Sorry. Just finished watching the latest Star Trek movie on DVD. Got bit carried away with the title to this post.
Just get a load of these gems that have come out of a recent 6 year long research process, the Cambridge Primary Review, into the state of primary education in the UK.
- Primary schools that get the best results in the maths and English national tests also teach a broader curriculum. rather than teaching to the test and narrowing the curriculum
- Formal curriculum should start at age 6 rather than 5
- The report wants to scrap school league tables and sweep away the current Sats (similar to NAPLAN ) at age 11 in England (as has already happened in Wales).
- The report proposes more testing, but in a form that covers the full range of the curriculum, that does not bring high-stakes judgements for schools and teachers…..interesting!
- A rethink of the many assumptions about primary schools that are rooted in their Victorian past.
These include………
- reliance on the generalist class teacher rather than specialist subject teachers,
- lower per pupil funding than in secondary schools (finally someone sees sense!!!),
- lower status for primary school teachers (about bloody time!!!),
- a formal education starting age of five, and
- long summer holidays which are left over from the days when children were needed to bring in the harvest.
- the relatively low emphasis given to the spoken language, compared to reading and writing.
And one recommendation that made me smile broadly was the view that education needed to be “de-politicised” stating that governments need to intervene less.
- details of the teaching methods, classroom organisation and curriculum should be for teachers…..to decide
Imagine if the report is acted upon by the British government. Now that’s what I call an “education revolution” !! NOT the current Rudd government agenda – although some good can come of BER and NPA reforms.
Real change means education for the 21st Century. So let’s start thinking about changing some of these institutionalised structures that have clearly been outed as Victorian and unsuitable for today’s learner.
Imagine.
“details of the teaching methods, classroom organisation and curriculum should be for teachers…..to decide”
I love it.
I wonder what education would look like if a group of educators could get together and dream about the future of education. What do children need and how??
Now that would be a revolution. Bring it on.
Thanks for the comment Paul. Yes if a group of educators could act on the dream without political interference. What a revolution!