Friday, September 21, 2012

Let Them Be...

In case any of you were interested in the article I wrote for Newcastle's Child, here it is!


Let


Them Be
In these testing times, have
we forgotten about children
being children, asks Sandra
McDowell.

I’m a former high-school teacher, my husband is a university professor, and we have five children spread between three different educational establishments.  So, as you might imagine, we value education.  But more and more I’m troubled by the emphasis placed on testing and exams and how the idea of children being children and having fun seems to be overlooked.  I’m writing this in the wake of NAPLAN (National Assessment Plan – Literacy and Numeracy) tests, half-yearlies and piano exams.  While none of my three who sat NAPLAN this time was overly traumatised, I am concerned about how much time was spent preparing for these tests.  Going over and over some aspect of the curriculum until it clicks may well have it’s place, such as the learning of times tables, but what about the music, drama, history, geography and art neglected in the mean time?

Often the pressure of exams can switch a child off completely and create an unwilling learner.  My oldest son recently sat a piano exam that reduced him to tears of relief when it was over.  He can play beautifully, and was accepted into the accelerated music program at school, but when exams are around the corner he gets tense, which shows in his playing.  Practising becomes a chore and causes arguments.  He has spent the last six months playing the same three pieces he will no doubt never want to hear again.  We’ve decided he will no longer sit exams unless he feels it will help. And will instead play for the love of playing.

This is the boy whose favourite teacher at school is his English teacher, because she always goes off on tangents.  She teaches them the curriculum, but more importantly takes them way beyond it.  She stimulates their imaginations, encourages debate and gives them an enthusiasm for learning that will hopefully last a lifetime.  The best teachers inspire children to learn, to ask questions, to think carefully about their answers and to become independent learners.  They tell stories and encourage their students to do the same.  I don’t think anyone would disagree that formal education is important.  I’m thankful for the opportunities I had because of a formal education, but equally what children learn outside of school from parents, extended family and the wider community is invaluable.  As a wise friend said, “school is one part of education, not the be-all and end-all”.  Education is also about learning values from parents, teachers and peers; developing an awareness of the wider world around us and how our actions affect others; learning the value of physical activity; and expressing ourselves through music, stories, art, acting and dancing. 

We went on a four-day camping holiday with friends in January, during which there was a total gadget ban – no mp3 players, no smartphones, no tvs. The kids wailed and begged, accused us of child cruelty and said they weren’t coming.  In the end they swam, ran, chased, climbed, played football, played with kites they made themselves, painted each others’ faces, painted glass jam jars and used candles to light up the site at night when we strummed guitars, chatted and played games.  They read books, hunted for crabs and learnt to look after smaller siblings and friends without causing tantrums.  They had a ball.  That’s the kind of education our kids miss out on too often these days.

I hope my tribe does well at school.  The harder they work the better their qualifications and the greater their options in life will be, but I hope this does not come at the expense of their wider education.  I will continue to introduce them to books I think they’ll enjoy, and keep ‘letting’ them beat me at tennis.  My husband will keep showing them “important and significant” films and take them to play and watch football.  We will continue our lively debates on all manner of topics around the dinner table, and subject them to an eclectic mix of music in the car when no-one can escape, and hopefully we will pass on a love of education and learning that will last their lifetimes.



12 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for blogging that article, I agree with everything you have said. My two girls didn't play their musical instruments once over the summer holidays (which didn't surprise me as they had been practising a lot before the term ended). They both said they didn't want to carry on playing them basically because they know they've got their grade 1 exams coming up in the next few months. I spoke to my eldest's guitar teacher and he said that if it was all too much, they could just go back to playing easy pieces of music for a while and see how she feels. He completely understands and realises that if we push her too hard she will just give up all together. I think I will just say that they are not bothered about the exams but they just want to learn. Kids work very hard at school during the day and they don't need the added stress at home too. Not to mention the added stress for the parents having to cajole their kids into practising the same three songs over and over again! Hope your son has got over the piano exam and is enjoying playing again. Now we've just got to deal with the 11 plus in a year's time. Happy days! x

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    1. Thank you, yes he has got over it and is enjoying playing. Interestingly he is a huge fan/addict of Minecraft (some game or other!) and went online to download the sheet music that plays in the background - he has been learning it with his lovely Russian Concert Pianist teacher!!
      Good luck with the 11+ - that's a biggy!

