Live, Observe, Learn, Repeat

It’s tricky writing about education, I’ve decided. As soon as an opinion is cited, it kind of becomes political, doesn’t it? And as soon as that happens, strong opinions and judgements kick in, whether founded on experience of working in a school (which will (of course) be different to that of another experience of working in a different school) or of attending a school (which, let’s face it, there are many people who have done so). It feels like a bit of a minefield. However, I’m going there. I’m not asking you to agree with me, because as ever, all views are simply my own. They might be worth nothing to the big wide world, and all of that is far outside of my control and that’s okay and good and right and lovely. I choose to write about it because I do.

I’ve been thinking. Is there a way of getting those with past or present experience in the world of education to make policy and practise shifts that would actually make a difference to the most important people within our education system (i.e. the pupils)? Is there a chance we could get the right (for time and context) people leading within our educational communities (locally and nationally)? Could these people facilitate fundamental changes that will benefit children of all ages in their learning journey whilst also enabling and encouraging those who choose to work in the profession? I guess we will only begin to think on it if we explore the concept. Right?

I realise it’s all been done before. I realise fads have come and gone. I realise the successes of some schools have been elevated and then policies have been designed for these models to be replicated elsewhere. You will have your own opinion about whether that has gone far enough or not, I suspect.

I’m not suggesting I have anything like ‘complete answers’ – but that is kind of the whole point. Does anyone have all the answers? I’m thinking, no. Might it be possible to keep asking questions about how best to educate and keep reforming education with those who truly know what it is to work in education? Might this process (and any related outcomes) support those within education in whatever capacity? I believe there is a good chance of some success when approached this way. That’s the premise from which I will jump or step, depending on my levels of energy at the time.

Let’s begin with a couple of related questions (which I realise are weighted because of my own perspective…but you can add the weight of your own perspective too, right?): Can there be a one size fits all model for schools? Is it possible to enforce such a system and method and expect the best results for all learners? I’m thinking no.

There will of course always be similar needs within school communities and there are (of course) common learning goals, this is not disputed. However, from that starting point of having these similarities, I question the tendency to seek a one size fits all model for all schools. Is it not ridiculous to even attempt the full creation of such a beast? I believe so.

Have (the collective) we forgotten that we are dealing with human beings (pupils, support staff, teaching staff and school leaders) who have widely contrasting life experiences whilst living in varying scenarios and who exists within differing physical environments? Have we (collectively) mostly lost sight of the reality that we are working with fully unique, diverse, creative and individual human beings? I wonder if that has become hidden amidst the seeming panic to create a system that is judged by whoever to be successful or has been (supposedly) evidenced as successful (through various angles on data analysis, exam results or whatever else).

What makes a school successful? Is it about exam grades? This can then be used as a measuring stick, sure, but to what end? Is it about behavioural data? Is it reasonable to judge all aspects of learning and child development as being intrinsically linked to such snapshot outcomes that result in many pupils feel they have failed and many others are stressed to the point of high level mental health needs because they believe whatever they do will never be good enough even though their grades/behaviour records suggest they have attained an impressive level of academic or practical achievement or have managed to control their emotions and behaviours? Please not that. Exam results (and any other such data) as the benchmark might make it easier to compare different schools or educational establishments. Yes, okay, and maybe there is a place for some of that. However, is it wise to have the largest weight of (subjective) judgement rooted in being about that? I guess it isn’t unless (the collective) we want a comparison that is rooted in one (or maybe two) dimension(s).

Is a school (and this is what I believe to be the case) truly ‘successful’ if the measure of perceived success is rooted more in how pupils emerge from their schooling experiences? Do they have the beginnings of academic, life and learning skills to further develop themselves educationally in the next chapter of their existence, wherever that is and whatever they choose to do next? Do they have some idea of who they are as an individual? Are they developing a sense of how they can fit into and grow within a community and society? Do they have an ability and willingness to value and respect different approaches or life choices or cultures and traditions? And all while are they able to hold closely a positive attitude towards being a life-long learner? Too much, Dawn? No, I don’t think so. Not if the system is set up to invest in the individuals by how we teach being at least as important as what we teach.

Before we proceed, a question that’s just for you and you alone: Which teacher had the greatest positive impact on you and why?

I realise I don’t know the answer for you. However, it is likely there is and was one of two broad things going on regarding that teacher. 1. Maybe (and probably this is the biggest aspect of it), you felt they saw you as an individual. Maybe you sensed they were interested in you and what you had to say or ask or contribute. Maybe they found ways to encourage your effort and facilitate your learning/personal development in some way (even if you didn’t see it in those terms at the time). 2. Or, maybe they inspired you by their relentless passion for their subject area (which might be likely if there were a specialist subject or secondary teacher).

Those two areas are likely the most common reasons we as individuals were inspired by teachers and maybe their impact on us influenced our careers and our lives in some way beyond school, aren’t they?

I would suggest too that those teachers were probably giving off ‘genuine’ and ‘real’ (and probably sometimes humorous). They probably did not come across as ‘part-robot’. They probably taught in a way that to you felt natural and real. You possibly didn’t even get a whiff of false from them. You probably didn’t sense any kind of forced learning challenges (as they would probably have found ways to deliver material they were not as passionate about in a different or more creative way). You likely felt they wanted to be a teacher and you probably didn’t even think of it as their job because it seemed so natural for them to teach, inspire and encourage.

I do think there can be a tendency to underestimate the ability of children and young people to innately connect with ‘genuine’ and mistrust ‘false’. By false, I guess I am referring to those teachers who (maybe with an aim of self-protection because of previously negative experiences) have created a cold distance from the individuals they teach. Unfortunately, they have, by so doing, cut themselves and their pupils off from some powerful learning and development seeds rooted in a level of appropriate connection and relationship between pupil and teacher. I’m not sure we can underestimate the power of positive and healthy teacher-pupil and pupil-teacher connection.

