Impoverished Learning

Impoverished Learning

So once more we have theoretical academics telling the sharp end practitioners what to do. If it isn’t incoming Education Ministers launching useless initiatives to milestone their careers then it is so called Advisors trying to justify their existence or a University Department showing off to their peers.

What each of these academically parasitic entities fails to appreciate is that education is not a ‘one size fits all’ process of stuffing knowledge into children. Education is more about engaging young minds in different ways and at different levels to cater for the disparity of background, experience and mental capabilities of our Primary school community. One cannot simply sit children in a classroom and throw facts into the air in the hope that something will stick. Young children do not learn by absorption of disconnected facts and they have no concept of learning as a means to achieve future goals. The old ideas of teaching subjects under discrete subject headings no longer works in a multi-media society, engagement is lost and young minds wander.

So easy enough to proffer criticism - what is the solution?

As well as the whizz-bang gadgetry of computers and smart boards the underlying practicality of teaching means interaction and activity. In academic terms this means considering the use of techniques such as topic teaching to assemble the various facets of subject requirement into one seamless and entertaining lesson. An example would be the use of outdoor classroom space to teach children about Arctic exploration. The children would learn the differences between the sub-zero environment and the UK ’s temperate climate (geography). Consider the best way to move a sledge across the ground (push/pull = science) and the characters in the past who had made such expeditions (history). Co-operate (social interaction) to work out how much food and water to carry (mathematics) then produce reports of their findings (literacy).

The teaching professionals know about such techniques – there are others but space does not permit further exploration – and the pupils instinctively know about the resulting benefits. The only people who do not appear to understand the term ‘education’, and who lavish criticism on our hard pressed administration drenched teaching community, are the non-practicing academics who really should keep their noses where nature intended.



	So once more we have theoretical academics telling the sharp end practitioners what to do. If it isn’t incoming Education Ministers launching useless initiatives to milestone their careers then it is so called Advisors trying to justify their existence or a University Department showing off to their peers. What each of these academically parasitic entities fails to appreciate is that education is not a ‘one size fits all’ process of stuffing knowledge into children. Education is more about engaging young minds in different ways and at different levels to cater for the disparity of background, experience and mental capabilities of our Primary school community. One cannot simply sit children in a classroom and throw facts into the air in the hope that something will stick. Young children do not learn by absorption of disconnected facts and they have no concept of learning as a means to achieve future goals. The old ideas of teaching subjects under discrete subject headings no longer works in a multi-media society, engagement is lost and young minds wander. So easy enough to proffer criticism - what is the solution? As well as the whizz-bang gadgetry of computers and smart boards the underlying practicality of teaching means interaction and activity. In academic terms this means considering the use of techniques such as topic teaching to assemble the various facets of subject requirement into one seamless and entertaining lesson. An example would be the use of outdoor classroom space to teach children about Arctic exploration. The children would learn the differences between the sub-zero environment and the UK ’s temperate climate (geography). Consider the best way to move a sledge across the ground (push/pull = science) and the characters in the past who had made such expeditions (history). Co-operate (social interaction) to work out how much food and water to carry (mathematics) then produce reports of their findings (literacy). The teaching professionals know about such techniques – there are others but space does not permit further exploration – and the pupils instinctively know about the resulting benefits. The only people who do not appear to understand the term ‘education’, and who lavish criticism on our hard pressed administration drenched teaching community, are the non-practicing academics who really should keep their noses where nature intended.