EDUCATION FOR THE GOOD SOCIETY - Support

4 Peter Hyman, ‘Fear on the frontline’, New Statesman, 27 January2011.5 See www.pisa.oecd.org/dataoecd/31/28/46660259.pdf,p.805 Address popular (mis-)conceptions andshortcomingsIn doing so, we have to address a number of ideasthat are very widespread and have the status ofcommon sense.The most damaging notion – because there is agrain of truth to it – is that the left does not careabout knowledge and the three Rs. There havebeen times when progressives got the balancewrong between engaging students and ensuringthat they were properly equipped with the skillsand knowledge essential for independent andcreative learning. In a recent piece for the NewStatesman, Peter Hyman argued that the classdivide in his south London comprehensive isabout reading:Sometimes – weirdly, in my view – those whobelieve in proper teaching of phonics, grammarand fluent writing are pigeonholed as traditionalists.But for me and, I believe, for anyone on theleft, striving for high levels of literacy is a moralimperative. Our greatest challenge in education isto ensure that the children leave school with highqualitycommunication skills. 4He is right, but the best progressive educationhas always been about combining literacy andenlightenment.‘Vocational is second best.’ Although everyonejoins in the national clamour for more plumbers,parents and teachers are notoriously resistantto the value of apprenticeships when it comesto their own children. Our vision is of the equalvalue of practical and academic learning to individualsand society.‘Good behaviour and firm discipline disappearedwith the rise of the comprehensive.’ Itdid not, but the commitment of young people toschooling cannot be taken for granted as it wasin a more deferential era. Gove recognises theobstacles to engaging students, talks about theneed to ‘excite and challenge’ them, but in theend calls for a highly restrictive curriculum – theEnglish Baccalaureate. We can present a trulyexciting alternative vision that is more in keepingwith the demands of the modern world.‘Streaming is essential for every child.’ Fewitems of educational common sense are as widelyreceived as the notion that children thrive inthe company of their intellectual peers. Yet, theevidence points in the opposite direction towardsmixed ability learning. The OECD, based on thePISA – Programme for International StudentAssessment – studies, concludes:The more schools group students by ability acrossall subjects and the more frequently schoolstransfer students to other schools because of theirlow academic achievement, behavioural problemsor special learning needs, the lower the schoolsystems’ overall performance. 5In other words, too much differentiation byability lowers overall performance.We should strenuously avoid defending theindefensible: there are state schools we would notwant our children to attend.6 Promote learner voice and agencyFinally, we need to amplify the voice and agencyof students (and parents). Has any movementfor change ever been successful unless at somestage (not necessarily initially) it truly engagesthose most affected – in this case students andtheir parents? No new product or type of servicewill succeed unless there is a constant focuson understanding how it meets the needs ofthe customers, again, in this case students andparents. This must involve deep ‘insight’ intotheir needs, not just surveys or focus groups.While many middle-class parents may be fearfulof change if it involves their children, the sameis not necessarily true of the children themselveswho may feel they are succeeding despite thesystem not because of it. The views of studentsare a vital piece of the jigsaw, though becausethey are young, it is one that most people ignore(or pay lip-service to).Movement for changeIn many ways, our biggest challenge is to createor support the development of a network ormovement that campaigns for a new educationfuture. The movement must be focused on thevision, revealing the anomalies and building faith.It has to be equipped with the means to reach outto promote a positive vision. It should also actas a lighthouse, warning of the dangers of traditionaleducation policy, holding the Government56 | www.compassonline.org.uk