Beyond A-C

This week I took the day off to volunteer at a school to talk to 14 -16 year olds about their career options. I pushed my judgement that the majority of children have aspirations of being a footballer, wag or rapper aside and walked in armed only with water, Strepsils and my note book.

The set up was like speed dating. Fourteen volunteers like myself sat at a table with their name and career titles on the desk. Each pupil had 4 minutes to ask any questions or concerns they had before moving to the next desk indicated by a bell.  I cannot tell you how may pupils I spoke to that day only that the Strepsils came in handy and at the end of the day I left feeling intrigued, happy and concerned. So how was it? What did I learn?

I remember what it was like when I was their age like it was yesterday. I felt apprehensive and pressurised to do well in my G.C.S.E’s because my WHOLE life depended on it. Opening my results was the scariest thing I had to do at that age (scarier than cleaning out a whole chicken) and I remember the relief when I saw the first 3 letters of the alphabet stare back at me with one star thrown in on 10 subjects. I was happy and it felt like this black cloud and heavy weight instantly lifted. The relief was short lived as immediately after the next challenge was to go through clearing as although my results were good, I didn't get what I needed to get into my preferred university. The biggest myth is that your future success is dependent on what grades you receive. This is not true, which I'm sure many of you will now know.

Sixteen years later and the same dread is alive and kicking amongst the young. Education is important, there is no doubt about that, however the obsession with league tables has become the death of education. The education system has always been one that values results. Good results mean that teachers have done their jobs well. Pupils seek validation from teachers and teachers feel validated over their own worth and performance by how their pupils perform. This is a system locked in external approval and validation. It is a co-dependency and more so now with the government wanting to pay teachers based on their performance which is based on pupils results. This country has always had a strong academic structure however what appears to be lacking is pupils own passion to learn.  Does the pressure put them off?

Pupils are individual people with individual capabilities; however this is not always recognised within their grade. Not everyone is academic, for those that are not, are their other abilities and skills ignored due to time constraints and resources?

For the pupils that had received their predicated grades I noticed two things. Pupils who received expected grades of A-B were confident and tended to have their further education planned and careers mapped out.  Although their expected grades were good they identified they could do better and work better. For those who had expected C grades and below had become resigned to this “fact” and didn't really have any future plans, hopes or dreams which shocked me. They had already given up or were willing to do just enough to get a C as “It’s a pass miss”. It made me question the benefits of expected grades. Yes the idea of it is obvious and the hope is that they aim for a better grade than their expected one. However this could also work the other way and become a self-fulfilling prophecy for those who aren't in the top grades. How well you do in exams is determined by how well you perform on the day, which needs to be stressed.

In my blog Rat+bird=fish?  I spoke about the rising issues within one to one communication as a result of social media. I saw it first-hand amongst the pupils through their lack of eye contact. Whilst I acknowledge shyness can also be a cause for this, I don’t for one seconds believe all the pupils I interacted with were naturally shy. I can count on one hand the amount of pupils who spoke clearly confidently whilst meeting my gaze. I have no problems holding a gaze and for the first time I had to think whether my level off eye contact made them feel uncomfortable. It was definitely a serious thought but an action I was not going to change.I invited them to look at me when they spoke instead. 

I understand this...  

 But not this...

Lessons in how to communicate face to face is a new reality and a necessity. Attaining good grades is great but so is having basic social skills.  The majority of children today spend a lot of time with their heads down as they tweet, text, whatsapp, bbm and whatever else the world of apps has to offer, which is clearly having an impact. Whilst the level of engagement in social media is apparent it appears using it as a source of research is lacking. When I asked pupils what their ideal job would be, three pupils gave me really amazing sounding titles. When I asked them to break down what the job would entail and what qualifications they needed, none could elaborate. Gone are the days when research needs to be done via books or through the advice of career advisor's  There is a wealth of information at a click of a button and yet I get the sense many are not utilising the internet in other ways that could really benefit them.

In spite of my above observations all the pupils I spoke to had potential, it just needs to be recognised, identified and nurtured which needs to extend beyond school.  I also saw a handful of truly gifted and special pupils who were not necessarily in the A-C bracket. They are entrepreneurs of the future. If I was to put an association/title to it, then I have seen the next David Attenborough, an inventor to a new type of aeroplane never seen before, the next great presenter to come out of the UK and a multi-skilled musician and composer.

I love working with children, I always have. I laughed with them, offered guidance whilst being very challenging to push them beyond their perceived limitations. I heard way too many “buts” for my liking. But is a defeatist word, a dream killer that doesn't provide space for other considerations…in my dictionary. Adults need to communicate positivity and reveal to all the potential they see, whilst encouraging them to stretch their imagination and see other paths and solutions. A lot is going on for pupils at this age from growing up, finding out where they fit in, questioning whether they fit in, on top of understanding who they are , what they like and what they would like to do in the future. We need to give them hope, and help them create their ideals. If we don’t instil the possibility of everything, than at what age will they know and believe this to be an option?

