subjectivities
Heylo my freunden.
I received a compliment on my poor spellingness today. What fun!
What? Fun?
Anyways. I'm about to expose my jaded side and for that I truly apologise. We know it happens, but that doesn't mean we should revel in it. I will no doubt be berated by the misses.
Anyway.
I find the education system to be a little confusing at best. There seems to be so much that's imposed from outside/on high that talks of aiming high, of making sure that the best that can possibly be achieved is achieved, that results go from strength to strength and so on. Yet for all that (and here comes that subjective, jaded opinion that's gonna get me busted) it feels to me like the country gets more and more mediocre.
Further to that (and boy do I really despise the fact that I'm getting on this bandwagon, but what can you do?) it appears that to satisfy this endless target setting grades are getting better, but standards appear to slip. Which leads to a situation where you're telling an ongoing population that is getting dumber (just look at reality tv if you don't believe me :P) that they are getting smarter.
That's some scary sheet right there my friend. It's almost as if someone wanted us to be subdued whilst making us think that we're not. Not that I'm a conspiracy.. um.. ist?
What I will say, however, is that we're training people to look like they're doing the right thing, sound like they're saying the right thing, and appear to tick all the boxes. Surely that's got to be good for something?
Right?
Having said that, you can't have it all..
I received a compliment on my poor spellingness today. What fun!
What? Fun?
Anyways. I'm about to expose my jaded side and for that I truly apologise. We know it happens, but that doesn't mean we should revel in it. I will no doubt be berated by the misses.
Anyway.
I find the education system to be a little confusing at best. There seems to be so much that's imposed from outside/on high that talks of aiming high, of making sure that the best that can possibly be achieved is achieved, that results go from strength to strength and so on. Yet for all that (and here comes that subjective, jaded opinion that's gonna get me busted) it feels to me like the country gets more and more mediocre.
Further to that (and boy do I really despise the fact that I'm getting on this bandwagon, but what can you do?) it appears that to satisfy this endless target setting grades are getting better, but standards appear to slip. Which leads to a situation where you're telling an ongoing population that is getting dumber (just look at reality tv if you don't believe me :P) that they are getting smarter.
That's some scary sheet right there my friend. It's almost as if someone wanted us to be subdued whilst making us think that we're not. Not that I'm a conspiracy.. um.. ist?
What I will say, however, is that we're training people to look like they're doing the right thing, sound like they're saying the right thing, and appear to tick all the boxes. Surely that's got to be good for something?
Right?
Having said that, you can't have it all..
Labels: musings, pretentious crap
They didnt dumb you down then
Posted by
John H |
October 30, 2007 12:17 PM
You're right, we can't have it all. If we are going to educate everybody (and, in particular, if we are going to educate everybody to the same level in the comprehensive school system) then standards will appear to slip overall. Our literacy rate for school-leavers, for example, will drop because not very bright people are now going to school. And I wouldn't want that to be any different.
The education system as we know it (i.e. education for all) is still very young; the people in charge of it don't know what they're doing and that's not necessarily because they're bad at their jobs (although they might be!) but because they haven't hit on an idea that works yet. Perhaps there is no such idea. To complicate things further, the current baby system cannot escape from the centuries old grand-daddy of the British education culture which has grown up through extremely complex political, social and economical factors. What is more, everyone is aware of that culture on some level: government, teachers, parents and (perhaps most of all) kids. Some of us can work at it from the inside but to have oversight of the whole education system...pretty tricky, I imagine.
What would you do? Any realistic answers? Bearing in mind that we can't just start from scratch.
Closing thoughts: I realise I haven’t addressed the exact issues that Toby brought up (dumbing down, target setting, statistical manipulation…). Some of the stuff floating around education at the moment is fairly sinister and I’m not trying to deny that. Having said that, can you think of a time when there weren’t sinister elements to education? It’s quite a dark art really. So, bearing that in mind, any realistic answers?!
Posted by
El |
October 30, 2007 2:54 PM
Education became universal in the 19th century, not as social altruism but to supply a demand for Clerks to develop the industrial society that was generating wealth for the establishment.
Since then, education, as religion, has remained a political instrument. The ordinary people are directed, through education, in the direction that is most beneficial for the establishment.
I have spent the last 25 years trying to enthuse youngsters in the value of education. (Whatever that may mean!)Stupidly, I have frequently questioned the agenda that was imposed on schools, suggesting that maybe what I was to deliver wasn't necessarily the best medicine for the customer. How naive!
I was mystified how apparently clueless teachers thrived and moved onwards and upwards when intelligent, thoughtful, caring teachers got nowhere! More naivety!
My advice to a teacher who wishes to succeed is to a) Join the Freemasons. Not sure what females do - marry a freemason? b) Agree loudly and vociferously with any Government sponsored initiative that comes your way - however stupid. (Example - on-line testing for ICT using useless, non-standard software.) c) Try hard not to molest any child in your care. (Even the establishment tends to melt away from support of teachers that do that - However, sleeping with a sixth-former will not debar you from the highest of educational posts!)
Follow those guidelines and success will be assured. You may not help a single child but, so what? That's not what education is about.
Thanks for the blog. I've just developed the above thesis on the hoof. Even so, at the moment, it seems quite plausible, even if it does sound a bit like an extreme left-wing rant.
We must stop regarding education as providing some sort of universal social benefit. It is, and always will be, a political tool.
Posted by
Pte Harry Lamin |
November 02, 2007 2:50 PM
I'm just a lowly reprographics technician (albeit a KICKASS one) but that never stops me sticking an oar in.
It has become clear through your comments that what you in fact need is a good dose of Hollywood. I prescribe repeat viewings of Dead Poets Society, Mona Lisa Smile, Good Will Hunting and The History Boys. Proof positive that you can in fact make a difference in a system which could at best be described as fubar.
You hang in there, sunshine!
Maybe it's organised education/religion that are political tools. Subversives can be proponents of good education and good religion. Good thing I'm disorganised is all I can say.
Posted by
tobiwan |
November 02, 2007 6:46 PM