I used this one on the front cover of some of the documents at school that I prepared for our Ofsted Inspection. It summed up the philosophy of education that I was railing against.
Pete and I had been put through an education system that we felt was a cram system. We were given ‘facts’ to learn and regurgitate for exams.
We both felt that education should be mind-expanding, investigating, exploring, fun and exhilarating. Children needed to be inspired and empowered. Teaching should develop creativity, lateral thinking and questioning.
No new discoveries ever come from mindless regurgitation of ‘facts’.
Pete and I felt that too many teachers presided over a sausage factory churning out mindless drones all knocked into shape by the system.
Tragically, after a period of freedom and wonder in education under Labour, we were back to the 1950s with a vengeance under the dreadful mindlessness of Gove and then the ‘just as bad’ floundering Nicky Morgan. Thankfully they are gone and we’ll reserve judgement on Justine Greening.
Oh my, this resonates so much with me and is the succinct version of why I left the profession this time last year. Mindless drones are unlikely to upset the system. Not feeling optimistic about change.
Me neither. What with the claustrophobic baccalaureate and teaching by numbers it looks pretty dreadful.
Reblogged this on Opher's World and commented:
I just love these pen and ink drawings.