13th September
The House of Commons Select Committee on Education held a conference at Westminster on 13 September as the latest part of its wide-ranging Inquiry into ‘The purpose and quality of education in England’. The keynote speaker was historian and broadcaster Professor Mary Beard of the University of Cambridge. In a hard-hitting address Professor Beard makes it clear that the debate on the purpose of education will never end because there is no right answer to this question. Citing classical sources, Professor Beard reflects on the fact that people have always expected far too much of the education system, blaming social ills on educational failure. We should keep in mind the need to teach children how to learn and not what to know.
Do we want to live in a world in which everyone agrees about what should go on in schools? Professor Beard doesn’t (and neither do home educators). Further, exam results, Pisa rankings and employment statistics are not evidence of quality in themselves. She highlights the ‘welter of rules, regulations, initiatives and written guidelines’ which are set to solve problems in schools, noting the lack of willingness to trust the professionalism and judgement of teachers. She questions the role and impact of mass testing, regimented responses, ‘assessment objectives’ and raises the prospect of the exam system sinking under its own weight; we are the most examined nation in the West. She poses the radical question of whether or not we could do without most of the current GCSEs and trust the judgement of teachers on the ground more and ‘loosen up’. You can read the whole speech on the Parliament website at goo.gl/YLuiJd