There’s been a lot of fuss in the news recently about that nice Mr Gove’s plans for the overhaul of the English education system and specifically his changes to how students are examined. The basic thrust of his reasoning for these changes seems to be that our current examination systems have seen “drift, decline and dumbing down”. If one were being generous one could admit that at least he holds passionate beliefs and has a band of devoted followers. But then again one could have said the same of Jim Jones. Whatever, I’m sure educators across the land are beaming with pride that the Secretary Of State thinks so highly of them and their work.
Aside from the thinly cloaked assault on the value of public-sector workers, what I find interesting here is that fundamentally this is saying that he does not believe there is any possibility that young people might be smarter now than they were ten, twenty, thirty (pick your number at random, it’s what he seems to do after all) years ago. Which fundamentally is a broad rejection of the idea that anyone might have made progress. Ever. And whilst there are clearly significant issues around the current free-market approach to examining bodies that need to be addressed (and do Mr Gove’s Tory chums realise he is putting forward such Stalinist views on this particular issue?), surely the message he is sending to both future and past generations of learners is a thoroughly disheartening one? Isn’t it saying “we don’t believe you could possibly be cleverer at 16 then we were”?
I have read opinions that support Mr Gove of course. There are scores of people who routinely denigrate young people, branding them as stupid and unfit for work. Many of them write for the Daily Mail. I have seen them ask, if our young people really ARE smarter than they were ten years ago, then why do British companies lag behind in Research & Development compared to foreign competitors? Could the answer be that on average UK companies typically significantly under-invest in R&D compared to the competition? But of course that would shift the blame, and indeed responsibility away from (public sector) schools onto the shoulders of (private sector) industry, and that would never do, would it?
It has been pointed out by others that such a denial of the possibility of genuine progress (and the practice of the manipulation of grade-boundaries etc) is spectacularly ill-placed in this year of outstanding Olympic and Paralympic success. Look at how the cycling team pursuit record has fallen over the years. How is that possible? Leaving aside any potential for dubious ‘preparation’ practices, could it be to do with more advanced physiological understanding; more scientific approaches to training, recovery and diet; advances in clothing and bicycle technology? Could it, in short, be because the athletes and coaches have got smarter as well as fitter? Surely we can celebrate that without implying criticism of athletes from previous generations. And surely we can acknowledge that those achievements are no less important or impressive within their original contexts. Can’t we?
So here’s an idea: Instead of telling young people they are stupid and that society does not value them, how about we recognise and truly celebrate their various abilities and myriad, diverse successes? How about we stop using them, and their futures, as political footballs and punching bags? One might suggest that The Labour Party’s unwillingness to manoeuvre themselves into any worthwhile stance of opposition is doing just that, but I admit that would be generous to a fault. Certainly Stephen Twigg has a golden opportunity to take a moral high ground here, though sadly one does wonder whether he realises this, and indeed whether he and his party have any cohesive alternative vision for education at all. They should understand though, that whatever it might be, it is almost 100% guaranteed to be more palatable to committed education professionals and to disenchanted parents and young people who will have a voice to exercise in the polling booths of 2015.
Suggested sountrack to this blog post:
The Age of Chance: Don’t Get Mad, Get Even!
The Left Outsides: The Ballad Of Jim Jones