Politics and education do not mix leading to a sequence of games played between government, authorities and the teaching resources in schools. A recent report by Steven Brill  summarised his two-year investigation in the USA which he found enormously frustrating.

The worlds of education and politics have been odd bedfellows generating continuous ideological spin that pervades all from early learning to high school. He believes if you repeat a lie often enough you can convince yourself that it is true. State education is failing children and it is not about money or the size of the class but rather who is at the front of class. He believes that parents need to become more involved in the children’s education and refuse to put up with inadequate and failing or inappropriate  educational standards. more

Despite being one of the world’s leading nations in technology and commerce the USA still has problems with educational standards. With the resources available why does the United States, like the UK, struggle to reflect their  position in global activities in the schooling of children?

A recent review by U.S. Department of Education shows that despite educational reforms there is still a significant inequality in the standards of teaching and educational resources across the nation. The review sample covering 7,000 schools revealed disparity with the number of children receiving inadequate maths schooling especially in algebra and calculus. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said “The data shows that far too many students are still not getting access to the kinds of classes, resources and opportunities they need to be successful.” …..Read More in Huffpost Education

STEM, the science, technology, engineering, and maths initiative which is becoming widespread in secondary school seems to have missed the point in many primary schools. In general the commitment of much of the teaching resources in primary school is geared towards hitting targets set in the national curriculum. Yet STEM opportunities could materially benefit the student and the community as a career option.

A similar situation is occurring in the USA. New teachers there can typically obtain a license to teach elementary school without taking a what could eventually be a college level STEM class without demonstrating a solid grasp of mathematics or scientific knowledge. Primary school is the ideal time to nurture the inquisitive mind of children towards the scope of scientific inquiry. The opportunity appears missed that would ensure students enjoy successful early experiences in maths,engineering and science that would generate the curiosity and confidence in these topics to encourage students need to pursue careers in STEM subject fields.

The publication by the National Council exploring Teacher Quality entitled “No Common Denominator: The Preparation of Elementary Teachers in Mathematics by America’s Education Schools”, highlighted the need for more rigorous preparation in mathematics in elementary level trainee teacher. But in the two years since its release very little has changed. Not surprisingly the evidence has shown that elementary school students have higher achievement in mathematics when taught by teachers who are good at teaching maths. This may be an obvious outcome to the outsider but it is amazing how often unprepared teachers are requested to take a maths class.

Diana Epstein and Raegen Miller publication “Slow Off the Mark,”focuses on the selection and preparation of elementary school teachers. Most will be required to teach mathematics and science when they enter the classroom. It is primary school mathematics and science that lay the foundation for future STEM learning and exploitation. Yet all too often it is these same teachers who subsequently fail to inspire children or fire up their enthusiasm to pursue Science and maths based degrees or careers.

As the manufacturing base in the UK and USA moves inexorably to the Far East we will need children to explore and innovate to support the economy. Without the grounding in Stem subjects this may prove more difficult to achieve. The embryonic approach to science and engineering, which can be instilled in the young mind, can last a lifetime. The innovative entrepreneur of tomorrow can be fired up in primary school. Maybe we need to displace the desire to become a rock star, astronaut, prime minister or president with the practical skill that can invent the next vacuum cleaner, social website operation or Stephen Hawkin. But for this to happen we need top move away from the short term target driven approach and take a long term view of where we need to support the economy in the face of overseas competition. It could prove to be our salvation as the world regroups after centuries of western domination.

The recent “Dream School” TV series, using TV celebrities as teachers, proved exceptional teaching resources are hard to find. These guest presenters were incredibly knowledgeable in their subject area but were not necessarily the best teachers. The key outcome of the programme series highlighted just how much a good teacher can hold children’s interest.

The law of averages indicates that there will be some good, bad and indifferent teachers within our schools in the UK. Of the total of around 450,000 teachers we could reasonably assume there will be five per cent with exceptional ability. That equates to 22,500 great teachers. At the same time the General Teaching Council admits there are 17,000 failing teachers with the lamentable fact that just 18 teachers have been dismissed for incompetence in the last 10 years. A regrettable consequence of failing to deal effectively with this situation is just how many children have been taught by a failing teacher. Assuming such teachers are involved in taking three classes of 35 children, there is a probability that 1,875,000 children are currently being taught by failing teachers.

The recruitment and development of the star teacher potential could present an extraordinary positive opportunity. Their limited number means they are currently spread thinly across our 30,000 schools. The Dream Schools TV programme proved that great teachers are not necessarily the most qualified. Realistically they will continue to be hard to find and we therefore need a scheme that would increase their talents to as many children as possible but we would need to overcome some of the current constraints in conventional teaching. Apart from paying an attractive salary we need to increase the class size above 30 that they could handle. The larger classes would need to assemble in a suitable auditorium and use Broadcast technology to project the reception of their lessons and allow them to present to 200 to 300 children. Additional teachers could support the exercise and there could be a possibility to broadcast the session to other school groups in remote areas, covering the gap left by Teachers TV which has just closed.