“Miss are you psychic” a pupil asked in response to me telling him of all the things he could do as a career based on his interest. “No, but I see all that you are and I want you to see it for yourself rather than listening and being intrigued by what I'm telling you”.

This is my aim whilst working with children and to be honest this should be the core infrastructure of education. Work with potential, passion and spark and better results will be the outcome, coupled with young adults who enter into the big wide world with confidence and the belief they have something to offer and can be anything they put their mind too; rather than as individuals who believe they have to wait for an opportunity to be offered and can be anything they want only when it is behind the computer screen.

© Lisa Bent 2012

Built on Shaky Foundations

It was reported that the government want to ensure that all pupils can read and write and yes you have guessed it, want to implement another test system to ensure this happens. I am baffled as to why we do not adopt the American system, where pupils who are not at a particular reading and writing ability drop back a year until they are on par. The system by now should be full proof, so that the foundations that are built on top are flexible to fit changes within societies and pupils needs.

I make this point as pupils of today face a wealth of problems more intense than I ever had to encounter in my day. Observations need to be noted and understood to implement change that helps them, after all it is about them which the government seems to have forgotten. The current state suggests that it is all about league tables which help support the appearance that Britain’s education system is still of a high standard. The longer this façade and puffed out chests with swelling egos remain, the further the education systems slides into a pit.

So what needs to change? The sooner we stop living in past “glories” the better. The past is gone, never to return so whilst Henry the VIII is an interesting subject, current and present happenings need to be explored and understood to the same depth. The issues that children seem to be dealing with are:

Bereavement- The number of teenagers killed since 2000 is alarming. The degrees of separation between an individual and victim I’m sure is less than 6.

Sex – Sexual pressure is on the rise and seems to take the form of abuse, bullying and exploitation. Transactional sex (The exchange of sex for material possession) is also on the rise as is teenage pregnancies, STD’s and HIV.

Behaviour- The lack of respect, responsibility and compassion is shocking. Girls especially have become quite brutal in their behaviour and speech. These are mothers of tomorrow.

The extent of the past cannot be truly acknowledged and taken in, if the majority of pupils are sitting there fearing whether they will be stabbed on the way home tonight. Maslow’s Hierarchy’s of needs encapsulates what I am trying to say. If the basic needs are not met, then an individual cannot even begin to think about anything else. The pyramid levels are below.

In this case the basic needs are safety, which for many pupils is not met within their environment, as a result the ability to concentrate in class, if they turn up at all may not be present. Love, unconditional love could also be lacking so it is sought for in other areas.

Like maths some theories can be applied to any situation. The key is that the formula needs to be viewed within various environments. Making use of what has been before with an open mind means that we move away from rigidness and repetition to see things in a different light.

It is also important to acknowledge that this generation are born into the technological new age. When I left school computers were only beginning to make an appearance. What worked before will not have the same impact now. The children of today are fabulous multi-taskers though with poor attention spans because they have access to everything at a click of button. Whilst to my knowledge there is no research evidence to prove this, I am calling upon common sense. So unless the lesson captures them, it could be reminiscent of watching two people playing conkers! They are not from that era, though the educational system is. Technology, society and children have changed therefore so must the lesson plans.

Teachers need more support, less paper work and more creative freedom /resources when teaching. Power needs to be given back to teachers as currently pupils seem to have it. However teachers being given the power to search pupils and remove materials they deem to be a distraction in class as proposed last week, is not the way forward. The one thing teachers and pupils have in common is the safety issue. Teachers don’t feel safe in the classroom and pupils don’t feel safe outside the classroom. Related and unrelated in the same breath, the impact, friction and energy being given off is evidently fear and powerlessness displayed in both adult and pupil in different ways.

The foundation of the educational system needs to change to extend beyond reading, writing and league tables. It has to encapsulate morals, values, respect, discipline and rules, whilst moving away from the regurgitation of information and memorising, to the development, harnessing and support of ones ability to think for oneself. Thought turns into awareness, awareness transcends to choice, choice into responsibility which travels beyond the education system and into society as a whole. The education system as it stands does not currently do this; as a result those who leave without specific grades are made to feel less then. If everyone was taught to think, perhaps there would be a few more Richard Branson’s in the world. He, as we know is a multi millionaire and extraordinary entrepreneur who left university with one O’ Level.

So how much of a role does a piece of paper have in regards to future success? Each case is individual so it is hard to measure; though people like Richard Branson prove that it is not vital. The education system does not and has not pushed people to think beyond what they are told and this is the problem. It is in the government’s interest to change the education system to help create the future leaders of tomorrow, as it is this type of forward thinking that builds entrepreneurs which in turn can build prospects, jobs and raise economy. This is the way forward especially in light of the high cost of education.

The reality is that society is controlled by power hungry service to self individuals that keep wealth and control within the elite. Collectively enhancing the masses so that everyone has the ability to reach their full potential is unfortunately not on the consensus agenda.

Related Posts:

1.Too Hard. Too Fast. Too Deep

2.Sleeping with the Enemy

3.The LISA BENT Party

© Lisa Bent 2011