So there I was sat in the meeting:
‘Progress isn’t right in our local authority, attendance is 0.06 down compared to norms. Progress from foundation stage to key stage one doesn’t meet linear requirements compared to our statistical neighbours. We need to prepare children in foundation stage far better for key stage one because it’s not working….. we have many schools below the national average. Attendances are down 0.06 compared to national norms , British white working-class boys are the worst offenders and for some reason are not progressing according to profiled expectations. ‘
I looked around, heads nodded, worried looks on faces… bean counting in education… who will be the next to go…? This is what we have become.
Problem is, the system values what we measure; what we teach is defined by what we count and I can honestly say that the fact it doesn’t make sense to me does not mean I have lost the plot. I sit and watch pseudo intellectuals pontificate about dross and get a numb feeling as I participate in the next educational trend/plot.
I haven’t yet met a teacher that did not want the best for the children in their care….schools are however turning into process driven hot houses, what a surprise that only 50% of NQTs, last more than five years and more people than ever are retiring early or just packing in altogether!
As a parent and an as an old educator I think the one thing we are losing is the social dynamic. Many pupils lack role models for interaction and life itself. It is all very well having the vast majority of pupils gaining a wad of GCSEs , but if they lack social etiquette and a vision for happiness there is limited point to their endeavours.
I am not convinced of the appropriateness of our number crunching productivity model of education that currently prevails, as children and future adults become ever more unhappy, we can only predict the regret we might one day feel.
Personal Survival 