THAT pupils are shunning maths for so-called “softer” subjects should come as no surprise to anyone who has observed the soulless utilitarianism that has swamped mainstream education.
Rather than focusing on narrow empiricist “explanations” of this trend, researchers should cast their explanatory net far wider to the very nature of modern education itself.
Children’s innate love of learning is being strained to breaking-point by a system obsessed with a low-trust “surveillance” mentality that imposes upon them a regime of crassly simplistic performance measurement and relentless testing to provide sound-bite “evidence” for politicians to claim “success” in their drive to raise “standards”.
Until a sea-change is embraced by the educational establishment, subjects like maths will become less attractive as children use their initiative to rebalance a wholly unbalanced and alienating national curriculum through their choice of subjects.
Dr Richard House Norfolk Steiner Education Initiative 13 Denbigh Road Norwich, Norfolk
