Dear madam: letters to the editor 6/9/18

In this week’s postbag of letters to the editor, Tes readers discuss the EBacc, pupil choice and the North-South divide
6th September 2018, 4:06pm

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Dear madam: letters to the editor 6/9/18

https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/dear-madam-letters-editor-6918
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The EBacc isn’t worthy of its name

Isn’t it a little odd how we have created a “measure” with the word “baccalaureate” in the title, whereas the (European) baccalaureate I took is regarded as a “qualification” (ditto the International variant)?

I presume we have adopted this word as part of our EBacc measure to emphasise a broad and rigorous curriculum. I concur entirely with the sentiments expressed in the article “Are we squeezing the life out of the curriculum?” (see 31 August magazine; online article free to subscribers) in lamenting the limiting of the curriculum as a result of this “measure”. However, the European Baccalaureate I took included (and still includes) two periods of compulsory PE until the end of Year 13, which counts (literally) towards your final average result as part of your formative assessment grade for PE. You can also take music, art, economics and sociology as part of this qualification. The “EBacc” does not deserve to have the word “baccalaureate” associated with it.

Corinna Ferros
Head of sociology, St Anne’s Catholic High School, London N13


 

It’s all about what the pupils know

Two recent articles (“Are exams devouring the secondary curriculum”, 24 August; “Gripped by the script”, 31 August; see magazines, online articles free to subscribers) show a serious misunderstanding of the role of assessment.

Assessment is not about confirming what has been taught, rather what pupils know, understand and can do. This misunderstanding is the reason why national curriculum levels were removed.

Accurate assessment requires pupils to demonstrate their learning in a novel situation. Pupils need the opportunity to display inspiration, curiosity and unfocused learning; they are not clay pots to be filled with facts they regurgitate. Each piece of work should end with a challenge. I always found that the solutions pupils produced were far more interesting than I could ever imagine and permitted effective assessment of their learning.

John Pearce
Retired teacher, Merseyside


 

Children in the North deserve the best

Opportunities are limited in our rural, coastal and outlying areas, as Sarah Ledger points out (“You’re right, it is grim up North”, 31 August; see magazine, online article free to subscribers). But before readers shout, “Well, it’s all proportional, isn’t it? Not many people live there...”, let me point out that these areas are the homes of over 10 million people. Imagine if the same number in a well-known urban centre had to operate under the same conditions we do. We’d hear the outcry on Hadrian’s Wall. 

Carlisle has a tiny university; the county has limited graduate employment. Cumbria and Northumbria are two of the areas known for the lowest levels of social mobility, and Carlisle itself was named as one of the five “coldest” areas for social mobility in last year’s Social Mobility Commission report. Yet we have no government “opportunity areas”.

We are as far away from a free school as it’s possible to be - yes, we are that place. But, before you say, “Well, why don’t you work somewhere else then?”, let me remind you that every single child deserves the best teachers possible; deserves the best-funded schools possible; deserves teachers who are supported, connected and developed; and deserves the opportunities that their peers in more densely populated areas can enjoy and benefit from. And if you’re nodding along...come and work up here, too. 

Lisa Pettifer
Carlisle, Cumbria


 

How motivation affects behaviour

Alex Quigley is right to criticise the simplistic application of B.F. Skinner’s ideas in schools (“A teacher’s hunt for evidence on whether motivation really matters”, 17 August; see magazine, online article free to subscribers).

But there is more to them of interest to teachers than just “sticks and carrots”. For example, reward and punishment are not equal and opposite in their effects (as the phrase suggests and some people believe). Reinforcers increase the long-term probability of the response they immediately follow, but punishment only temporarily suppresses the response they follow. “Immediately” is important; rewards (or punishments) delayed to the end of the day are less effective.

This can be illustrated by the shouting matches that have sometimes been known to occur in classrooms. The teacher cries “Keep quiet!”, and the class quietens a bit. An immediate reduction in noise (negatively) reinforces the teacher’s behaviour, but the class’s talking has been punished and is only temporarily suppressed. The pupils start talking again (behaviour that has been reinforced in the past by mutual interest and attention). The teacher’s response has been reinforced, so they shout again. Once more, the noise level is reduced, but probably not as much as the first time.

Intermittent reinforcement, which can generate persistent behaviour very resistant to extinction, may occur. In animal experiments, every lever press needs to be reinforced at first with a food pellet. But soon the reinforcers can be given intermittently and the ratio of responses to reinforcers gradually increased until the rat presses the lever hundreds of times for one pellet. Pupils may inadvertently put their teacher on an intermittent reinforcement schedule.

