Since writing about my step-daughter and highers last week, I’ve received some good feedback from and MSP, parents, teachers and educationalists.
Before I go into that, an update. It’s now Wednesday of the holidays and my step-daughter has been into school on ever weekday of the holiday, apart from Easter Monday. She’s also done lots of work when at home. She’s not really her normal self, is a bit tetchy and showing some signs of being fed up. (I offer cups of tea, hugs and chocolate feeling a bit helpess)
I have found out that the school my step-daughter attends is paying staff to work in the Easter holidays. For me that raises many, many questions. What else could be done with that money? What if your family have already booked a holiday in the Easter holidays (because booking in term-time is strongly discouraged by schools, but encouraged by pricing structures of the holiday sector), surely you don’t have equality of opportunity for this use of public money? Are the teachers being paid a universal teacher rate (i.e. teachers daily rater or supply rates) ? How much pressure is put on teachers to do this? Do the public know teachers are being paid overtime to get the grades which will be trumpeted as a triumph for Scottish Education/ Government / Political Parties when the results are announced? Do we have a true financial cost?
Feedback: You can read Amanda Wilson’s feelings in the comments below the original post. Thanks again for your time
Mark Priestley said:
@jillberry102 @robertd1981 @kennypieper @cijane02 unfortunately CfE has become conflated with haphazardly implemented qualifications
— Mark Priestley (@MarkRPriestley) April 12, 2015
and
@jillberry102 @robertd1981 @kennypieper @cijane02 CfE has become assimilated into existing system to detriment of many original aspirations
— Mark Priestley (@MarkRPriestley) April 12, 2015
If you haven’t come across Mark and his work before, this is a good place to start.
Iain Gray MSP said:
@robertd1981 We have tried to raise concerns of e.g EIS about new exams, but so far to no avail. Will return to it when SP returns though.
— Iain Gray (@IainGrayMSP) April 13, 2015
Angela Constance replied:
@robertd1981 please email -cabinetsecretaryforeducationandlifelonglearning@scotland.gsi.gov.uk with link to ur blog & u will get full reply
— Angela Constance (@AConstanceMSP) April 14, 2015
I will publish her reply in full when I receive it.
Jak tweeted:
@robertd1981 interesting view ‘re highers. My view is teachers are over-teaching, adding content they don’t need instead of applying skills
— jak (@aladytweetcher) April 14, 2015
As well as these reponses I have received a long and sincere e-mail from a teacher who sympathises and dislikes the current system.
I have also received many favourable comments on FB as well as face to face when meeting parents of children of all ages in person.
I ended my initial post thus: This isn’t progress. This isn’t creating an education system better than the oft-mocked English system I described earlier. This isn’t good enough.
It seems I’m not alone in those thoughts.