I'm So Old-Skool...

I'm glad I got out of teaching when I did. Soon after I waved my glittering career goodbye, the English curriculum changed beyond recognition. My favourite core subject to teach, the one in which I was qualified to degree level, changed immeasurably*. 

I saw this because the author, Joanne Harris,
 retweeted it with the comment, 'Lovely
example of how to put kids off using words forever.'

I tend to tune out the details when I hear them these days. When friends with kids ask me what their child's homework is about, I look at it and have no idea. Truly no clue. My English Literature degree knows nothing of this terminology. When characters, themes and plots have been sidelined for rules and technicalities, it will suit scientific and mathsy types perfectly. A fronted non-finite clause, anybody? But for people with an instinct for story, drama, emotional connectivity, and imagination then it seems no fun at all. It would kill me to teach English this way, so like I said, I'm glad I got out when I did.

I think my view of education and its purpose doesn't seem to fit anymore. For me, it was always about giving children the tools to become happy adults in the future. The specific aspects of the curriculum were secondary to that. (Yeah, I know. My PSHE is showing.) Sure, knowing how to read and write, add and subtract, are all necessary skills. They are important to pass on over the course of time and will be needed for pretty much all avenues beyond the school years. But supporting a child as they develop their self-confidence, giving them pride in their abilities, nurturing their talent and encouraging perseverance during trickier tasks, are a gazillon times more important IMHO. Whether or not they learn Long Division by the end of Year Five is irrelevant. Their self-esteem is set by then, and is of far greater value to ensure a productive and happy future. Sorry Long Division but that's just fact. (Slight disclaimer: IMHO once again.)

In related news, I bumped into an ex-student of mine last week. It turned out that the man serving me glasses of wine on Friday night was one of my Year Fours from a hundred years ago. (*Stops, has a think, counts on fingers* OK, nine years ago. It's been a while since I've had to do Maths.) Anyway, It was a right lovely blast. He recognised me and asked if I was Nicky Bond. I knew straight away that I must have taught him but I panicked because I had no idea who he was. He laughed, told me his name, and then all the memories came back. His friendships, his Mum, his pets, where his seat was in the classroom...it was uncanny. These days, I'm hazy on which year was which class, or whether child A was in the same class as child B, but I reckon I remember every individual child that passed through my classroom. I think it'd be impossible to spend thirty-eight weeks focused on all aspects of thirty children - their learning, attainment levels, attitude, progress, friendship groups, confidence, participation, and banter - without having the memory of every single one of them branded indelibly on my brain.

Not my classroom,
and I'm not a teacher here.
But hey, it's a
semi-related picture.

So, back to my ex-student. We had a lovely catch up. He told me what he was up to, updated me on some of his friends that I also taught and we talked about the stuff he remembered from Year Four. Here's the marvellous thing. He didn't mention the lessons on speech marks or apostrophes. He didn't talk about the Mental Maths tests or lessons about factors. He didn't bring up science topics, nor anything to do with Geography or History. None of that was referenced during our brief natter down Memory Lane. What did come up was the class assembly. It was the culmination of a Literacy project that resulted in a performance of Romeo and Juliet. It was one of my favourite memories from that class too. The amount of learning that took place over those weeks was immense. Character breakdowns, diary entries, newspaper articles, drama, dance, confidence building, problem solving, collaboration, and finally performing in front of an audience. It was so lovely to see that it had been remembered by one of the students, years later.**

The measure of quality learning is not whether it can be recalled enthusiastically years after the event. I know that. But having happy memories and creative learning experiences are the things that support engagement with education. They are what make the harder learning times easier to navigate. They are what push children to keep going, keep trying, and eventually become the happy adults that everyone wanted them to be one day. I just don't think memories of fronted non-finite clauses will have the same emotional connection in years to come. But whadda I know? I'm just old-skool.

Have a lovely week, folks.

*At the Primary level anyway. No idea what goes on post-Year Six.

** The 2010 World Cup class sweep also came up. A World Cup year always provided quality classroom fun times.