Education And Achievement. Where Are We Going?

What is Education and achievement, and what can you do as a parent, to prepare your child for the

their educational future.Education in western terms, means a codified and in many cases a proscribed set of subjects,considered to be of value. Who decides what these are, in terms of educational values is anothermatter.

Achievement in this context, means how much of the 'education' has been assimilated by the student.

This is measured by testing and exams. Again who decides what is valuable to be taught and tested,

is another matter.

The Habitus or Home life is vital.

The habitus or home is where all education should begin. You should not rely or the current education

system. It may not be teaching your child what they really need to know; to survive in the workplace

of the present and near future.

Things have changed dramatically in recent years. They will change more in the near future. The

education system as it is currently organised, is slow to adapt to these changes. Especially

technologically.

The budgets have just not keep pace with advances in computers and the Internet.

If you want to see the future. Take some lessons from the past.

Newton's Education

In the 17th century the sum knowledge of all science, would fill just one volume.

Today the subject of Science alone is subdivided into a multitude of different fields and specialist

areas including. Chemistry, Biology, Geology to mention just a few.

Today's student have so much more information available to them. Their education is far more

detailed and in depth than anything Newton could have imagined.

In the 21st century, new inventions and innovations take place at an accelerated pace. There are

1000's of new discoveries and inventions made every day.

Modern education has not kept pace with the speed of change.

Sir Isaac Newton, attended Cambridge University. He had no Internet connected computer, iPad,

iPod or a mobile phone.

His discoveries included his world changing theories on light refraction and gravity. So it comes as no

surprise to find that his family encouraged him to learn.

With the advances in technology we would imagine that there are plenty of opportunities for 'new'

Newton's to flourish.

Shoving children in front of a computer as a form of babysitting. Is not going to help them.

Parents need to engage with their children and teach them something, anything wholesome and

useful. It is very fashionable these days, to be as dumb as a post.

We have reality TV shows and celebrities who are famous, just for being as thick as a brick, stupid.

The dumber the better.

The Village Idiots have taken over The Village

The Only Way Is Essex (TOWIE) is a perfect example. Apparently 3 generations of moron's all in the

same family. Yet it is the breakout star show of 2011, 2012 and no doubt 2013.

I am sure that they are very nice people, and not as dumb, as they are portrayed. It is amazing what

can be done with editing.

This reality TV show is compelling viewing, but it encourages the thick to stay that way. 'Well if they

(TOWIE) are doing okay then it's okay to be thick.

We can just carry on and the world will come to us too, as we are as thick as them. And what does

the world of reality TV shows do. Rewards them with even more reality TV shows.

We also have the dummies from Made In Chelsea who are rich, and apparently even thicker than the

TOWIE mob. So across the social spectrum dumbness is cool.

What message is this sending to children.

Where are today's clever children, the next Newton's or Einstein's? Many children today have

unrivaled access to information, that we could never have dreamed of. If we needed to find some

information, it meant hitting the books in the library.

Yet today's youth 'appear' to be getting dumber, according to popular opinion. With all this new

technology at their fingertips; where are they going and what are they doing?

In theory there should be 10's of 1000’s of clever children out there? So where are the next Newtons.

Maybe in so-called developing nations. I.e. Africa, India or South America

There are many very bright children in both England and South Africa.But the pressure to be thick is

immense. More so now than ever.

They are not encouraged by what they see in the media. Footballers earning millions, and apparent

morons enjoying successful careers, simply for getting their kit off. The dumber you are, it appears,

seems to propel you to stardom.

Why do we still educate, the way we do?

The school in a social context.

We are social animals and we work better when we work together. The education system in Britain

and many other industrialized countries, was set up to feed the needs of industry, business, finance

and commerce.

Secondary Modern schools were set up and organised to produce the raw material for factories and

industrial processes. The labourers, skilled labourers and if you were clever you might be lucky

enough to learn a trade, after a 5 to 7 year apprenticeship.

The UK Grammar school system was set up to 'skim off the cream' for the elite positions in society.

The current UK government, predominantly where educated in 'the public school system' (Eton,

Harrow ) These are very expensive private schools. Ironically Eton was originally set up to educate

'poor' children.

In a post industrialized society like Britain our education system Is out of date. The UK and US

education systems, both developed out of the revolution in farming and industrial innovation, that lead

to the industrial revolution in the 17th and 18th century. The school academic year, still reflects the

needs of farmers at harvest time.

