Is The British Educational System Slowly Collapsing?
May seem a downbeat message for the end of last year, but do stop me if you feel relaxed about any of the following educational headlines that have appeared in “The Times” during December 2009. Maybe this year we will see a turn-around in our schooling standards as our teaching resources desperately need regrouping to meet the challenges of the new decade.
December 1st “There is a myth that students can’t be stretched”. Britain’s 16 year olds on average take just two academic subjects at GCSE. Children in Japan, France, Germany and Canada for example take five or six academic subjects. Is our predilection to hit school targets influencing children to take easier subjects that unfortunately have a lower ranking? How will British children subsequently fare in the global market?
December 2nd “The extra billions of pounds failed to raise school standards”. The £ billions that have been ploughed into increasing educational standards under the labour government have failed to produce a corresponding improvement. The spending has been increased by £30bn per year but the value for money from schools has fallen steadily and is no better now than the final year under the previous government.
December 2nd. “League tables show another dip in the top scores of English and science.” The number of pupils leaving primary school with high test scores in English and science has declined for the second successive year.
Only in maths did the result improve but this was due to the more able children. Performance overall in the National Curriculum has induced teachers and schools to improve the average score of a class. Investing their time and energy and time to get the greatest number of children through the tests is a great concern as schools are subsequently are failing to stretch the gifted and talented children.
A staggering total of 1,472 schools failed to meet the government’s basic performance target. It would seem the of the law of diminishing returns is now in place. Diana Johnson, junior schools minister, admitted her concern over the fall in results in English. Nick Gibbs the shadow schools minister said “There remains a huge problem with literacy in primary schools; one in ten 11 year old boys are not even getting a grade in this vital subject.”
December 11th. “Are safety laws a threat to exchange trips and work experience.” Head teachers from state and independent schools believe new safety laws could see the end of educational exchange trips and work experience placements. By the time safety checks are complete the opportunity, and enthusiasm, would have passed. At a time when the relevance of this vital experience is increasing we seem to be shutting the door.
The only way is up. Let’s hope education moves into a significantly higher gear this year. Maybe the real boost to performance lies with what parents can bring to the party. Help at home could be the hidden answer and the range of educational teaching resources now available to help parents could be the ammunition they need.
