This News Story Came At The Wrong Time...

[magicaddict]

...there is a move to scrap SATs for under 16s.

*Incoherent scream of rage*

What. The Fuck. Next.

The GTC believes that to alleviate "added stress" among pupils and teachers, tests should be scrapped, and replaced with alquot monitoring of pupils.

At some point, do you not think it's a fairly good idea to put just a modicum of pressure on schoolchildren to do something that will actually benefit them in the future? At my primary school, I was tested every week in maths. At my middle school, I was tested every week in maths and every fortnight in french. At RGS, I was tested on every subject I took at the end of every year. It is possibly for this reason that I quite enjoy exams - I learnt how they fit in with the education process and how pressure can be used to motivate yourself to do better.
I enjoyed the tests I went through in primary school - One to Ten was a mental arithmetic game that we kept records of so we could watch our progress improve over time. It was also slightly competetive (well, a little competetive). In middle school (years five to seven), we had Thirty by Twelve, a set of thirty questions on the one to twelve times tables that we all started at the same time, and got to say "Stop" when we finished, at which point the teacher would give us our time. Our improvement was obscene - first time we did it, I was the first to stop the clock on 3:45, scoring 29/30. By the last week, we had four of us down under a minute, with a guy called Nick top of the class at 0:57, and to have anyone in the class getting less than 30/30 was almost unheard of. It was great fun, but it put us under pressure - our own pressure which the teachers quite sensibly did nothing to prevent, save to make sure it didn't get out of hand. We also had various language games in French (normally girls vs. boys - we were that age) where speed of thinking and getting it right were prized and rewarded. It put pressure on us, and it was great. We responded by launching ourselves at it and getting much better in order to do well. Without the kind of sensible pressure that the teachers seemed to have half an idea of how to impart upon their pupils, we wouldn't have been half as good as we were.
At RGS we were taught an independant curriculum, so the teachers were able to set their own exams. However, we had been taught the value of revision timetables, keeping good notes, learning throughout the year and avoiding cramming by the time we were twelve - for those who listened, by the time the official exams came round at sixteen, it was second nature to us and I'll guarantee we piled into the GCSEs with more fervour than a great many pupils. The pressure they put us under got us into the right mindset to get good grades from the moment we showed up, and it was brilliant.

Do the education authorities think that the world of work isn't going to put people under pressure when they grow up? Do they not think that kids might enjoy a little competition in their lives in order to get better? Do you not watch them out on the playgrounds, competing like bastards?

Put them under some damn pressure and see what squeals. If someone drops the ball, help them pick it up and keep going. When I got something wrong and someone else didn't, it pissed me right off and I made damn sure I got it right next time. This was good for me, and it came about because there was pressure on me to get it right. Today, I set high standards for myself, and I thank God I do, because if I didn't there's no way I would have got the grades to get to Bristol, or to come to Bath, or to be heading for a PhD. I have some natural skill, and putting it under pressure made me use it.

Might it not be a good idea to impart some pressure towards actually succeeding in what they came to school to do? As opposed to taking all the importance out of education in favour of making making sure that their schooling doesn't get in the way of those important social pressures, like who is friends with who, who's listening to what band and who has the best clothes?

Fucking hell people, sort it out before I have to inflict what you call an education system on my children.

Comments

[stafford-fgm.livejournal.com]

*Appluase*

Granted, I never want kids, but I agree with every word here!

[magicaddict.livejournal.com]

It's so...well, it makes me feel so old. To think that I myself took part in highly competetive sports days, and had the kind of pressure I mentioned actively out on me to very good effect, and then to think how it's a dirty word these days. I don't know - soon I'll be going on about how thngs were better back in my day, and then I might have to shoot myself.

[xanthipe]

Ah, but didn't you know? Competition is a bad word. They've gotten rid of it in school sports, now they're getting rid of it in academia. Can't have Little Jonny failing at something and feeling bad, oh no. It's why they're getting rid of red pens as well.

...Gods, can't believe I managed to type that with a straight face.

Should I ever feel the need to breed, I'm considering home schooling or sending them abroad.

[magicaddict.livejournal.com]

Do not get me started. If I can possibly afford private schooling, I would be very interested in doing so - as long as it isn't RGS Worcester.

[dbexx.livejournal.com]

But . . . .but . . . . the STRESS!!!!!!!!!!

I agree with you.

[magicaddict.livejournal.com]

If stress was only ever about clothes, bands and sex, I say that school pupils aren't actually aware what stress is. Perhaps giving them an example of proper, hardcore stress would do good, but alternatively a short sharp enough shock like that might kill a few off.

[lady-ellinor.livejournal.com]

Hear hear! Very good point extremely well made. A system that does not point out failure cannot assist in removing the cause, and a system that deos not recognise achievement removes the point of achieving.

May I point people on my journal to this entry?

[magicaddict.livejournal.com]

I agree - pressure never hurt anoyone that cared about it, and if they don't care, that's their own fault. It's explained enough times.

Feel free to point people here if you think it's worth a wider audience.

[ruthste.livejournal.com]

I have to disagree with the news that set off your rant even whilst agreeing with the rest of the content. Putting some pressure on children can be good, testing children is not only good but necessary. However, having taught to them and been in schools whilst they were been taken - SATs suck. They are badly designed, they don't actually test the children on anything useful and they make a complete mess of teaching patterns.

All the things that you say are good things regarding exams would indeed be good things in schools. They are /not/ however what happens in schools due to SATs. They possibly could be if rather than taking the easy option and flat out scrapping them the government gave them a good overhaul, but they are not currently happening.

Without reading through the exact things the GTC has said I can't say for certain, but having been a teacher, and having worked with teachers, you will find that many of them are pro-testing in general but vehement anti-SAT...

[magicaddict.livejournal.com]

I thought someone might suggest this - yes, I understand that the SATs may well be a really crap method of examining. Perhaps they can't do what RGS did and have yearly exams moderated in-house, as most teachers have much less of a hand in choosing what they teach so can't set the exams themselves, but there must be a way of doing a regular pattern of exams that examine knowledge gained rather than the ability to sit exams? Perhaps an overhaul of the GCSEs, surely a set of examinations in exam technique if there ever were any, as well? As you put your teacher's hat on, how would you revamp it?

[lucifercircle.livejournal.com]

I really loved the bit about seeing how well schools were doing by looking at a 'sample' of pupils. I wonder how that sample will be selected by the school? I'm sure many will manage to fudge it so that only the hard-working pupils are included, also creating a completely inaccurate picture of how the schools are doing. Do these people ever listen to what they say?

[magicaddict.livejournal.com]

I don't think they do - it was an immediate flange that occurred to you, me, and the majority of teachers the whole country over, I imagine. Perhaps they will do it randomly from National Insurance numbers or something.

[ruthste.livejournal.com]

For my PGCE I had to assess* a sample of pupils in my class. For this I had to pick 6 pupils - preferably 3 boys and 3 girls but not necessarily - two low-ability, two middle-ability and two high ability. This was intended to ensure that my lessons were reaching and working for the whole class.

*By this I mean looking at completed work and seeing if they achieved the set objectives, considering how much they contributed in whole classwork, finding out if they felt they had understand the work set and other such things.