We see an absolute slew of things in the media about how education is changing. I think that is a good thing. Everything needs to progress, and as society changes and the world progresses, we need to make sure that we are doing our very best to equip the future generation that we are entrusted with for their lives ahead. It makes me sad however, when the changes that happen are not designed to do that.
We have seen changes to exams which mean that resits in tests do not count towards a school's scores, only the first sit. This puts educators in the awful position of making a decision as to whether or not to allow a student to sit an early entry on an exam to allow them extra time to spend on other courses, as it may effect their league figures (as much as it would be nice to say they don't matter, the unfortunate reality is that they really do if you want to keep running a school). This becomes an impossible choice between what is best for a student or what is best for the school overall - not a nice decision to have to make for a teacher. We have seen the eradication of speaking and listening from English exams, effectively, telling students that presentation is not a worthwhile skill. An interesting concept, and one that I imagine many students will question once they have to present themselves to someone, say, in an interview.
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| None of these books have pictures. Probably. |
These are two massive changes to my subject, and yet both have happened this year. To put it in context, when I trained, these were not the rules, and now as I finish my NQT year, all has changed. Not content with such upheaval, there has now been a change to the books that students can study in English.
It is worth putting something in context. Despite what the media (well, social media at least) is saying, Michael Gove has not 'banned' To Kill a Mockingbird or Of Mice and Men from the GCSEs. Rather, one exam board has dropped them under the recommendations that his DfE has made. There is a worry there that Of Mice and Men in particular has been dropped simply because Gove dislikes it, but the specifics of these two books are not my biggest concern.
For me, the far bigger worry is how this is all being prompted by a government feeling that we have not been reading the right books. All signs point towards having to study a Shakespeare play, a 19th century novel and Romantic poetry in the future. These are, apparently, the right books to read. I could not agree less.
One of the biggest problems we face in education is that kids simply do not read enough. Information is so easy to get from other sources - TV, YouTube, social media sites - that well written pieces are largely ignored. Note I don't say books specifically. The printed word seems to have fallen from grace so spectacularly, that I have never even seen a student at my school with a newspaper or magazine. They are so important because they instil a level of literacy that all these other mediums simply do not give. Whilst we seem to have taken a step away from the text speak that dominated concerns when I was at school (well, maybe by the time I got to sixth form when mobiles were commonplace - not as young as I think I am) social media still makes no requirement for the level of grammar and punctuation that you need in life. Facebook doesn't even use a capital letter in its logo! If you have ever heard me rant about the ridiculous lack of capitals in my students' work, then you will appreciate how important I think it is that children are given regular access to well written (and hopefully proofread) material. This is even before we consider the vast wealth of information that can be gained from books, and indeed the life lessons that can be learnt from literature. Whilst I cannot claim to have conducted any widespread surveys or documented research, as a teacher there is no doubt in my mind that we can do nothing better for students than to encourage them to read, read, read.
And as a result, since I started teaching, this has been almost a motto. I regularly tell my students that they need to be reading more. I am sure that not many of you will be surprised when you hear that the most common response I get is "Reading is boring!" I always reply that I don't care what you read, so long as you are reading, so there is definitely a book out there that will be right for you. You like motorbikes? Get a book about motorbikes! You like fashion? Get a book about fashion! You like playing Minecraft until your eyes look as though they are going to fall out of your head? Stop playing for an hour or so and read a book about Minecraft! It does not matter what you are into, one of the joys of books is that they are written about everything. Many classes have laughed at me as I pull a book out of my bag about wrestling, or about superheroes or about a girl who is plucked from obscurity and geekdom to become a fashion model (yes, really). "But sir! You're an English teacher! You're not supposed to be reading that kind of book!"
And time and time again, I stress to them that there are no books you are supposed to read. You should be reading because you enjoy it. My favourite books span from high fantasy (A Game of Thrones) to kids books (tell me you have read Harry Potter?). From classics (Brave New World) to books about men who run around wearing pink spandex for a living (don't judge me!) I truly appreciate great writing, but equally I have particular favourites that would never make it onto a GCSE course. In sharing some of these more embarrassing books with students, I hope to encourage them to pick up a book - any book - and read. The hope is that once they are reading Geek Girl or One Thousand and One Ways to Build a Man of Blocks in Minecraft (okay, I made the second one up), then they will realise that this book thing isn't so bad really, and hopefully start to make their way forward until they are reading the kind of books that will truly change their lives.
The point here is that you can't start them out on Austen and Chaucer. It would be wonderful if we could, but we simply can't. All we can do is give them the love of reading that they deserve, and only then can we nudge in the right direction.
I can be realistic here. I am under no illusions that it would be possible to teach anything we like for GCSE - there are only so many books that they can include for you to study or there would need to be a series of exam questions for every book ever published. And once you are limiting numbers, JK Rowling is unlikely to ever appear on a GCSE exam board's list of recommended reading (in fact, for A Level I tried to write a comparative study of Philosopher's Stone and Five on a Treasure Island and it was rejected outright). But it would be lovely if it could be. If it were at all possible for teachers to spend their time helping students to study books that they love and enjoy, then I would be all for it! Some schools may still teach Pride and Prejudice whilst others would look at the social commentary in The Hunger Games. Whilst it would be possible for them to do so I guess, no teacher is going to suddenly start teaching GCSE Spot the Dog. Have a little faith. But it would allow us to select books that our students - those that we know best - would be able to relate to. Hopefully, once they have seen the rewards that can be taken from reading, they can take a massive step forwards to reading a huge range of different texts.
And herein lies the problem. We are taking a massive step back. Some students may be able to pick up Sense and Sensibility and get right into at at the age of fourteen. Unfortunately, many won't. I include just about all of the kids that I teach here, but I also include myself. I still don't like Austen, no matter how hard I try. It is so distant from my life today that I find it very difficult to connect with. So a government led change that suggests this is a "correct" book to read suddenly causes a problem. Teaching kids that unless you are reading these specific books, you are not reading the right things, means that you run the risk of turning a whole generation of children off of reading, and all of the benefits that come with it. And really, how is it possible to argue that this is a good thing.
One of the books that is causing so much outrage at its removal is Gove's least favourite, Of Mice and Men. Apparently, ninety percent of students currently study it. I know that I have taught it to most of my classes. They understand the theme of racism - something that some struggle with daily. They understand the feelings Candy has of feeling worthless. They understand the way that Lennie is bullied for being different. It speaks to them, and from the highest ability class, to the lowest ability, I have always had at least one student in every class relate an aspect of it to their own life. Sadly, as it seems to be disappearing into the sunset, the biggest parallel I can currently see is how these men, who really do want to be able to better themselves, are instead entirely at the mercy of decisions made from high above them, and unable to reach the potential that they have. Probably a lesson that some of us could learn a little from.
