This article from yesterday's Telegraph shows so much of what is wrong with the education system in England.
English schools have been being dumbed down for years and the last Labour government just sped up the process as it pursued its policy of ending elitism. I have nothing but contempt for those people who have destroyed England's educational standards and the future of many of our young.
'Mandrake hears that one examination board, Edexcel, has added Britain’s Got Talent to its GCSE syllabus.
“Pupils are expected to study the ITV1 home page of Britain’s Got Talent, an advert for a reality show called Got to Dance and a 2009 cover of Heat magazine,” says Toby Young, the author and Telegraph blogger, who helped set up one of the first free schools last year.
Edexcel says Britain’s Got Talent was included as part of a section testing English Language GCSE students “on their ability to analyse non-fiction, contemporary text from a range of sources”.
Joseph Reynolds, an education campaigner, whose daughter is studying the course, tells me: “This is a prime example of aiming at the lowest common denominator. Britain’s Got Talent has been chosen purely to make it fun. Where is the educational factor?”
An Edexcel spokesman says: “This approach gives students an opportunity to demonstrate their ability to analyse the English language in its many forms.”
'the English language in its many forms' - So what? Pupils can read Heat and watch crap reality/talent shows in their own time. In English classes they should be made to read and study somewhat more improving books. That line that 'all pupils are also required to sit examinations on poets and authors including Shakespeare, Steinbeck and Wordsworth' is also disingenuous; back in my day we read entire Shakespeare plays, wrote essays on them and could be examined on any part or parts of the plays. Now too many examination boards require that only parts of Shakespeare plays are read and only knowledge of those parts are tested.
It insists that all pupils are also required to sit examinations on poets and authors including Shakespeare, Steinbeck and Wordsworth.'
English schools have been being dumbed down for years and the last Labour government just sped up the process as it pursued its policy of ending elitism. I have nothing but contempt for those people who have destroyed England's educational standards and the future of many of our young.
8 comments:
Yes, the replies from schools and exam boards are disingenuous. The implication is 'well, as long as we tell them that we will get to something passably decent we can plug along with this load of old horse manure for a curriculum.'
They have been hiding behind the NC for years. Every time I say, 'Hey, Simpsons isn't good enough,' I hear 'Multimodal text. It's in the NC.' Then I say, 'Sorry, Facebook isn't good enough,' and the reply is, 'Multimodal text, it's in the NC.' and then 'Heat magazine, not good enough,' and one more time 'Multimodal text, in the NC.'
So I started looking closely at the NC.
All texts are to be of 'high quality, among the best of their type,' So now what do they say? Anything. They just make stuff up as they go along. But I keep repeating 'High quality. In the NC.' I have no feelings for any of these bums. There is a circle in hell reserved for them.
Those who can, teach. Those who can't comment (incorrectly) on it, google themselves all day and post comments in response to anything with their name in about things they clearly are ill-informed about. Want educational reform? Get into teaching, make a real difference - understand what makes a curriculum and how education has to change constantly. Manage the issues teachers manage. Strnagely enough, the unit referred to here is called English TODAY - the clue is in the title.
A* Teacher:
Are you a teacher? Whether you are or not, try learning to spell and use correcr grammar before pontificating on other people's blogs.
Clearly people who don't know the difference between a typo and spelling error. Dear dear. Yes, I have a MA in Literature, thanks for asking.
Especially since your response also has a typo!
Like other electonic media the grammar of blogs does not have to be Standard English.
Clearly views are only welcomed from people who tell half a story.
I was not intentionally being pompous, just merely
1) responding to incorrect information presented by this gentleman
2)suggesting that if this 'educational campaigner' really wants to make a difference then he could do that much more effectively from the inside (rather than by responding to people on blogs and websites). He would then understand the difficulties faced by teachers and pupils in education.
'All comments must be approved by the blog author'.
Interesting tht you've chosen not to publish my last two comments - it seems when you say 'I have my own mind' that doesn't extend to publishing open minded comments that may seem critical of you.
Don't set up an open blog if you don't want people to comment!
A* teacher: No censorship, merely not being available to attend to this blog 24 hours a day; I have a life away from this blog.
Do you agree or disagree that GCSE examinations are easier now than O-Levels were in the 1980s?
Do you agree or disagree that A-Level examinations are easier now than they were in the 1980s?
Unfortunately this teacher can't defend the curriculum so instead reaches for the ad hominem attack. And, for an MA, the logic is pretty weak. As an airline passenger I am certainly free to criticise airlines. As a homeowner, I am free to criticise the plumber's work. But I'm not able to criticise the curriculum? Give me a break. This teacher, like many other people, is ignorant of the national curriculum.
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