Humanities - In the spotlight

20th April 2012, 1:00am

Share

Humanities - In the spotlight

https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/humanities-spotlight-1

Time for pupils to speak out

With the mayoral elections coming up, it’s a great time to get pupils engaged in debate and thinking about politics. TES partner First News has done just that, with its survey of 1,000 schoolchildren that reveals just how unhappy they are with education secretary Michael Gove’s plans for schools.

What the poll shows

86 per cent of pupils disagree with Gove’s plans to make exams tougher.

91 per cent say headteachers should not be allowed to search them.

91 per cent disagree with the proposal for after-school detentions with less than 24 hours’ notice.

55 per cent are not happy that Gove is in charge of education.

64 per cent don’t believe his ideas will help them to be among the best pupils in the world.

What pupils say

“There needs to be more focus on children learning and becoming better people, rather than just a page of GCSEs. If you want children to want to learn, you need to give kids more freedom in what they learn. You need to teach them more about life,” says one 14-year-old pupil.

What else?

Pupils can debate with MPs on the HeadsUP forum. Or test their political knowledge with alainechristian’s “name that politician” quiz.

Want to keep reading for free?

Register with Tes and you can read two free articles every month plus you'll have access to our range of award-winning newsletters.

Keep reading for just £1 per month

You've reached your limit of free articles this month. Subscribe for £1 per month for three months and get:

  • Unlimited access to all Tes magazine content
  • Exclusive subscriber-only stories
  • Award-winning email newsletters
Recent
Most read
Most shared