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  2. If only more people would think like this. I love your article, thanks for sharing.
    Anne xx

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    1. Hello! I'm sure there are lots of people who think like this but it's all too easy to get caught up in the whole 'results thing'. The pressure here is huge. Maybe I'm just too lazy to push them too hard...!

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  3. What an interesting article Sandra, much of which I have always believed too. As I don't have any children in school as yet, I haven't been exposed to all the dramas of NAPLAN etc... I have heard bits and pieces about it and the whole thing is a bit daunting right now. But from my own experience, I can relate to what you're saying about pressure surrounding exams and the expectation that children need to be good at everything. I remember despising maths at school... loved english and history and I also played piano. The piano exams were quite brutal. I was fortunate enough to have an elderly music teacher, held in very high regard with the AMEB, so all her students were allowed to sit their exams in the studio in her home. It took a bit of the pressure off, but it was still incredibly nerve wracking. I have a lot to look forward to in the years ahead, it seems xo

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    1. I must admit the older mine get the more perspective I get. I'm sure girls are a whole different kettle of fish, but I have to believe with the boys that they'll all find their way eventually and no amount of pressure from me is going to help. I can encourage but ultimately it has to come from them or it's meaningless. Shame you can never do a control to see if you're right!

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  4. I do agree with you - and this is the reason I gave up teaching, because of the restrictions of the National Curriculum we have here, and the stifling of creativity of the part of the teacher. And the best education is definitely the one you get outside of school, done in your own time, following your own interests, and preferably outside, even if it means sitting under a tree reading!

    Pomona x

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    1. It's the lack of creativity that makes me sad. 2 of mine are very much art, music History, English and drama but here it's sport, science and maths that seem to be more highly valued as they are more easily employable. We've lost sight of education for education's sake.

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  5. Couldn't agree more. And now, with boys of 19, 21 & 23, they introduce me to things that interest and stimulate them and, in turn, me. I think we all need to be open to experience and new things - and actually now I am embracing those techy things too, because they too can, used selectively, enrich and inform our life experience. I think it is sad that so many children don't have parents who are able or willing to provide them with other life experiences that augment and supplement what schools can provide, confined as they are by curriculum policy.

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    1. I love hearing your perspective! I don't know many people irl with older boys so it's always great to hear from you. I guess all we can do is try our best and hope it all pans out!
      Sx

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  6. Excellent post Sandra!!! We just got NAPLAN results and our youngest is mortified and it seems to have consolidated her belief that she is "dumb" cannot do maths. This NAPLANS is madness is causes so much anxiety in my home we are wondering if it is worth allowing them to do the next. We now are left with picking up the pieces of our child's self esteem and getting her to actually even consider a mathematical problem again - her school won't really care, and certainly the govt won' t demand that the school does something NOW to help her. We place strong value on education but it seems a different value the educational bean counters do.

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  7. I couldn't agree more!!! Let children be children, the pressure comes in later life. I live in a town inn the Yorkshire dales where in yr 6 they take the 11 Plus to decide which school they go to. However the only chance the children have of passing the test regardless of academic ability is to have them tutored!! The pressure on the children is immense and so unnecessary.If they don't pass the test the child is left feeling they are not quite good enough and with low self esteem. Not a good way to start your secondary education. Children will learn naturally with love and support without pressure, i place a strong value on education also but i have a stronger value on a happy healthy child that enjoys the outdoors and family life. Everything else will evolve naturally without pressure. xxx

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