I can recall 5 or so years ago sitting in a very boring meeting. I can actually remember attending a few, but we will focus on this one in particular for the moment. The energy level was as low as the land level in Death Valley. And I was due to present. What could I do? I looked around the room for some props. There was a fake fire in the room with some pieces of wood on it.  As I was introduced, I went and picked up two of the pieces of wood and tapped a beat with them on the side of the table. “Just say what you see”, I enthused, with a very poor impersonation of Roy Walker, the original host of Catchphrase.  Unfortunately, no-one ‘got it’. “Logarithms!” I enthused once more, and tapped the beat once more perhaps thinking I needed to do it again in order for people to ‘get it’. It did, however, change the mood of the meeting and, having rebuilt the fire, I delivered my presentation and achieved what I wanted to.

That is the only time in my life I can recall having made use of my Third Year (now Year 9) Maths input on Logarithms. I do accept the link is tenuous, but it really is the closest I have got to using that information. But what was the point of them (and the same goes for cosines, too)?

I was reminded of this experience when I read an answer to a parent’s question by Chris Woodhead in The Times (25 July 2010). As you may well be aware, Mr Woodhead used to be the Chief Inspector of Schools here in England (and possibly other parts of the UK).  He is currently the chairman of a private schools group. Mr Woodhead was making the point that – regarding English Literature classes – “The aim should not be to develop ‘critical thinking skills’”, and added that children, “should not be encouraged to express their opinions on the texts. Who cares what they think or feel?’” Well, actually, I do – and I suspect others do, too.

We need to be valuing and developing these skills from an early age – and others such as rapport building, empathy, effective communication, emotional intelligence … I could go on. From a holistic perspective it would create a far more mature society, and from a practical perspective perhaps we wouldn’t need to have the likes of “This drink may be hot“ written on the side of a take-out cup of coffee.

I have been in Wakefield today – taking, waiting for and collecting my 17-year old son from a Football Refereeing Course. As someone interested in learning, I have been impressed with the content of the Course. It has a good balance of theory and practice, and it has an obvious practical application. He has now passed the theoretical aspects and needs to pass the practical aspects by refereeing some matches. Having discussed the Course with him, it is apparent that he has fared well so far. He has fared well because he has been able to demonstrate skills such as critical thinking, effective communication and conflict management to name just three.  These skills have been developed in part at school but more so at home.

And this is where, in my humble opinion, our schooling system is failing society. The development or achievement of such skills in school is difficult to measure, and so they are unlikely to find any prominence in ‘League Tables’. But what gets measured generally happens. So exam results prevail. And our children will therefore continue to be measured on how well they understand Cosines and Logarithms.

The lead article in the News Review of today’s (15 August 2010) Sunday Times is an article about how the actress Imogen Stubbs and husband – film director Trevor Nunn – tried to help their daughter with her AS level in Theatre Studies. They discovered that they were more of a hindrance than a help.  Ms Stubbs continuing investigation of the matter showed her that the course work and study aids were aimed at enabling her daughter to get an ‘A’ grade by following the required “tick-box culture”, rather than thinking about the literature itself. Many pupils told her that they never actually read the texts – they just used study aids and the internet.

Over the next couple of weeks the annual national GCSE and A Level analysis and frenzy will take place. We will be informed how this year’s pass rate compares to other years, and individuals will find out whether they have achieved their coveted places at Universities. Again in today’s Sunday Times there is a report that leading companies such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Price Waterhouse Coopers are running non-graduate trainee schemes for promising people who do not achieve a place at University or who do not want to saddle themselves with student debt. These companies are telling applicants that they, “can end up in similar jobs with similar salaries to graduates”.

Perhaps this will bring about a different perspective on education and learning. Perhaps it will help shape an approach that involves both theoretical and practical learning for all qualifications. And perhaps then we can move away – once and for all – from Mr. Woodhead’s view that a child, during the foundation stage of their life of learning, should not be taught how to critically think, should not express their opinions and should not have their feelings valued.

Paul