Northern hemisphere winter solstice imminent; just a few more days of pseudo-depression to endure.
Don't like this time of year. Whilst it is easy to dismiss questions from those pesky class pupils, not so with those that are generally of a nice demeanour, more so with colleagues. If you are not of a non-dysfunctional family, or genuinely friendless, the simple question: "so what will you be doing this Christmas" is met with dread. Wish that winter holiday had been reserved...
As the autumn term closes, the realisation that not single piece of homework, or some class task, has been marked to any significant depth, is an admission of a consequence of "personal wellbeing". Even five minutes, per pupil, per class, amounts to hours of review, renders the reality of the system to be a fantasy of managerial expedience. Then add the sen(d) factor with parents/carers that demand "more individual support"...laughable.
Happy festivities
The period of doing nothing, has come to an end. The brain is ready for a little bit of activity; to read...
A few days ago it was a surprise that a maths teacher 'dendari' claim within a discussion that standard assessment tests should be stopped and of equal alarm, international comparision such as oecd pisa are of questionable value. Notable information (personal bias: recommend to read it yourself) from the report:
What could be the cause for the decline in science comprehension? Methinks that a significant factor is the observation of poor quality pedagogy from non subject specific specialists. There would be vested interests to dispute this theory. Government would have to pay more for scientists. Unions would hate the idea of chemists, physicists being paid more that drama, English teachers. Industry would hate to pay more for scientific staff. As ever with British policy, it will be deemed cheaper and easier to import alternatives.
Encountered via a certain non-union legal service (!), this blog post was enjoyable to read the historical timeline, but...: the rationale for the national curriculum seems an omission; despite all the money, on an international basis, the improvement has not been enough for others to surpass; Labour seem to have little to offer.
