It's a mark of the lack of intellectual ambition among British politicians that debates about our economic performance so often centre on micromanaging the school curriculum.
The latest example is the prime minister's claim that Britain has an "anti-maths mindset" that costs our economy tens of billions of pounds a year.
Given that Mathematics is the most popular A-level subject, I'd like to see the evidence for these claims.
The Guardian report goes on to say:
Sunak is expected to point to statistics showing the UK is below average for numeracy among industrialised countries, with more than 8 million adults having maths skills below those expected in schools for a child of nine.
If that is true, then surely the conclusion is that we need a) better maths teaching in our primary schools and b) to put a lot of money into adult education classes in simple mathematics.
It's hard to see how Sunak's pet policy of making everyone study maths until they are 18 will touch the problem.
Behind this current skirmish lie three assumptions that Liberals should be wary of:
- that the curriculum should be dictated by central government;
- that the purpose of education is to fit young people for the world of work as it currently exists;
- that young people are an undifferentiated mass, without individual interests or talents, that can be shaped however government or wider society chooses.
But we never hear these assumptions questioned. Instead, we get opposition parties mocking the government because there are not enough maths teachers available to deliver Sunak's plans.
2 comments:
Young people (and older ones) learn in different ways. Students who struggle at 16 years of age with maths may not find compulsory maths to be helpful -- but a few years later they may welcome the chance.
Why do we put people in boxes in this country? How don't we see that educational systems which serve those who are bright at a younger age, they miss out on those who develop later.
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If state planning created a generation of maths wizards, they'd be a frustrated generation. There wouldn't be the right opportunities for them to study engineering, physics, medical science etc.
Surely Sunak is tackling the wrong age-group? More should be done to ensure that primary schoolchildren are comfortable with numbers. The uses of basic mathematics should be made plain in the early years of secondary education.
The phobia of too many adults needs to be addressed.
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