Yesterday's blog has squirrelled round my brain for the last day.
After consideration, it still seems right to me that the very basics of education - reading, writing and 'rithmetic need a disciplined rigorous approach to their teaching. There is an added benefit to this - even the youngest primary children need some exposure to a formal working environment. Take the kids out of their informal friendly classroom for short periods of strictly disciplined rote learning. This will not only teach the subject, but also get them used to an 'adult work environment' for initially short periods where quiet and concentration are the norm. It won't hurt to introduce periods where the teacher is supreme rather than the kids' interests.
Further thoughts have moved into the inevitable huge grey areas any idea like this raises. Even in non academic subjects (dare I suggest art?) there are formal methods to be taught as well as the fun of slapping paint around. Many academic subjects - History, Human Geography, Religious education are open to interpretation and allow personal opinions to form around the base facts. These are also not critical subjects for future employment in general areas, so can 'loosen up' and go further than currently allowed in personal research and creativity. Initial teaching of languages and sciences (primary level) can also be more a voyage of personal discovery than formally taught subjects, as I believe is currently practised. Teaching of ethical/moral subjects at this level is very problematic and maybe should be at the level of discussing what the children currently think - encouraging tolerance and understanding of others views rather than any attempt to impose a 'right' view. It's a really difficult job for the teachers to put their own knowledge and beliefs to one side and practise the tolerance of views they may consider wrong - kids may have racist or homophobic views - but tolerance is what they'd be preaching...
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