Are good grades, the be all and end all, are 'bad' grades the end?
GCSE results and the unsustainable pressure on our children...
"Thursday will have brought mixed emotions for many parents and young people (Fall in GCSE grades blamed on school 'exam' factories, 23 August). Those without five A*-C grades may be (wrongly) believing that life is over and those with great results may be (wrongly) believing that life will now be wonderful. The belief, fostered by the educational establishment, that those with at least five passes have a magic entree to a meaningful and fulfilling life, and that others are somehow doomed, is nonsense. A couple of examples of an opposite picture might help.
Illustration: John Holcroft Illustration: John Holcroft
Tim came to our alternative education college at age 14 after two years out of school. He showed a talent at drawing and two years later he took four GCSEs, gaining one C, two Ds and an E. He took his portfolio to the local further education college and they commented at interview that, as he had learned to manage his own learning, he was likely to be successful in college. This proved correct as he gained the prize for the best student and went on to university. After he graduated, his work for a hospital won an award for the best use of visual art in healthcare. He now has a very successful self-employed career and a growing reputation.
John came to us having been out of school for some years and he took just two GCSEs but managed to persuade the local sixth-form college to take him to study AS-levels. He is now at university having passed his three A-levels. And we have more examples like this.
The problem is that most schools are really bad at helping their students to explore options beyond 16. They often fail to work with each individual to help them to make good choices about how to progress and hence this country has the problem of young people not continuing their education. In 13 years, all our 16-year-old students have gone on to FE or sixth-form colleges. Some have impeccable GCSE passes but many don't. We believe that an educational institution should be judged more on its ability to prepare young people for life and not on exam passes.
The supposedly successful can also find problems. Many are shunted into the wrong courses just because they have good GCSE passes and then end up on the wrong degrees. This again occurs because there is an obsession with exam-passing to the detriment of real support for young people to help them to navigate a complex world and make good choices about the kind of life they want to lead.
Dr Ian Cunningham
Self Managed Learning College, Brighton"
http://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/aug/23/gcses-unsustainable-pressure-pupilsIgnorance is bliss, bliss is happiness, I am happy...to draw your attention to the possible connectivity in the foregoing.
