Shrink wrapped

13th October 2000, 1:00am
“It’s great. They tell you exactly what to do.”

“You’ve enough to do. They take the burden of planning away.”

“Even if you’re not confident, you can deliver the curriculum now.”

MATHS from the Borders, writing from North Lanarkshire, science from Renfrewshire, personal and social education from Wiltshire - the whole curriculum seems to come prepacked in some schools. Imagine I am a potential recruit to teaching. I am bright, confident, well-qualified. Alongside teaching,

I am considering careers in business and the law.

I expect to have some autonomy in my work, to exercise my

judgmet, to consider problems creatively, to engage in debate with colleagues. I expect to use

my education.

I am not looking for a delivery role. Neither am I interested in instructing, in being a technician. A prescribed curriculum with regulated assessments may support comprehensive coverage but it may also endanger the essence of education.

Creativity, initiative, personal response and questioning in both teacher and pupil may be sacrificed in such a system. Both teachers and pupils may quickly feel like packing it in.

Roseleen Mazza

Murieston Drive

Murieston

Livingston