For a 21^st Century Education

Written by Rod Grant

Headmaster, Clifton Hall School, Newbridge, Edinburgh

Parents of primary-aged children often ask me what the priorities should be within the primary sector of education. I usually remind them of Skinner’s quote, that is to say, ‘Education is what remains after what has been learned has been forgotten’. This quote makes parents, and teachers too, of course, reflect on what the function of a good primary school truly is.

When we think back to our own school days, particularly when at primary school, our memories are of those instances when we found something to be funny, challenging or, at worst, humiliating. Today, I believe, the truly successful school is the one that relishes the first two and creates an ethos where the third is unacceptable.

The basis for a sound education has to be fundamentally founded in the notion that learning should be enjoyable and about more than just the simple accumulation of facts. Education intrinsically develops our sprit, our emotional core. As soon as learning becomes tedious or pressured, children switch off completely or become incredibly anxious about their ability to learn. A good education, then, becomes more than just learning for the sake of knowledge. It becomes empowering and creates choice and independence. Learning should be a journey of joy, wonder and excitement.

The education system is now so reliant on summative assessment (that is to say, assessment which concentrates on where the children are in relation to curricular knowledge, on a particular day) that the education we truly want for our children is in danger of being lost altogether. We have come to the stage where if we cannot measure something then it is not worth doing and we are the poorer for it. That is why assessment for learning is a positive move from the Executive but there is still a question mark over schools’ ability to implement a much-needed move to formative assessment (assessment which is on-going, child-friendly and informs future teaching). The fact of the matter is that summative assessment is ‘the real world’, but my argument is that if we do less of this in the primary sector and concentrate more on ‘education’, results in the required summative assessments would actually improve.

As well as my very serious concerns over summative assessment, my other major worry is the blinkered belief that the function of the primary school is to teach children everything. Our knowledge-based curriculum is becoming so over-crowded that we are in danger of covering everything but doing nothing particularly well. Again, Head Teachers must stand firm and allow their schools to prioritise. Clearly we need to listen to what parents tell us, as well as being true to our own educational philosophies, to ensure our core aims of ensuring children are literate and numerate are kept at the very top of our agendas.

By de-cluttering the curriculum and by discriminating against continual summative assessment, we free teachers to focus on their own strengths, to take children on voyages of discovery, to allow personal learning and teaching styles to flourish, to remove the pressure that comes from testing and when all of this is allowed to happen, what do you think happens? In the real world, children and teachers begin to truly enjoy the teaching and learning process. We begin again to realize the fundamental need to have fun, to develop a love of learning, to create a nurturing, caring ethos, to support children through their learning without the need for fear or restrictive demands.

We can offer an education system to be proud of, but first we need to stop listening to the dictats of people who really do not have the children’s best interests at heart, though many of them work in the mistaken belief that they do. It is time for educationalists to stand up and be counted; to question everything that comes our way rather than standing back, blindly accepting the perceived wisdom of the day.

There are no easy answers but we have to provide an education that is valuable to our pupils, not just for today, but also for thirty or forty years hence. We must ensure that our focus is primarily in helping youngsters to become articulate, literate and numerate but as much as these academic qualities are essential we must go further and ensure that children are being equipped with skills which will allow them to enquire, problem solve, develop strategies, be analytical and be creative. To do less would be to disadvantage an entire generation. In addition, we need to think of children as future adults. They are people who will one day lead their nations and it is therefore essential that they learn in a secure environment, where discipline, self-belief and the value of our fellow human beings is central to the learning process. Without developing an ethos where caring for others or valuing differences in culture or religion is seen as worthy, we create citizens who are intolerant and incapable of perspective. This would be the greatest failure of all.

Schools must now ensure a strong, values-based ethos where children learn in an environment that is thoughtful and mutually supportive. They must focus on the unquestionable need for literacy and numeracy whilst, at the same time, giving children the breadth and variety of experience that will round them as human beings. We must draw back from the stifling requirements of summative assessment and we must prioritise within our vast knowledge-based curriculum.

Schools develop well when differences are not only tolerated but also welcomed. We live in an age where society, or perhaps government, seeks to ensure ‘consistency’, but in so doing, parameters are inadvertently set that create a ‘one size fits all’ mentality. This is dangerous. We need schools to be different from each other; each offering their own priorities and areas of expertise. Why? Because no one system of schooling works for every individual child – we need to address that fact rather than ceding to the belief that education can only be delivered in one way.

A 21^st century education should take children by the hand and show them the wonder of learning, and in so doing, create a generation of people thirsty for knowledge but, more importantly, it should teach us compassion and thereby enable wisdom.

Should you wish to discuss this article with Rod, his contact details are shown below.

Rod Grant
Headmaster
Clifton Hall School
Newbridge
Edinburgh
EH28 8LQ
Tel: 0131 333 1359
E: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
www.cliftonhall.org.uk