Teach them to learn, not teach

Education, education, education.  I wonder how many blog entries I have started with those three words over the past year?  Incredible as it is to believe, but it was education that was the single biggest issue the Labour government was going to all about way back in 1997.  Shame they have done nothing of any good in this area whatsoever.  It is only recently, however, that people have really started to cotton on to this.  Usually the "exams are getting easier" stories last for about two weeks in August.  These days they just rumble on and on and on.  But what should we really do about it all?  Well, the government's latest rouse is quite simply straight out of the David Cameron book of touchy feely rubbish.  According to Government exam advisors pupils should mark their own class work and decide what their school tests should cover.  Yes ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the future of British education; which coincidently is also the end of our future generation’s brains being fit for use for any beneficial purposes.

The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (pointless quango alert) have said that after setting their own tests, marking them themselves pupils should then assess the results, grading their own efforts and give "feedback" to their classmates.  What in the name of all things ridiculous is the teacher going to do?  Then again, when class 4b have set their test on the history of Big Brother, all got full marks, assessed themselves as brilliant and given themselves some cracking feedback, there actually isn't any need for a teacher anyway.

Ok, ok, so maybe I am being a little unfair here - I am sure there must be more guidance on this issue than I am letting on but this is a crack pot idea if ever I heard one.  By all means get kids to work more closely in class rooms, but we all know from our school days that given the chance to mark our own work we'd get a better end of year grade and it wouldn't all be down to better “alternative” teaching methods.  It is a waste of time getting teachers to teach pupils how to be teachers; they need to be taught how to be students.