Chris Woodhead, the chief inspector in recent speeches has quoted out of context from Peter Wood’s book on primary teaching. The hapless teacher he insists on quoting is referring to the need to allow children to explore topics without being given the right answer by the teacher. On one occasion, at the Politeia debate, he actually asked members of the audience: “Would you like your child to be taught by this teacher?”
If Mr Woodhead is so violently opposed to children being allowed to speculate or explore hypotheses, can he explain to a bemused profession why we are teaching investigations in maths and science as part of the national curriculum?
ROWIE SHAW Director of Professional Services National Association of Head Teachers