The type of education you received, depended on your class background. It still does to a large

extent. The poor were "trained to the needs of industry". The rich children were taught to think. We

are now in a post industrial age, so why are we still teaching, in basically the same way.

The children from less affluent homes, (the poor) leave school ill equipped for the 21st century. The

rich are still taught to think, but seem to have become predominantly idle.

We currently have over 1 million unemployed young people in the UK. (under 25 years of age)

So what is the difference between advanced industrial societies, like Britain and the USA, and the

emerging or developing countries? As you can see from the photos. The schools in Cape Town,

South Africa appear like any school in a developed country.

The main difference is, that just about everyone is determined, that the children "must" learn. Not that

it would be 'nice'. They 'must' learn for their own futures. The parents and teachers put on fundraising

days, monthly, to try to raise money to buy "textbooks" for the children.

It's very hard to teach a child that is hungry; and many but not all of the schools are sponsored by

charities, who organise feeding days. Many schools in rural areas have no facilities at all, not even a

school building. These South African parents are definitely not dumb, and they are helping to produce

well educated children.

If we can learn anything from this, it is that "you get out, what you put in" Many Parents in developed

countries seem to have reneged on their responsibilities. In the developing countries, there is still the

idea that; if you don't contribute to the tribe you should be excluded.

This brings us back to the idea that we are social animals. We work better together than

independently. We are more than the sum of our parts. 10 people working together can achieve much

more that 10 individuals working alone.

How many teachers have heard an irresponsible parent comment.

"You are the teacher, you teach them"!

This is why we have so many reality TV shows, trying to teach these parents, how to teach their

children; rather than buy them a babysitting computer, or video games. It's really quite embarrassing.

Having been in South Africa for many years. Returning to the UK was surprising and a little shocking.

If you have been teaching in the UK continuously for many years, you may not have noticed the

steady drip, drip, drip of gradual change.

If you too had been away for a few years, then the changes would be stark and alarming to you too.

The way things have emerged in the UK education system is really quite astonishing. The attitude

that.

"The kids just need a computer, and they can teach themselves"

Teacher Shortage

We have a shortage of teachers in the UK. A stop gap solution has been to employ cover

supervisors. Some are highly skilled, others are just members of the public, mostly they have never

trained as teachers.

Even the most sensible child will start to play up, or stop working, when they know that the person

(cover supervisor) in front of them, has no clue, what work they are supposed to be doing. This is

very disruptive to those students that actually want to learn.

It takes many years to train as a teacher, and even more years to get good at it. The attitude amongst

many parents in the UK is.

"Who cares, it's your problem not mine. You're the teacher"

So if you wondering where the next Newton or Einstein is coming from. You know where to look. Your

child's education and achievement, is far too important to leave to chance. Isn't it about time, 'you'

took a more active role, in your children's educational futures.

Not everything is rosy, in these developing countries either. The difference is, the parents and

teachers of South Africa, are doing a great job, in spite of the SA government's lack of initiative, or

proper assistance.

We need those SA parents attitudes here in Britain. Sadly many politicians in SA, as well as here in

Britain, are self serving. The South African Government must step up and be counted, and remember

why they fought for power. To free the weak and oppressed. Not for a few politicians, and business

people to get rich.

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

George Santayana

16 December 1863 in Madrid, Spain – 26 September 1952

South Africa's politicians, who were put into power, by pressure from countries like the UK, USA and

EUROPE in general, have failed their people. The infrastructure is collapsing. Desmond Tutu is also

very disappointed.

As these elders voices fall quiet, where will this leave the people. SA Politicians have been, and

continue to enrich themselves and have abandoned their people. The South African education

system, is also in crisis, with no sign of any initiative coming from the government.

The teachers, parents and children, are working tirelessly to help, as they see the importance of

education. The ladder to success, is being pulled up by their own leaders. In the UK, we have laws

that protect your child's right to an education.

These laws were hard won over many years. They are being flouted and are gradually being eroded.

The cover supervisor is just one sign of things to come. Fortunately for parents in the UK, we still

have some laws protecting your child's education.

If you are not happy with the education and achievement of your child, you have someone to

complain too. Your local education department.

For how much longer who knows. Are UK Kids Dumber. You Decide.

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