HappyMaz Posted January 20, 2011 Posted January 20, 2011 Michael Gove has announced a review to the National Curriculum (primary and secondary). The review will:- * replace the current substandard curriculum with one based on the best school systems in the world and provide a world-class resource for teachers and children * consider what subjects should be compulsory at what age * consider what children should be taught in the main subjects at what age. You can find the DfE announcement here. The new curriculum will be taught from September 2013. There is a call for evidence which you can see here.
Guest Posted January 20, 2011 Posted January 20, 2011 Yet more changes ... Yet more paper ... You know I can dimly remember the days pre-national curriculum and having time to be inspired rather than spending all that planning time working out how to fulfill criteria. Sigh
sunnyday Posted January 20, 2011 Posted January 20, 2011 Thanks Maz So it will be 'all change' again for all of us from 2013 - hey ho!
Panders Posted January 20, 2011 Posted January 20, 2011 Thanks MazSo it will be 'all change' again for all of us from 2013 - hey ho! Don't think I can do another one of those!!! Time to retire then will be 2013
sunnyday Posted January 20, 2011 Posted January 20, 2011 Don't think I can do another one of those!!! Time to retire then will be 2013 No, no, no - you'll be fine Will keep us all 'on our toes'.......bound to be lots of absolutely fascinating training to accompany the changes - can't wait!
Guest Posted January 20, 2011 Posted January 20, 2011 (edited) I knew they (Conservatives) didn't like what was supposed to be rolled out for 2012 and really didn't think that they would review for 2013 due to the age of austerity but then there are surprises every week! I did hear on the radio that someone thought their ideas were elitist but what is wrong with having high expectations for children's achievements? I started teaching just before Labour came into power and feel that we have sooo much that we have to fit in, so much paper work and standards have not improved - even the last government admitted that in their statistics! I had a career break for 5 years and can't believe how much more work I have to do now. I find myself increasingly pulling out my old books and files of resources for the increasing number of interventions for everything (talk, handwriting, writing, maths, reading) for the children who are not achieving or receiving the support at home many children used to. From a KS1 point of view, I'm not sure what I would want to come out from this yet but think about making the maximum size of classes to 24 - it is much better for the children to be in a smaller class and enables us to give them more attention than when we have the minimum/maximum of 30. If they want to raise standards then look to the independent sector and see why the children achieve more. Would I be alone in wishing that OFSTED came under review too... Edited January 20, 2011 by Guest
catma Posted January 22, 2011 Posted January 22, 2011 Ofsted is. No more SEF for schools and a slimmed down framework (which misses out many things to do with well being and the like and just focuses on standards/outcomes. The conservatives gave us the NC in the first place. In essence it is not a bad thing. It created a what needed to be taught focus. It gives children an entitlement that is clear and straightforward. And in those halcyon golden days pre NC many children were subjected to repeating topics and aspects of learning because teachers did pretty much what they liked without any overall structure. The NC levels of attainment and programmes of study (the only statutory bits ever) were clear and reasonably sensible. They haven't changed much since then. What messed it all up was the ways that people what to systematise the whole thing - create themes and topics that were allowed to become straight jackets of content. It was all about how we taught it. Now we will go back to the Baker days of facts, figures and subjects dear to the hearts of those educated in the private system. Latin anyone???? I wish we could have something that looked at why we teach it, which is where i believe Jim Rose was going. The Rose review would have given more flexibility and created a real sense of a core curriculum but one that was taught in coherent joined up manner with a focus on skills and learning for the future.We need to skill children to be the citizens of the future and be able to adapt and change and apply skills in new and innovative ways to meet an ever changing world and succeed. If all we do is teach them facts where will it all end up???? As for training, you had better start saving your pennies because there won't be LA staff around to deliver for nothing. Private enterprise doesn't come cheap. Cx
Guest Posted January 22, 2011 Posted January 22, 2011 I personally think that adults and children are so 'centrally led' that they now do not know how to (children), or feel dis-empowered to (adults), think for themselves. The main difference I see in my foster children, compared to my own children (a decade difference in educational experiences) is the ability to think for themselves, to problem solve, and for the teens especially, to recognise that they have some responsibility for their own learning. My current 14 and 16 yr olds, when challenged about lack of progression, 100% blame the teachers. To learn how to learn has disappeared within the constraints that league tables have caused. Were we not once the envy of the western world for our education system? Can anyone remind me what era that was? and what did our education system look like then? Peggy
HappyMaz Posted January 22, 2011 Author Posted January 22, 2011 Peggy I think it is all too easy to look back on the past and decide things were better in the olden days and that our education system is entirely to blame for the differences we perceive between generations of children. Many many things have changed in the wider society over the years since you first became a parent, and all these things contribute to the challenges your foster children face as they grow up. Not every product of today's education system is unable to think for themselves or take responsibility for their actions - there has to be something about the way certain individuals respond to the structures and environment they live in that affects this too. I'm really interested in what you say catma about what the National Curriculum set out to do, and the problems caused by people seeking to systematising it. When I was researching worksheets I read that when the Desirable Learning Outcomes were introduced many practitioners responded by ditching what they knew about the importance of play in children's learning and started to introduce ever more formal teaching strategies in order to ensure their children met the outcomes set. This debate is very much of our time, but on twitter Sir Ken Robinson has just posted up a YouTube video of Isaac Asimov discussing education (and the use of computers) back in 1988. One of his opening statements is:- .... nowadays what people call learning is forced on you and everyone is forced to learn the same thing on the same day at the same speed in class. And everyone is different: for some it goes too fast, for some too slow for some, in the wrong direction. But give them a chance (in addition to school, I don’t say we abolish school, but in addition to school), to follow up their own bent from the start... If you have time to watch it all it is a wide ranging discussion (it is ten minutes long!), but if not just listen to the first few minutes. It makes you realise that some things never change!
