Primary school education

[Reader]

"Primary school education is a reflection of society's intent." (quoted from Iain Brimswall's The Zoo Keeper. See http://urbanrim.org.uk .) How true is this? 

[andy hughes]

It's actually a reflection of the Government's intent. For the last forty years, successive governments have simultaneiously reduced actual funding and resources for primary education, whilst simultaneiously messing and tinkering and altering its format until teachers are confused, demoralised, and unable to eductae children properly. For example, teaching 'Design and Technology' to children who have not been grounded in basics of reading and writing is as futile as giving acompass and maps to the cabinboy and wondering why the ship is lost all th time! We all have an opinion on education, because we've all been to school, but unless the politicians stop treating education as a vote winner, and listen to people with experience, who actually know what they are doing, standards of literacy and general behaviour will continue to decline, with attendent diasterous results for society as a whole.

[richfo]

I agree with Andy completely, although want to chip in about parents. Parents must carry a large portion of blame too, I have worked in shops for years (so have seen & felt the effects first hand) and the standard of parenting is disgusting. Parents are so lazy at correcting their children, their manners are awfull (and many of the parents too). I really feel for the teachers as they are expected to do so many things which the parents seem unable to. Then if they get it wrong it is the same parents who scream the loudest about poor Johnny.

I am not sure if primary school teaching is a statement of society's intent, but I do think society fails our children badly.

[apricot2]

Andy Hughes, you beat me to it again!  For someone who works in Education I can verify that whatever happens in education is directly a consequence of government action.  All this talk of standards dropping at GCSE/A Level is just rubbish.  I used to be an examiner for JMB and I know that the papers are marked but not graded by the examiner.  The grades are applied later to fit in with the governments requirements.  I think that education is far too important to be a political football.

[bodach]

No civilisation least of all ours has accumulated sufficient illuminating or enlightening knowlege in the heads of its teachers to justify locking up its children for 6 hours a day for 12 years of their lives.