tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6606798.post114357598534379779..comments2024-03-27T16:39:43.522+00:00Comments on Liberal England: Is this all your own work, Tompkins?Jonathan Calderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00730157683743989696noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6606798.post-1143582791875875452006-03-28T22:53:00.000+01:002006-03-28T22:53:00.000+01:00I think Phil makes the point perfectly; in order t...I think Phil makes the point perfectly; in order to survive in today's education climate teachers are sadly having to "teach to the test". Failure to do so risks "poor" results, having to justify yourself to the school's leadership and ultimately a close inspection from OFSTED. Most pupils don't learn to think but rather simply to answer. There's a tragic irony that measures supposedly designed to address the concerns of employers, or "raise standards", actually produce less employable individuals.<BR/><BR/>Until we accept that education is about learning, a process that involves both success and failure, things can only get worse.<BR/><BR/>I object, however, to Frank Furedi's reference to the "outsourcing of education by schools". This suggests that parents are being expected to educate children, as a substitute for the school. Worse still is the implication that education is the business of schools and parents should keep their hands off. I can't agree with either statement.<BR/><BR/>Having worked in schools in challenging circumstances, as they are called, one of the greatest challenges is to get parents to work in partnership with the school. All too often parents are willing to abdicate responsibility, not only for their child's education but also their social development, discipline, nourishment and even health!<BR/><BR/>No, parents should not be doing their children's homework but I defy anyone to disagree that it's only a recent development. The difference is that more pupils and parents are being pressured to "suceed" today than 20 or 30 years ago.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6606798.post-1143578112073988662006-03-28T21:35:00.000+01:002006-03-28T21:35:00.000+01:00And one problem with parents teaching - as opposed...And one problem with parents teaching - as opposed to actually doing the homework themselves - is that they're not qualified, so there's no guarantee (and no check) they're doing it right.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6606798.post-1143577416898090302006-03-28T21:23:00.000+01:002006-03-28T21:23:00.000+01:00I wonder if the biggest factor is the increasing v...I wonder if the biggest factor is the increasing volume of testing in schools, and the prescriptive teaching that goes with that. If you go through the system being exhorted to learn and reproduce "the right answer", unsurprising that when you get to university you can still not do much more than reproduce material.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com