Hearing the daily drivel about what the Government is doing to improve educational standards, I have to wonder what they really know about normal, everyday people.
While the 'experts' pontificate about all sorts of educational theories, the rest of us try to deal with the real world. In my case, I have no children of my own but know a variety of teenagers through their parents. In one particular case that I'm thinking of, I try very hard to convince a 14 year old that she should work harder at school in order to fulfill her potential; given today's fancy for encouraging everyone to aspire to University, she certainly should be looking in that direction, however, she is far more interested in playing with her 'phone and doing as little as possible in order to avoid being considered 'nerdy'. Sadly, her parents, who are divorced, don't seem to have any real interest in their daughter's education.
My young friend, let's call her Gertrude, is an intelligent teenager, far more intelligent and 'commonsensical' than many of her peer group, but she is intractible when it comes to her own education, potential and future. She appears to have little or no ambition, has no real idea of what she wants to do in adult life, and sees achieving her 'predicted' school exam results as being all that is necessary. Any suggestion that she could achieve better results with a bit of effort is met with a scowl.
Why is this ? The answer is simple yet denied and even ignored by those in power. In any school environment, being part of a group is important; being a loner is to be considered strange, weird and is an invitation to abuse and bullying. In a comprehensive school environment, the most powerful are often the most stupid; those with a ha'peth of brains are frightened into denying their innate intelligence and thus do whatever they can to deny their own intelligence in order not to be considered clever or 'nerdy'. To add insult to injury, the imbecilic practice of telling children their predicted grades months in advance of their exams simply depresses any desire to better themselves. It becomes good enough to simply achieve whatever grade teacher has predicted, whether that is a real reflection of the child's ability or not, and denies many children the opportunity of achieving their true potential.
While all of this is happening, our Glorious Leaders embrace the celebrity culture, which is far more attractive to young people; they 'knight' characters such as McCartney, John, Jagger and Geldof, plus a ridiculous array of other media and sports 'stars'. They seem to feel it's necessary to refer to their adherence to the music of the Arctic Monkeys etc. in order to gain approval, all of which tells the youngsters that celebrity is where their futures lie. The popular media concentrates on this same celebrity culture and places far more emphasis on the doings of some inconsequential character in some TV soap than it does on anything to do with real life. As a result, far too many of the younger generation seem to believe that their own futures lie in this ridiculous fairyland rather than in any real world in which educational attainment has any importance.
I hope I can eventually convince Gertrude that she is worth more than her 'predicted grades'; I'd like to think that she might fulfill her true potential, but the odds are against her. Many people will say it's all down to her, but they'd be wrong; it's actually all down to her parents and other adults around her, and to the educational environment created by the Government and media. If the adults show little or no interest and the media, aided by the Government, emphasises only the possibilities associated with 'celebrtity', what chance do most of the children have ?
Will anyone ever put things right ?
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