Tag Archive for Northern Ireland

The dangers of teaching

05/03/2009 cfe 3 comments


Photo by jamelah

I don’t know why I’ve been thinking about this recently, but I have. It’s not really connected to anything else I’ve been posting, but I thought I’d put it up anyway.

Us teachers have more power than I think we often realise. It’s important for me to remind myself of this from time to time. The easiest way to do this, is to think back to my own time at secondary school. I went to a great school. I grew up in Northern Ireland and as I was fortunate enough to pass the dreaded 11-plus, I went to a grammar school. This school was therefore well funded, had the more able children and generally felt very much like a private school.

Despite this, with hindsight I am shocked at some of the teaching practices. I arrived at that school with the natural interest and enthusiasm displayed by many a primary 7 pupil. I was at the ‘top table’ in my primary school, and enjoyed most of the subjects we covered.

Seven years later, and I not only disliked a number of subjects, I was positively convinced I was no good at them and had no interest in them. Art, Music, English and History leap to mind as examples of this. It has then taken me a number of years to unlearn this. I have rediscovered a passion for reading and I love to devour a book. Ever since I got my first iPod, I’ve found that I do indeed love music. And I’ve also discovered a real interest in History and Politics.

Isn’t it awful that I spent seven years in a ‘learning institution’ and left with those attitudes! What if I hadn’t discovered a passion for Biology at that time? Where would I have been left then?

We get so caught up in pupils doing well in exams, that we often forget that for many of them it is more important that they leave with at least the level of interest they arrived with and that they are confident in their own abilities.

In fact, isn’t that the point of aCfE? Perhaps that is why this has been on my mind?

End of an era…or is it?

21/11/2008 assessment, change No comments

It would appear that Northern Ireland is trying to catch up with most of the rest of the UK by getting rid of the 11-plus.

I have mixed feelings regarding this. I know that it is not really politically correct to support the 11-plus (particluarly in Scotland), but it’s difficult not to when you’ve come through the system with a positive experience overall personally. I’ve actually taught in a grammar school as well, and enjoyed the benefits (and felt the pressures) from the other side.

I’ve always felt (from the age of 11) that the 11-plus system works if you pass it, and doesn’t if you don’t. I was well aware of the pressure on these exams even at that age! I obviously conceed that any system which benefits the minority over the majority can not be fair – but I still worry about its scrapping.

It would appear to me that scrapping the 11-plus has become a relatively straightforward popular political promise to make. However, the reality is much more complex. This will have a massive impact on education in Northern Ireland and needs to managed appropriately. I also happen to believe that education in the UK in general has a problem which is at least as unfair and problematic as the 11-plus exam – and that’s the one size fits all examination system. I know many efforts have been made to introduce and raise the status of vocational qualifications, but I still don’t feel that we value everyone’s talents and skills as highly as we ought to – both as a society and as an education/qualification system.

I’ve heard tales of continental European countries which value a carpentry/mechanic-type qualifcation much more in line with say a Physics ‘A’ Level/Higher equivalent. Is this true? Is this desirable? If so, how can we achieve this? Scrapping the 11-plus alone will not get us there…