Humans aren’t rats but we are animal cousins, and sometimes a teacher can go on shouting even though it has limited effect. An extreme example of the power of intermittent reinforcement is the gambler who continues gambling until he’s lost all his money.

Large reinforcers in the classroom (an honours board, certificates of merit) can increase pupil learning behaviours, but, as the article mentions, they can also reduce intrinsic motivation. Self theory suggests that if we perceive our behaviour to be a response to external incentives, we tend to think we are only behaving that way because of the rewards; our motivation is extrinsic. But if we cannot perceive any external incentive, we assume we behave like that’s because it’s our nature; our motivation is intrinsic.

By contrast, small reinforcers - a quiet “well done/good effort, James” - can be very effective, because pupils do not usually perceive them an external incentives.

A commonly used technique combines both punishment and reward.
Teacher: “Should you be doing that, Jason?”
Jason: “No, miss.”
Teacher: “What should you be doing?”
Jason: “Putting my stuff away.”
Teacher: “That’s right. Good boy.”


Unfortunately, research suggests that intrinsic motivation typically gets less during a pupil’s school career, and teachers tend to underestimate the importance of extrinsic motivation to older pupils. Where there is very limited intrinsic motivation, extrinsic incentives are our only resource. If a pupil then experiences some success, it’s possible they may experience intrinsic rewards - the knowledge of their own achievements and parental or even peer esteem. Some schools have produced striking improvements in academic attainments by making money rewards contingent upon attendance, completing assignments, good behaviour, etc. It’s not a good idea to use low grades as a punishment.

David Brook
Via email


 

Why not give pupils what they want?

When I taught in secondary schools, I resented the fact that I was as much a police officer as an educator.  The emphasis was on control. I found myself channelling pupils’ energies into activities with which often they had no affinity whatsoever. But they were not allowed to do their own thing.

Yet life is precisely that, and human beings are disgruntled when they cannot pursue their own ambitions. In school, this disgruntlement translates into all manner of disruptive behaviour when a “real character” becomes a pain as he seeks a better time than he is having. The result? Unpleasantness, pain, stress, waste.

In a compulsory system, a degree of control is necessary. But today’s students are controlled in the very clothes they wear. And so skirts become too high, shirts are out, ties are slack. They hit back. Secondary schools are hotbeds of conflict where the one tries to direct and manage whilst the other seeks to escape the discipline and soul-destroying rigidity of often pointless tuition. 

What is wrong with allowing young people to ditch the unwanted study of knowledge they have no wish to make theirs? They could make good use of the time saved taking in learning more relevant to their needs. They desire to succeed and achieve. Their efforts to do so should be promoted, not thwarted; their chosen paths facilitated, not limited. The difference is an education valuable in its provision of what students identify as a worthwhile use of their time, as opposed to one beset with disinterest and frustration, prescribed and policed by teachers.

A.J. Marsden
Retired secondary school teacher, Bury, Lancashire


 

We need a balanced curriculum

One of the aims of education is to centre on the students’ needs and to inspire and nurture learning. I, like many others, believe that education is also about lifelong learning and getting balance in and out of the classroom, for both professionals and students alike.

However, I am increasingly concerned at how toxic the system is becoming. For me, the whole point of progression is to change and adapt, so that past mistakes are avoided. There seems to be an obsession in education with all things quantifiable, despite the fact that we are all different and contexts vary dramatically.

We have seen a concerning trend for students to have their GCSE choices narrowed by the EBacc. There is a very real external pressure on schools for students to have their “Progress 8 buckets filled” - a  term I have grown to really dislike. But who is this for? Not the students. Not the teachers.

As a result, many students are ultimately disengaged with learning as early as Year 9, as they are forced to choose subjects that they can place into a “bucket”. There seems to be no room for individuality.

This trend to narrow the curriculum has not only impacted on results, but also progression on to sixth form and, most importantly, students’ love of learning and their mental wellbeing.

I am hearing more and more students say they want to leave education. Not because they feel this is the best option for them, but because they are bored of being “educated to”.

If students have a broad choice of options at GCSE, they will feel listened to, cared for, valued and will, in turn, enjoy learning and succeed. A balanced curriculum is not only fun and enjoyable to learn and teach but also essential: the future is uncertain and we need to be able to adapt to a changing world.

Katie Tyler
Ashingdon, Essex

If you would like to send in a letter for publication online, please email TES.letters@tesglobal.com. Submissions should be a maximum of 200 words and may be edited.

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