As a parent, the worry you haven’t fully prepared your child for life outside your protection never goes away. From the moment you drop them off for the first day of school, to the day you help them move into their own home, and beyond, the question “did I do enough?” remains.
Of course, the truth every parent knows is that we always feel we could do more. And that as our young people grow and leave us, all we can do is trust the tears wiped and conversations shared will join with the other forces for good in their lives to carry them through.
In this way, I have found being a teacher is very much like being a parent - but of several dozen different teenagers every year. As youngsters across Britain collect their GCSE results today, teachers hold their breath wondering if the time spent in stuffy revision rooms helped their students get the top grades which claim to be the building blocks for the next stage of their lives. For many youngsters, parents and teachers today will be one for celebrating. For others, there may be tears - and plans redrawn.
Whatever the results envelopes say today, something parents and teachers alike know is that our children, with all their weird and wonderful ways, are worth so much more than the grades they receive. And that the most important preparation for life happens outside of the classroom. From learning to share with a sibling, to dealing with a difficult colleague during a Saturday job, these are the skills which will prepare them for life - not just exams. So why hasn’t our education system cottoned on?
In a system which declares grades are king, the pressure on our children to succeed is immense and growing. Warnings three years ago that over-focus on exams was causing an increase in self-harm, eating disorders and other mental health issues seem to have fallen on deaf ears, as this year’s GCSE cohort was subjected to the government’s latest education experiment.
The old system, which combined coursework and testing, is being phased out in favour of end-of-course exams, with young people sitting roughly eight hours more exams than under the old system. Similar changes to A levels saw results this year hit an eight-year low. Unsurprisingly, school leaders warned earlier this week that the GCSE changes had caused increased stress and anxiety among pupils.
To add fuel to the fire, in recent years the GCSE courses on offer have been whittled away as schools strain under almost £3bn of government cuts in the last three years - with creative arts subjects the first to go. The number of students being entered for creative subjects fell by a quarter between 2012 and 2017, prompting warnings that the future of the arts industry could be under threat as a result.
The increased focus on exams, the obsession with league tables and good grades, and the axing of creative subjects have together created a toxic education cocktail which only caters for one type of child. While those who are academically inclined and have a stable home behind them can excel, others are left behind. Just one look at figures released this week which reveal deaf children have fallen almost one quarter behind their peers since 2012 - with year-on-year cuts to special education needs provision to blame - show that it is the children in need of greatest support who will suffer the most.
Of course, the government’s fixation with testing doesn’t only affect our teenagers. News last year that Sats for seven-year-olds will be scrapped was welcome - but with the introduction of baseline assessments for four-year-olds, new multiplication table tests, and greater emphasis on Year 6 SATs, we are still subjecting our children to these pointless, pressurised tests.
Not even teachers are exempt, yet to reverse the erosion of our education system we must start by equipping and allowing them to do what they do best: teach. That means reversing years of cuts which have devastated schools - and abolishing Ofsted to free teachers from their own form of pointless testing.
The great tragedy of the pressure on schools to teach to the test is just how poorly it prepares our children for life after the exam hall. Schools should be places that nurture our children to grow in maturity, gain confidence, learn how to ask questions, find inspiration and develop a love for learning. These are the things which will equip them to leave the classroom as independent young people ready to step into their futures. Instead of saddling them with memories of pressurised targets and stress.
Vix Lowthion is a secondary school teacher and the Green Party’s education spokesperson
