Today sees Michael Gove reveal his latest attempt to reform our education system,
which, quite laughably, includes the radical change of replacing A*-G with
numbers 1-8. Aside from that game changer, it would appear that Gove’s attempts
to play up to the angry, nostalgic and, above all, ill informed and ignorant
wing of his party’s support, or those most likely to support his inevitable
leadership bid, is to keep repeating the words rigorous and tough. What this
translates to is a huge step backwards towards the schooling that Gove and his
peers enjoyed, meaning the scrapping of coursework, an increased difficulty
level and longer exams with everything riding on them. Of course, this sort of
system will be fine for those who excel academically, happen to live near a
good school or can afford a tutor, as they do in the current system, but, it is
not a system within which the majority can thrive and get the best out of their
education. If we want the evidence of this, we simply need to study our own
history, something of course Gove doesn't agree with unless it consists of a
long list of British triumphs; he doesn't much go for the use of critical analysis.
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| Gove pretends to listen |
I have no problem with the idea of reforming our education
system, it actually makes perfect sense following the move to compulsory
education until the age of 18 and with an ever expanding knowledge of how
children develop and how best to teach them. It is unfortunate however that our
very own Education Secretary has proved himself unable to keep up with much of
this research, or of engaging his critical faculties to garner an understanding
of what is needed to improve every child’s experience in the modern world. He
has instead relied on the prejudices, sorry ‘knowledge,’ of his inner circle of
aides, where research not in line with his beliefs is rejected and only bits
which agree with him are considered, all the while justifying his changes
through the use of discredited statistics concerning the UK’s comparative
international performance. This sort of narrow-minded, closed and selective
approach is exactly the sort of approach that any self respecting student
engaged in critical analysis would shun, and really should earn Gove a failing
grade. Most worrying of all, is the apparent ignorance of the existence of the
internet, it really isn't necessary to memorise lists of facts with them so readily
available, and the callous and uncaring approach to the emotional needs of
students, forcing them to adhere to a single educational approach with all of
the pressure piled on them in a final exam which bears no resemblance
whatsoever to the ‘real world.’
Gove’s favourite Pisa statistics, which were discredited by
the governments own statistics watchdog, don’t seem to tally with those of
another independent study carried out by Pearson, which appear
to show that the UK is actually performing somewhere near the top in terms of
international achievement, this may explain the high demand worldwide for those
educated in the UK and the high numbers of foreign students throughout our
education system. Perhaps more interesting than this, is the assertion that ‘successful countries give
teachers a high status and have a "culture" of education.’
This would seem like common sense to many but, somewhat ironically from someone
trying to appeal to the Daily Mail readers amongst us, Gove appears not to
realise this and has instead insisted on ignoring the importance of the
development of children and their interest in learning as well as
systematically undermining, and making enemies of, almost the entire education
profession. From the managers, so often not aligned with practitioners, in head teachers, to the
practitioners themselves, the
teachers, and right through to the academics,
who train our teachers and inform our knowledge and understanding through their
research, Gove has faced stern criticism that has led to him being widely
loathed. Creating a culture of education, with teachers being of a high status,
would appear to be the exact opposite of what Gove is trying to achieve. It is
vital that teachers are well motivated, supported and appreciated, how else can
they be expected to perform the task of motivating, supporting and appreciating
the next generation? It is also vital that children are engaged with their
education and supported in the myriad different ways which they need to get the
best out of them. Gove’s reforms do neither and it makes him a dangerous
failure.
| Learning by rote |
There
is much that can be done to improve our education system but the truth of the
matter is that it is extra funding and training that is needed as well as a
different change of direction to that of Gove’s. Creating a culture of
education with teachers as high status individuals will not be achieved by
going back to a learn by rote and exam focused system within which teachers and
academics are roundly attacked by government for having the temerity to put
forward an informed opinion. The focus on league tables and exams from an early
age is routinely criticised as leading to a ‘teach to the test’ method and a
lack of a rounded education. This is where the direction needs to change. Take
the pressure off of head teachers, teachers and pupils by removing rigid
assessment criteria and focus on a more well rounded education where teachers
are assessed on their methods and their ability to engage children with the
curriculum. This would help to create a culture of learning where children are
encouraged to learn and enjoy education rather than being steered towards
passing a test. Where teachers are falling behind the standards expected, there
should be meaningful training to aid their professional development both within
schools and without. There is no positive outcome from assessing teachers when
there is no meaningful action that they can take to progress and improve; it is
bad for morale, bad for the teacher, bad for the pupil and bad for the school.
Many seem to agree that the years before GCSEs and A Levels should
not be so focussed on assessment and categorising, and that we need to ensure that children,
whilst of course studying a broad range of subjects and learning the key
basics, are engaged with their education and are encouraged to help foster a
culture of education. Without focusing on the needs of pupils and engaging them
with education, by giving them the support they need within a more flexible
framework, any changes to our assessment structure for GCSEs and A Levels will
likely prove fruitless, or, in Gove’s case, counter-productive. Considering the
need to engage pupils with education and the importance of emotional
development to achieving better results, it beggars belief that we are to see a
regressive step in education to a learn by rote and exam heavy structure. There should be no problem with posing pupils challenges and expecting them to be able to solve problems, but, different people learn in different ways and respond to different approaches, it says more about the arrogance of Gove than the ability of the UK's children that he believes only exams are 'tough' and 'rigorous' tests of ability and indicators of achievement. He appears to have had no thought beyond differentiating between the best and the
brightest in academic terms, with no thought to those with special
educational needs, no thought for those not of an academic mind and no thought
for those who are not served best by having their entire future and educational
achievement riding on final exams. These reforms are regressive, they are
callous, they will fail so many of the next generation and they have been
informed by the ignorance and arrogance of one man in the face of an entire
profession. Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Education, is an abject
failure and a dangerous ideologue whose beliefs are deemed more important than
others knowledge and the future of the UK’s children.
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