At the chalkface The cycle


WHAT DO the Big Wigs of Education think we’ve got wrong this week? Exams. They’re not much cop. The lot. So says the GOVErnment, the CBI and Ofqual and Uncle Tom Cobbly. And who’s rubbish this week? Teachers. You are. Again? Well, of course. Why? Too much “teaching to the test”. Those tests we have deemed balderdash for 30 years and teach at gunpoint? The very same. There ought to be


a word for this whole caper, this cycle. Stupidity? Gall? Incompetence? It seems to go thus. Crisis management “unveils” initiative, issues edict, compels you to deliver it, sacks you if you don’t, realises it’s the utter bollox we told them it was, and then trashes us for meeting some pointless targets. Then the cycle starts again. So this week’s rubbish


is GCSEs. They’re “not fit for purpose”. They’re worthless. Just what your poor pupils want to hear, as they toil away in broiling gyms. Who says so? The CBI Director General, John Cridland. A very Big Wig indeed. They reduce teaching to a “prescribed form of learning” and promote that dreaded “teaching to the test”. Well, what else do you expect


us to teach to? Our pupils must get A*s, if they want to avoid a future of debt, dereliction, madness, lap-dancing and the soup kitchen. Their teachers too. So you teach with a ruthless cynicism to


assessment objectives in which you have never believed. It coarsens the soul. It works a treat. Well, no more, apparently. Mr


CBI wants a more “inspirational classroom experience”. My generation got sacked for too much of that sort of thing. Whatever. GCSEs must go. “Abandon them!” says the Corporate Sage. For what? “A levels!” Ah. They’re “the Gold Standard”. Oh no they’re not!


Who say? The Gove – for it is he. They “fall short of commanding the level of confidence required”, chirps the


relentlessly perky twerp. He should know. Ofqual concurs. Posh universities do more concurring. Our


pupils, they say, are deficient in skills like “researching, finding sources, essay-writing and referencing, and the wider skills of problem-solving and analysis and critical-thinking”.


Apart from that, they’re pretty good. And A levels can also kill


that inspiration. Ho! Ho! Really? The AQA English A level was once the best on the planet. It encouraged a fierce critical rigour and nourished imagination. We loved it. The pupils loved it. It was ours. So they stopped it. Why? Who knows? Perhaps that literature stuff can make you a little too inspired and critical – and bolshy. They don’t ever really want it. Still it will all change soon. So it goes. The cycle continues.


• Ian Whitwham is a former teacher at an inner city comprehensive school.


News


Technician wins award for her romantic novel


by Emma Lee-Potter


Teachers at a north Yorkshire secondary school don’t bat an eyelid when one of their science technicians puts them on the spot with random questions. In the past few months, biology


resources technician Jane Lovering has asked staff at Lady Lumley’s School in Pickering about string theory, the combustibility of oxy- acetylene, and likely names for a romantic hero. The reason is that as well as


working in the biology lab at Lady Lumley’s, Ms Lovering is a successful novelist – and her questions relate to the books she is writing. She’s written a string of romantic


comedies and last month won the prestigious Romantic Novel of the Year award for her latest book. Please Don’t Stop the Music is


the story of a struggling jeweller and an enigmatic rock guitarist, who both have traumatic secrets to hide. The judges of the award


described it as “a romance with dark undertones and good humour that engaged with issues a lot of people recognise”. They added: “Jane’s voice was


fresh and new with an unexpected hero.” Ms Lovering told SecEd:


“Everyone at school was delighted when I won the award. “It’s brilliant to combine my job


as a school science technician with writing. Working alongside other people is really good for writing convincing dialogue and I bounce ideas off my colleagues too. “They’re all quite used to me


coming in and saying ‘I need a name for a dog’ or asking ‘how explosive is oxy-acetylene?’” Ms Lovering has worked as a


creative writing tutor in the past and from September will be running enrichment sessions on writing for 6th-formers at Lady Lumley’s. “I hope that my experience


will encourage them to write,” she added. “It took me 25 years to get published and as I said at the awards, if I can do it, anybody can.” Anne Ashurst, chair of the


Romantic Novelist Association, said: “Warmest congratulations to Jane and my personal thanks for making me hoot with laughter.” Please Don’t Stop the Music


by Jane Lovering is published by Choc Lit and costs £7.99. For more on the Romantic Novel of the Year awards, visit www. romanticnovelistsassociation.org


From string theory to romance: Science technician Jane Lovering (left) pictured with the awards presenter novelist and Sky News anchor Kay Burley


FINAL THE 16


VOTE FOR YOUR FAVOURITE BIG VOICE FILM


Thirty-six films made by young people throughout UK schools and colleges are being showcased online as part of BT’s Big Voice competition - part of its Education Programme supporting the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.


The ideas for the films, covering issues like eating disorders, disabilities, homophobia, teenage pregnancy, bullying, drink driving and litter as seen from a young person’s perspective came from youngsters, aged between 11 and 19.


The 36 films were chosen from more than 100 submissions from across the UK. They each received a £1,000 grant from BT to produce their film and were partnered with film students at local universities and colleges who took the lead on the film production.


A ‘People’s Choice’ winner will be awarded and you can go online and vote for your favourite film at


www.bt.com/bigvoice


SecEd • June 14 2012


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