Exam Time -- Misha Herwin
It’s
that time of year again where all over the UK children big and small will be
sitting exams. Or as the Government would prefer to call it, in primary schools
they are being tested on what they have learned so far.
Now
I am not totally against exams. I think they have their place and they do
demand certain skills. To do well you have to be able to concentrate, retrieve
information, interpret instructions and think fast. You also have to keep calm
and not drive yourself and all around you mad with worry.
These
are all skills that can be useful throughout life. They do not necessarily show
how clever you are or encourage original thinking of the sort that leads to
life changing discoveries that will benefit the planet and all living beings.
As
for creativity I would say it is well and truly stifled by GCSES, A Levels and
SATS. Kids who love writing stories and poems are forced to focus on fronted
adverbials and have to use as many synonyms for “said” as they possibly can. The
marking too can be brutal. In a SATS comprehension paper a child may get two
thirds of the answer right, but they get no marks.
So
what’s the point? Do we need to put seven and eleven year olds through all the
stress of SATS and the endless preparation that leads up to it? Especially
since their results will not determine what happens to them next, but are used
as yet another way to judge their school.
Every
child is different. Some will do well this summer, others will “fail.” What
angers me is that none of this will show a child’s true potential or talent.
And in English in particular it destroys enjoyment of “making up stuff” and
exploring ideas and simply having fun.
Writing
the Poppy and Amelia books with my granddaughter Maddy has been a joy. We’ve
worked out the story lines between us, developed our characters and Maddy has
put me right on how nine, ten and elven year old girls talk and what they’re
really interested in.
Because
of the collaborative way we work, I’ve had the added bonus of spending more
time with a granddaughter who lives a fair distance away. Added to which is the
fact that since all the profits go to Blood Cancer UK we’ve raised quite a bit
of money in memory of Posy Miller, my daughter and Maddy’s aunt.
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The third book "Yet More Adventures of Poppy and Amelia" is available of Amazon.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=yet+more+adventures+of+poppy&i=stripbooks&crid=2IPLDZY5OPYFP&sprefix=Yet+more+ad%2Cstripbooks%2C64&ref=nb_sb_ss_fb_1_11
Comments
As you say, it seems to aim for an uninspired level of basic competence, with any attempt at creativity ignored, or worse, stifled. Luckily my two both enjoy writing outwith the school setting, so they're still nurturing that possible spark of talent. But would the school do so? That I doubt.
On a sadder note, I am so sorry you have lost your daughter. Was it a couple of years ago? I can imagine how sharp your grief must be and am even more impressed you have found such a wonderful way of remembering and celebrating her with your granddaughter.
Misha, how true this is. The present Govian view of English is an abomination. You mention the fronted adverbial. I have a question about this which nobody I know has ever answered. The sentence 'This morning I went to the shops' contains an adverbial phrase which comes at the front of the sentence. To identify that 'fact' correctly will presumably earn the child a mark. But what if the sentence for comment is "I went to the shops this morning'? Does the child get a mark for identifying it as a 'behinded adverbial'? If not, why not?
Futility. Misha, what you are doing with 'Poppy and Amelia' is marvellous and as it was in the far-off days when I was an English Adviser. Ny own testimony to the is my 'Hare Trilogy' the best thing I ever wrote and the closest to my heart.
As a Year 6 teacher for many years, I was always aware of the failure of SATs. Thank goodness they dropped the testing of Science, but I fear it was too late to reverse the move away from the excellent and inspiring teaching that went on in Primary Schools in that subject when I was an advisory teacher.