School curriculum and subject choice: the new battleground for social mobility
“[In] a system in which an unequal start is a given [vocational subject] choices all too easily cement underlying inequality…” Chris Hall argues that the left’s focus on improving vocational education might help to preserve social inequality rather than challenge it.
Kids are failed by The System, not their genes
I have argued before that the usual left/right distinctions can be meaningless in education. Instead of a left/right spectrum I preferred this 2-dimensional version [below] which separates the issues of what should be taught (the content axis) and who it should be taught to (the entitlement axis). Lazy thinking (shown by those who look only at […]
Gove - a price worth paying?
Michael Gove. Elicits strong reactions that name. From both hysterical anti-reform types as well from uncritical disciples of the #cultofGove My own reaction? More a shrug of the shoulders with the odd outburst thrown in. He’s a mixed legacy. And I suspect history will judge him the same. His greatest success has been in convincing […]
Just Google it
If your flatmate asked for help in locating a green sweater that she had somehow misplaced, you’d be able to help her look for it in a genuinely useful way. You know what a sweater is, you know what green is, and you know where it’s likely to be, or at least, you know where […]
What restricts teachers?
“We live in fear of the boxes; we are worried about what might happen if we simply refuse to keep ticking them.” Tessa Matthews argues that most teachers have little faith that the ‘boxes’ they are forced to tick are helping young people - and wonders what might happen instead if teachers challenged the ‘restrictive powers’ that cast a shadow over education.
Is this an education?
“What should they do, when they realise that their education is limited?” Tessa Matthews challenges an education system that allows young people to receive a narrow education - and which subsequently narrows their educational and career opportunities.
Seven things all politicians should know about education
I find much of the contribution from politicians to the education debate in this country utterly pointless. So many political types simply do not realise how the system works or what is going on. Here are the key points I want politicians to take on board. 1) Education is an ideological battleground. There are fundamental differences […]
Why isn’t our education system working?
‘Educational inequality is the civil rights issue of our time’ - Barack Obama, 2011 Our retention, training, curriculum and assessment aren’t strong enough In 1807, radical journalist William Cobbett used an analogy to suggest that, just as his hunting dogs in training had lost the scent because he’d laid a false trail of red herrings, politics had […]
Do we really have high expectations of our students? Or is it just talk? Part Two: Curriculum
“Miss Matthews, these texts aren’t exactly very inspiring!”- Year 10 pupil, Galaxy High. Last week, I blogged about the low expectations Galaxy High has of the behaviour of its students; this week, I want to go a step further and suggest that low expectations are so entrenched in the system that even the curriculum we […]