Guest Posted January 22, 2011 Posted January 22, 2011 I agree with you Maz, ( maybe I didn't explain too well) but the wider society has changed and, I think, this has influenced some young peoples attitudes towards learning. The constraints of the league tables, means pupils are taught a very narrow curriculum in my view, which lacks creative teaching styles. Pupils are obsessed with attainment levels. My boys don't recognise whether they have progressed as an individual, they just compare their assessment level with their peers, and are subsequently de-motivated to learn, and then blame the teacher for not teaching them. Part of the 'wider society' is the 'blame' culture. Your comment about the worksheets is a prime example that teaching methods became more about evidencing than learning style. Less about child development and more about 'the measure' of what it was deemed to mean, 'to have learnt'. One box fits all scenario. I don't necessarily yearn for the 'olden days' but just wonder if we can learn or remind ourselves of what used to work and whether this would work now in today's world. I do believe that children are born 'ready to learn' and that it is imperative that this thirst for learning is nurtured and not squashed by what value the adults put on the different subject matters that are taught / learnt by our children. Peggy
catma Posted January 22, 2011 Posted January 22, 2011 (edited) When I was researching worksheets I read that when the Desirable Learning Outcomes were introduced many practitioners responded by ditching what they knew about the importance of play in children's learning and started to introduce ever more formal teaching strategies in order to ensure their children met the outcomes set. That's interesting - I recall that they didn't make too much of an impact on me, but I did feel that now I had a point of reference to know whether or not I was doing right by my children which was something I had always worried about. I had no idea if my children were doing as well as they should or as well as others of a similar age/background etc. How could I - it was each to their own (I know argument rages about should 5yr olds be able to do such and such by whenever but I think we do need benchmarks.) But the point was even the DLOs didn't tell you how to teach. I think some people are trying constantly to find the quick fix, the quick way to plan, to assess to record and working with children of any age just isn't about that. There is no short cut. The NC is just a set of parameters. All the rest is down to the skill and capacity of the individual teacher to weave the magic that is really teaching rather than delivering. What I think is lacking is pedagogical understanding and creativity; to know what you have to teach and by when and then be able to construct a learning journey for the children that shares the why. But that takes time and thinking. So much easier to take a QCDA unit off the shelf I suppose. Cx Edited January 22, 2011 by catma
Guest Posted January 22, 2011 Posted January 22, 2011 I've just watched the video, a sure advocate for 'lifelong learning' Peggy
catma Posted January 22, 2011 Posted January 22, 2011 I'll just stick this here for no other reason than it's great to watch: http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_chan..._paradigms.html Cx
HappyMaz Posted January 22, 2011 Author Posted January 22, 2011 That's interesting - I recall that they didn't make too much of an impact on me, but I did feel that now I had a point of reference to know whether or not I was doing right by my children which was something I had always worried about. Do you think the level of confidence a teacher/practitioner has is also a factor catma? I wonder if less experienced/confident teachers are more likely to feel overwhelmed by new initiatives and make knee jerk changes to their practice in order to conform. Whereas someone who is secure in their own knowledge and ethos might be more likely to stick with what they're doing because they know it is successful and they can justify their approaches if challenged?
Guest LornaW Posted January 22, 2011 Posted January 22, 2011 (edited) I so agree with everyone and have taught for so long I have had the chance to teach pre NC and post NC and would agree Catma that is did give children an entitlement but what I have noticed over the years and even more so since the strategies came in is that teachers creativity has gone straight out of the window and they are now afraid to stray from the QCDA unit in case they get lambasted by Ofsted etc. I love Ken Robinsons work and so like Catma am adding this link jut for the joy of listening to him. Imagine Nation You cannot hold, force or control The brave imagination, From paintings that are bright and bold To poetry creation, You cannot legislate against ideas For you will find, You cannot stop young pioneers, It’s all in the mind. Teachers inspire students and Students inspire teachers, And if done write throughout the land We’ll all become great readers, There’s joy in mathematics When a beauty is designed, There’s even art in physics, It’s all in the mind. Bring thought police in uniforms The music will not stop, Excited brains will not conform And nor will sweet Hip-Hop, Now schools can become temples Where the students bump and grind, It’s all so experimental, It’s all in the mind. We beings need adventure Just like we need a heart, It’s more than lazy leisure Life’s empty without art, Ideas are like the universe They cannot be confined, And our ideas are so diverse It’s all in the mind. When you look at all the negative It’s only black and white, But when you get creative It’s all colour and light, So why live in the darkness? And why be colour-blind? Our art brings love and brightness, It’s all in the mind. You cannot put a price upon A dancer with great action, Nor can you put a price upon A teacher full of passion, What’s possible is endless When these talents are combined, What’s possible is priceless, And It’s all in the mind. Benjamin Zephaniah 2004 Lets bring back creativity!! Lorna Edited January 22, 2011 by LornaW
catma Posted January 23, 2011 Posted January 23, 2011 Do you think the level of confidence a teacher/practitioner has is also a factor catma? I wonder if less experienced/confident teachers are more likely to feel overwhelmed by new initiatives and make knee jerk changes to their practice in order to conform. Whereas someone who is secure in their own knowledge and ethos might be more likely to stick with what they're doing because they know it is successful and they can justify their approaches if challenged? Absolutely. Senior Leaders are also part of this culture of trying to box it all off but then I suppose because they are the ones held more to account. I have always believed that there are many ways to get to the same goal. What the NC did was give us the clear goals. What good teachers do is work out using their creativity how to get there effectively and efficiently. Whenever I have parallel taught classes we would identify the common outcome and then work out for ourselves how we would get our groups there. The idea of having to do the same thing at the same time I find stifling!! Cx
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