Its the end of the world (or at last the 9 - 5) as we know it? Part 4
Several articles have caught my eye this week but in particular, this one:-
My first job was as a maths teacher - many, many years ago! One of the classes I taught, or rather supervised, were the ROSLERS (raising of the school leaving age). These were children that in times past would have left school at 14. Despite our best efforts, these classes made no real progress (sometimes even went backwards) as the children were fairly disengaged and looking back there were probably a few that would now have some form of diagnosis. Even then I wondered if ‘comprehensive’ education was actually a good thing and whether these children would have been better served with a more practical based education. Not everyone is academic and to push everyone through the same system means the large majority come through not feeling the brightest and the best.
The idea of the comprehensive system is a good one - equal opportunities for all, particularly boys who are often late bloomers and may fail the eleven plus at 11 - but the truth is that there wasn’t actually that much mobility once children are streamed (I really hope this has changed but I don’t feel it has). Sadly the old adage of “whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right” holds true and I think is particularly true of young people who are also distracted by peer groups and friends.
Although a nightmare to administer but in line with the idea of lifetime learning, I would love to see a system that gave learning credits. Not everyone is ready for A levels or university at the appointed time - to be honest, who really knows what they want to do at 13 when children are asked to pick their options? Not everyone sees the point of qualifications especially when they don’t expect to get good results. I think part of my perspective is that there are many people in my family who have come to further education later in life when they have been motivated because they now have a goal in mind. In fairness though, I do come from a family that always valued education which I know is not always the case but all the more reason to make getting back into education easier - at the moment there are definite financial and cultural barriers. Being able to dip in and out of education (in whatever form) has huge benefits to society too as it would give us a much more flexible work force.
I wonder if these young men (and women) were given opportunities to learn a trade at 14 (before they become disaffected) what difference would it make? If learning a trade meant that you could now see the point of English and Maths and you could dip back in at the point? And a trade would certainly AI proof them for quite a long time - we are a long way off a robot getting under a sink to clear a U-bend!!
Not everyone is academic but that doesn’t mean people are stupid. There are lots and lots of other forms of intelligence that we should consider just as highly. If we really want to encourage and bring on the next generations perhaps we should meet them where they are and provide an educational system that really does provide opportunities for all.
And if you’re feeling the need for a change and want to learn something new try https://freecoursesinengland.co.uk/ The courses are free (if you complete them), short (6 to 12 weeks) and very well supported - my tutor was excellent!