually, I’ve never done this – eek), playing conkers and so forth. They’re not experiencing such things as disappointment when they lose at things.

Hmm.

I seem to recall that conkers has been banned in some schools on Health and Safety grounds. As have many other games (Rik will tell you of his experiences on this blog post). As for disappointment, don’t forget that newspapers around the country have in the past been ordered not to publish the results of children’s football matches if the scores are too “embarassing”.

Yes, the guy’s right – children are failing to experience a lot of things. But isn’t it our fault that this is so? Society as a whole? We’re protecting them far too much, from things that they shouldn’t be protected from.

However, I’d not blame schools. They’re covering their own arses due to ridiculous Health and Safety legislation and idiot parents who want to wrap their children in soft bubbles and release them into the real world when they’re eighteen.

Along with coating them in disinfectant every time they sneeze and dressing them in nothing but hypoallergenic crap, we’re destroying their immune systems, their emotional development and – courtesy of the ridiculous syllabuses – their intellectual skills.

No, I’m not a parent. But I have enough friends who are and enough cousins and the like of school age to know that these complaints are widespread.

Can’t we just let kids be kids?

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Teacher knows best?

A teacher writing on a blackboard.
The next SoS for Education?

Maybe I’m thinking outside of the box here, but surely the people who know education best are those entrenched in it? The front line. The actual teachers and head teachers.

Instead, policy is set by the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, formerly one half of the Secretary of State for Education. This position is currently held by one Edward Balls, who’s an economist. Not a teacher. He never has been – as far as I can discover – involved in the teaching profession other than by being a student.

So, given the decline in educational standards that’s pervaded our system for the last dozen-or-so years, what on earth makes him think he’s right in what he does and that teachers shouldn’t be listened to when they’re discussing their own profession? I’m not saying teachers aren’t as good, or as dedicated. I’m saying the infrastructure they’re forced to work within is screwed and makes their jobs far harder than they should be.

The current news story is one of the two main teaching unions deciding to boycott SATs exams for 11 year-olds next year. From their professional point of view, the exams are a waste of time and serve only to feed league tables – something our current government loves and has adopted for many of the public services.

Thing is, I agree with them. Exams are fine in certain circumstances but when trying to prove the worth of a school they’re utterly pointless. It’s easy to train someone monkey-fashion to pass exams, especially 11 year-old children. Instead of being taught about a subject, teachers are forced to teach them how to pass a certain set of exams. This narrows the educational spectrum massively and serves no purpose for the children whatsoever.

All you have to do is look back to the 60s when we had an educational system to be proud of. Exams were hard. I defy anyone to compare a 1965 O-level in maths and the 2009 GCSE equivalent and tell me that they’ve not become easier. Leaving aside the Imperial system used back then (I admit that would make things more difficult in itself) but the breadth and depth of the subject matter is far greater in the older papers than the current ones.

In a bid to make our schools seem better, we’re making things easier for children. Seriously, what is the point in ensuring that 30% pass with A-grades (or whatever the figure is) if we’re managing that by lowering the standards? Part of the reason we have to lower the standards is that teachers currently have to waste so much time coaching children through exams every other year.

We already live in a society where children (and adults) are handed things on a platter. By making schooling easier, we’re ensuring the production of generations which feel they don’t have to work that hard – if at all – to achieve what they want. Generations that’ll settle for what they can get with minimum effort.

No wonder the country’s in a complete mess. If something’s worth having, you have to work for it.

Now, I just want to make it clear that my criticism here is not levelled at teaching staff or the pupils themselves. It’s at the system, and at the government(s) that have created this system. As with much of our social infrastructure, the whole thing needs torn down and redesigned. Remember that old “back to basics” promise we were given? Why can’t we have that?

And isn’t one of the most basic things taking a person from within an organisation and promoting them to the top – simply as they have a lifetime of experience from which to draw? So how’s about making an ex-head teacher the next Secretary for Education?

Or is that too much like common sense?

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