Excuse me while I set up my soap box.
OK I'm on it now.
The presumptions in education are not being looked at, and because of these presumptions education is failing dramatically in Britain, and I think it is true for swathes of the English speaking world.
Presumption 1.
The more able child learns faster.
This is Bollocks of the first order. There are many strategies used to learn, and some will be inclined to one method while others will not engaged by it.
To think there is one proper method of teaching that will cover all, is similar to expecting every person on this forum to express themselves in the same way. It would crush the individual and destroy the forum by curtailing any interaction.
Some children can quickly learn by rote, but others have to take longer to understand the concept. For instance some learn 2+2=4 then they have to learn 2+3=5 and they gradually build up a set of sums until they can see the commonalities and get the concept of addition. Other children like to first understand the concept and then put it into practice.
Problems arise because teachers are expected to cover specific amounts of a set curriculum, so if a child has not understood a concept they are moved on and that exercise has been a waste, you only have to repeat this process a few times and the child cannot see why it is worthwhile bothering in the first place as they will never get anything. You see the lights going off.
Testing if the test is carried out quickly after the learning children who learn by rote will get relatively high marks compared with the other group even though they do not understand the concept. Tests themselves favour clear measurable answers, they are not so accurate at measuring concepts and a child's understanding. An instance of this was the history exam my daughter took three years ago on American civil rights; max Five point answer. Points awarded for mentioning people involved and situation. One point For John F Kennedy. One point for Martin Luther King, also you would get a point for JFK, and MLK, I as an Englishman have never heard him referred to as such, but was told it would be racist if the white and men of colour were not treated the same. Thus you get four points for the two people, but However well you explained the background to the question you could only get one point.
This points to an education system that does not promote learning and understanding, but selects simple see and do people who can follow orders.
That's enough from me for now.
OK I'm on it now.
The presumptions in education are not being looked at, and because of these presumptions education is failing dramatically in Britain, and I think it is true for swathes of the English speaking world.
Presumption 1.
The more able child learns faster.
This is Bollocks of the first order. There are many strategies used to learn, and some will be inclined to one method while others will not engaged by it.
To think there is one proper method of teaching that will cover all, is similar to expecting every person on this forum to express themselves in the same way. It would crush the individual and destroy the forum by curtailing any interaction.
Some children can quickly learn by rote, but others have to take longer to understand the concept. For instance some learn 2+2=4 then they have to learn 2+3=5 and they gradually build up a set of sums until they can see the commonalities and get the concept of addition. Other children like to first understand the concept and then put it into practice.
Problems arise because teachers are expected to cover specific amounts of a set curriculum, so if a child has not understood a concept they are moved on and that exercise has been a waste, you only have to repeat this process a few times and the child cannot see why it is worthwhile bothering in the first place as they will never get anything. You see the lights going off.
Testing if the test is carried out quickly after the learning children who learn by rote will get relatively high marks compared with the other group even though they do not understand the concept. Tests themselves favour clear measurable answers, they are not so accurate at measuring concepts and a child's understanding. An instance of this was the history exam my daughter took three years ago on American civil rights; max Five point answer. Points awarded for mentioning people involved and situation. One point For John F Kennedy. One point for Martin Luther King, also you would get a point for JFK, and MLK, I as an Englishman have never heard him referred to as such, but was told it would be racist if the white and men of colour were not treated the same. Thus you get four points for the two people, but However well you explained the background to the question you could only get one point.
This points to an education system that does not promote learning and understanding, but selects simple see and do people who can follow orders.
That's enough from me for now.
