Some thoughts on exams...

I have been having a lot of thoughts about the whole exams things, and really I have two views about everything.

Firstly, I would agree with Ted Wragg, who I met at a conference in 2000 and who said that people take their driving test when they are ready, so why aren't all exams like that? It seems to make sense. It would also make sense for people to be able to study the things they want to study.

What does not make sense is for exams to be so puerile, and for the exam system to be so geared to making sure everybody can pass on some level, and for certain exams to be compulsory, when it all adds up to a big FAIL!?

I have helped two of my 5 home educated children through the compulsory education years, and both of them have ended with a desire to do GCSEs. The first because she quite liked the idea of learning things, and has turned out to be quite academic and the second because she wanted to get into college to do what she wants to do.

Although I should point out that she started out wanting to do Psychology and Biology because they sounded interesting. I think it would have been great to do those, but we did struggle with finding a place for her to do them, and she wanted to do her formal learning in a structured setting. In the end, we gave up and she did English and Maths, because she decided to just jump through the hoops, and English was the only course we could get her enrolled on. We ended up doing the Maths at home anyway, although rather haphazardly, because she was so busy doing other things, and all she wanted was a C anyway. Again, with the hoop jumping, and how it demotivates people. She went from somebody who wanted to learn somethign interesting, to somebody who just wanted to pass what They wanted her to pass. :-(

On the subject of the exams themselves, I don't think they represent quality or knowledge. It is difficult to help your children through this system, and recognize that they are working hard, when you don't value what it is they are trying to achieve. Because they are not necessarily trying to achieve anything, they just want to get through. The curriculum does not allow for a lot of true learning to happen. And yes, many of the exams are just so basic, that I really could not believe it. The foundation Maths paper is something that 10 year olds should be able to do. My eldest managed to get all As at A level, and still got to university not knowing how to reference an essay. That is something I started learning when I was 13-14.

Which makes one wonder, how is the schooling system failing children to such an extent, turning them off of learning to such an extent, that they cannot perform as competent people in society. Questions on the exam included things about reading train time tables. Yes there were harder questions but really, are we so desperate  to help people accomplish things, that we give them such low goals? Who can be proud of accomplishing some crap that somebody else tells them to anyway?!

I do believe that if we are going to have an exam system, it should be worth having.  Nothing should be compulsory. If one wants to do a physics GCSE, or a Chinese GCSE, or Law, just because they sound interesting, then one should be able to do so. But the exams should be worth doing, the curriculum should be thorough, and the exam should require study. And why are you not able to learn things without having to take bloody exams?! Desiring knowledge for its own sake is a good thing!

I acknowledge the fact that I have a tendancy to academic snobbery, which is ironic considering I am little more than an over-educated housewife. However, I do not believe that everybody should have to do academic subjects.  I just think that academic subjects, SHOULD BE ACADEMIC!!! I really do not care if my plumber or my mechanic have grade B English GCSE. I do not value my neighbours by their academic achievements. People have value on several different levels, and I resent a system that only values grades and certificates. And yet, because  of that very system, those grades and certificates are rendered largely meaningless.

If one has a talent for mechanics, brilliant. If one has a talent for numbers, fantastic. If one is good with children, wonderful. If one is musical, excellent. If one wants to spend one's life contemplating the fabric on the universe, that is fine. If one wants to get a job of drudgery in order to earn some dosh to pursue other interests, that is fine, too.

What is not fine, is an education system which is dictated by government and business rather than by learners. You will notice I do not say parents and teachers, because parents and teachers have their own agenda. 'Teachers' should be those who help learners achieve their own goals. And the sad thing is, that the system we have now distorts learners' goals.

What is not fine, is a whole system where the idea of success is measured by financial goals. Get a good education, get good grades, get a good job, make lots of money. Pay your taxes, and instill those values in the next generation.  It doesn't work like that. People are not happy achieving somebody else's goals. But the education system is so screwed, that people don't even know what they want anymore. That vacuum is filled with the desire for money and celebrity.

Young people who do know what they want to do, are prevented from doing so because they haven't got Maths and English. The system puts obstacles in the way of learners at every level. One cannot study things out of order, or things that are meant to be for older or younger people, or things that are obscure because it is not financially viable to put on courses for just a handful of people, and after all there are 7 complusory subjects on the National Curriculum. You are so busy doing what you HAVE to do, that you forget what you WANT to do.

     
I know there is more to say, but my blood pressure is rising, and for all of my education, the only thing I can think of to say about this is, "What a load of bollocks!"