Maybe that seems a little ‘fluffy’. I don’t believe it is (I believe it is the key to turning our education system from where it has got to and towards a much healthier model), but I can see why some might see it as less than robust.

In reality, there are some aspects of the system that do need to be set in stone and remain immoveable. Safeguarding, for one. These musings are not about throwing any metaphorical babies out with any metaphorical bath water. This is less about those aspects of education and more about what happens within individual schools and individual classrooms and small group work rooms.

I fear we have somehow wandered into the territory where systems, pre-written lessons that are not adapted for context or cohort, and various processes within schools have superseded the value of the fundamental and vital link between pupils along with the essential link between pupils and teachers. Teachers seem to be mostly drowning in searching for evidence or data to present this to their managers. Or they increasingly doubt themselves as the feel constantly checked up on to ensure that they are following exact patterns of teaching as required by those in authority over them because this is the latest ‘way to teach’. Oh my. There are maybe countless ways to teach positively and to have great impact as an effective teacher.

When did it become the priority that the need was for consistency of approach across the school, when out in the real world (which is what we are aiming to prepare the children for, is it not?) there are a wide variety of people doing life and working in a wide variety of ways? With that in mind, would not a wide range of teaching methods and styles adopted by individual teachers who are passionate about why they teach and the content of their teaching benefit all? Would the teachers not be more positive and engaging therefore enabling a higher chance of pupils connecting with the learning because they were able to be more themselves? Of course they would. Would the pupils not be more inspired by being exposed to this genuine approach and passion? I believe they most definitely would.

I do believe we need a curriculum of some kind, for sure. I am also passionate about how pupils are treated and communicated with in schools (but that’s a different matter (albeit connected) to this one concerning the curriculum). That partly aside, my concern about the curriculum beast that is currently in place is that (especially in primary, as any class teacher will tell you), there is not even time to properly timetable every subject for the allotted time it is supposed to be taught each week. Experts may well have been consulted about the best objectives to be included for each subject area (which is a great idea in theory), but where was or is some kind of drawing together via an overall strategy to ensure the skills and knowledge can be appropriately timetabled? Without an overall aim of teaching skills and approaches to learning that cover the various subject areas (and there is common ground in many ways across many subject areas), the whole curriculum tends to be watered down or skimmed over to try to squeeze it all in. Teachers (metaphorically and literally) run about trying to box tick and prove they have covered all the specific objectives, albeit in shallow and ineffective (often) ways, even whilst wanting to do their best and help their pupils to learn effectively.

I feel like teachers in so many places are finding themselves ‘content shovelling’ and have at least partially lost sight of the reason they entered the profession. In my view and experience, most teachers want to work hard and do work hard (there will obviously be exceptions).

Adults who are trusted (and who are working to the correct safeguarding principles etc), feel encouraged to invest more in the lives of those for whom they went into the profession in the first place. Is it okay that Teacher A delivers lessons differently to Teacher B who has a class down the corridor? I seriously hope so, but I fear that mostly, that is not the case. Consistency is promoted and in some ways is helpful, but concerning the delivery of teaching, is it possible that maybe we have gone a bit too far?

There are (of course) many school leaders who seek the good. They encourage effective teaching styles and methods of staff they manage. They do all they can to develop the schools they run in such a way as to best benefit learning and community. There is not a single doubt about that. Do all leaders lead that way? Absolutely not. Some are out to reach the levels of promotion they seek as validation of self and their achievements which I realise is just part of the human condition for many. But my wondering is this: Could the whole system of our education in this country not benefit from real and powerful methods of teaching that truly engage learners both in terms of connection with content and people as they also progress with their own personal development? Could we not elevate the status of how to learn to learn along with a widening perspective on life in the longer term that is not about 10/11-year-olds being stressed about entrance exams or SATS test results?

But then, what do I know? Not much. But I do fear we are breaking our system by focussing mostly on how to address negative behaviours/attitudes to learning/poor attendance/etc without seemingly focussing on what we do want. Even in behaviour management terms, all good teachers know the more one focusses on the negative behaviours, the more negative behaviours will appear. And yet, our education system is more and more seemingly about finding what’s wrong as we seek out the ‘failing’ or are intent on finding someone to blame for the failures.

What if we flipped it on its head? What if we promoted the importance of the value of all pupils of all abilities and needs? What if we fostered positive, engaging and healthy pupil and teacher connections? What if we worked together to learn to learn in a creative, evolving way specific to context and cohort and environment? I wonder if we would be amazed and delight at the results. I suspect we would.

What is the vision as I see it? To facilitate learning for all pupils that challenges and inspires. To invest in pupils in ways that mean they have a sense of self-worth which is developed through learning and activity, whatever is going on in their lives outside of school. To teach and develop a wide range of skills that support learning now but are also transferrable into adult life. To encourage and foster individual strengths and find creative ways for pupils to outlet their skills and interests through the curriculum and also beyond it. For teachers to be empowered, inspired and ever developing as they teach and learn from their pupils about effective methods of teaching. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Delusional? Maybe. Or maybe not. 

Anyway, Dawn, this is all fine but what about the 'How?' of it all? Maybe the 'How?' is less about just the politicians or policy writers and is more about how things can shift one child at a time, by one teacher (and teaching assistant - if lucky enough to have one) at a time. Maybe every individual working with children day in and day out can have more of a positive impact than many of them are aware of. I am 100% sure that this is true...and if you're a teacher or teaching assistant...you are the ones who are making the true impact on the lives we are in this for.