The super class could be used in the major subjects such as English, Maths and Science. Saving on teachers payroll and the teaching resources needed in the class. The concept is not new, there are a number of examples where papers have recorded the ideals and pitfalls of teaching large maths classes http://www.lon-capa.org/papers/JungicKentMetz.pdf. And large English classes http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/teaching-large-classes . Even so the opportunity to improve the performance of children and schools is enormous.

Whilst teachers in the Far East are revered by students and society the  tendency in the UK and Australia, it seems,  believe teachers have  a cushy job, endless holidays and should take over the role of parent. Is this the reason behind declining discipline standards in schools that is diluting out teaching resources robbing many children of a significant portion of their education.

The perception of a teachers lot clearly is a little misplaced. The level of stress in our teaching resources is legion brought on predominately by the challenges of society that can often view their position as child minders. And a government that believes teachers should be told what to do and how to do it. It is no wonder many of our best potential teachers have avoided the job.  But any attempt to reposition teachers in society will take generations to achieve.

There is an underlying level of disruption in many schools that can  be tracked back to failures in parental control and peer influence. This deep seated problem is not easy fixed but until it is the fundamental role of teacher as a font of knowledge and wisdom to be passed on to children will remain impaired. Instead their expertise is diluted by the need to effect  social correction, essentially caring out the parenting role abandoned at home. But it is not just teachers that feel this effect. Police, ambulance and fire services have all suffered from disruption and abuse from children.

The re-establishment of the recognition of public services is not going to change overnight. Until it is we will continue to see a dilution in the support services. This catch 22 situation will require an essential change in government policy that would have far reaching strategic importance. Our educational programme must compete with the changes in world order, especially in the Far East. Perhaps the greatest challenge  is the control of educational policy that lies in the hands of the Education Secretary, and the majority of educational ministers are in the job for a mere 18 months

We are not alone in the situation. The Australian government see common issues in the situation with the standing of teachers the UK.  Could the resolution  to correct the trend emerge with  international cooperation.? A difficult task. A number of previous national remits have failed. The drugs and litter Czars appointed for their public standing and experience abandoned their respective tasks after a very short tenure citing the role as impossible.

If the government recognise  there has been a change in the society the huge challenge is how to correct it. As a democracy there are limitations as to what and how changes can be introduced. But to do nothing will result in a significant proportion of children will continue to be robbed of a portion of their education that could prove vital in the years to come.

Fun Learning Holds Greater Educational Benefit Than A Text Book Slog. The fast changing world of communications technology needs to be harnessed by educational authorities. Capturing some of children’s free time to play educational games can pay dividends in learning progress.

Playing any game starts with understanding the rules. Progress inevitably is slow at the start and builds as the game progresses and the players become more proficient. Repetition enhances the skill and practice hones the ability. This rule of learning can be applied to virtually any game from sports to chess, but applying it in educational games that practices the classroom lesson hold the greatest potential.

As adults we can perhaps all remember elements of the boring bits about school and many classroom lessons. Maybe it was the teacher or the teaching resources being used that created the grind. If like me, you had a wayward imagination you could be miles away in some adventure flying a helicopter or fast jet rather than worrying what this science and maths thing was all about. And the real cruncher; you would be set homework based on the lesson, only partially understood, to improve your comprehension through some practice at home. Fat chance you would cope especially as the mission in the helicopter remained unfinished.

Despite my improving “flying skills” the reality of failing to understand quadratic equations and their relevancy in your world did not help progress in the classroom. Worse still, as I later discovered, the vast majority of parents were like mine; busy, reluctant to lend too much of a hand as they were taught maths in a different way at school themselves and didn’t want to confuse your work. The reality perhaps, they didn’t want to show themselves up to the teacher and face parents night especially when the teacher was that attractive Miss Lloyd. No, best you sweat through the maths homework on your own. Damn, wouldn’t it be good if someone could invent a mobile phone so you could ring your friend for help!

In my day educational games were as rare as hen’s teeth. The ability to hold the class’s attention relied solely on teacher ability. Some were good, some not so. The population growth over the years has increased the demand for teachers. But as the population grew so the need to regiment their learning activities to ensure continuity and equality of learning content become more apparent. The birth of the national curriculum introduced a common standard in learning whilst simultaneously destroying the freedom of the creative teacher to teach outside the box.

Many experienced teachers left the profession for this reason and we entered an era of central educational experimentation, change, initiatives, dabbling and, not surprisingly, declining standards. To correct this regrettable trend we need more educational games and fun learning to engage children. Not that all classroom learning can or should be fun, but to capitalise on the technology and communication devices that have emerged schooling needs to move beyond the school gate and compete for the free time that is fast becoming occupied by Wii, Playstation and iPhone apps. The national curriculum needs a complete facelift else we in the UK may get left behind in the world stakes. Over the past few decades we have slipped to now lie in the mid 20th position in the OECD ranking of educational standards. The system is broke and it therefore definitely needs fixing