The Language of Learning

It is undoubtedly a hard watch, but if you have not started watching the tv series of "School" yet, then get on it.  Because contained in each episode are behaviours that will restrict learning; behaviours from parents, heads, students, teachers, and a CEO of the trust.  The Governing body appears to me to be severely under-represented given the critical role they have, which makes me wonder what part they do have.

In our line of work as driving instructors, the pupils who are going to create grief for you, are the ones who have absolutely no idea of the effort required to produce success.  They will have their eyes on the prize, oh yes, they know what they want alright, but there is no understanding about what is required to create positive change.  It is not lost on me how important a part the driving instructor plays either.

Look what is happening with Brexit. The Tory government elected a leader who never wanted to leave the EU, to then lead the country in leaving the EU; backed up by a House of MP's the majority of which do not want to leave the EU.  Apart from the ethical point of representing their constituents' wishes, most people can see that this is not going to work.  A couple of days ago, the EU's Junker publicly expressed his frustration with the British approach.   He wishes the British demands were clear and the PM less 'nebulous'.  He has in effect, exposed her weaknesses.  I guess when you are not convinced yourself of what you are attempting to achieve then it is not surprising that you do not appear clear and 'on point'.  Why she would negotiate a leave of the EU without planning for all eventualities does show a lack of leadership qualities.

A lack of leadership qualities is evident on "School", but you cannot help feel sorry for the teachers.  Often the way; it is the troopers on the ground that get hit the hardest for lack of leadership. We see this problem time and again in the NHS and police service.

But at the heart of it all is the lack of effort being shown by students.  The reason for it I'm sure is involved, but how teachers stay sane when you have students who are incapable of listening to advice and learning how to learn is beyond me — the poor teachers.  They are being held to account for a minority of pupils in a class who for one reason or another, have no idea of the effort that is required to learn and their attitude stinks.  One has to wonder what effect these pupils have on the others who are genuinely attempting to achieve goals.  

I tweeted in the week about a couple who have a chain of fish and chip shops.  They are trying to open up another one, but finding that the only issue that is preventing them is recruiting anyone who shows a bit of effort.  People don't turn up for interviews, or when they win a job, they don't turn up for work.  In the 40 years that this couple has been in the industry, they have never witnessed such a 'work-shy' ethic amongst the younger generation.  To get on in life requires hardship, pain, determination and perseverance.  When I have a pupil, who is learning to drive and shows no such qualities in their character it is a ticking bomb just waiting to explode.  Add to this that the pupil has all the expectations in the world, and is backed up by a parent (often a mother I have noticed) who is a 'helicopter parent' busily contributing to the snowflake culture.

The problem for the schools is that they have OFSTED hovering over their shoulders which still to this day, are expecting a teacher to be able to progress all 30-35 students in a class to the same extent regardless of natural ability, attitude to learning, upbringing, learning difficulties — too much weight on data, i.e. exam grades. It is beyond cruel.  Teachers and heads have vital resources taken away from them that assist in that very cause and are still being expected to deliver the same outcomes.  Quite what value the CEO thinks he is contributing to all this is anyone's guess.  I thought one of the advantages of these multi-academies was the fact that resources and good practice can be easily shared.  But the CEO should be overseeing this situation, observing and explaining very clearly what is happening.  It's a bit like the problem Theresa May finds herself in.  They crave and love the status and authority their role brings to their life, but they lack the moral fibre to create positive outcomes for the community they serve.  Move aside would be my advice.

On the subject of grades,  we have just got the latest DfT stats for ADI Part 2 & 3 test pass rates.  It shows Part 2 as 58.7% and Part 3 as 38.7% (female candidates out-performing  males 43% vs 38%).  Both of those stats are   10-year highs would you believe?  I wonder what OFSTED would make of those kinds of pass rates?