Comments on: UK Education Secretary Debates Testing Regime

By: Sian

Sian — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 20:16:25 +0000

Dear Linda I noticed that you have made really well informed comments and googled you – are you the same person who is a director of the ICS team. I am very interested in the work you do. I used to be a teacher but am now developing my own business which is aiming towards using puppets, drama, music, movement, craft and NLP to develop children’s confidence and communication skills. I am still in the process of studying and am using my puppets, music and games to entertain children. I am based in the UK.

By: Sian

Sian — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 19:52:33 +0000

I am talking about schools in the UK and I don’t believe that I was being disrespectful to anyone. All I was saying was that children are tested between key stages informally using tests that are similar in format to the SATs tests in year six. Some children need a different approach to learning (by the way they are taught) than through testing because they already are below the level expected for their age. When children fall too far behind they lack confidence and become disaffected and then misbehave. That is all I was saying and I think that it is good that they are exploring all avenues to deal with the issue.

By: David

David — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 18:53:51 +0000

Can I suggest that this sentence from the above article -

“Education standards in the UK have been a major national concern in the wake of last year’s riots, which many groups are attributing to a disaffected youth failed by the current education system”

be replaced with this sentence -

“Education standards in the UK have been a major national concern in the wake of last year’s riots, which many groups are attributing to a disaffected youth failed by THEIR PARENTS.”

By: Linda Brees

Linda Brees — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:25:08 +0000

Yeah, it’s excellent that you offer your opinion on what “they” need to learn when you apparently have so little respect for the writer of this article and your fellow commenters that you actually failed to read it at all. This article is about schools in the UK not the U.S.

By: Sian

Sian — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:50:56 +0000

Schools tend to test every year using optional SATs. I think that testing is not going to be beneficial for the so called disaffected because they probably need to be educated in a different way, a lot of them lack confidence and need to be given the opportunity to find their non academic strengths. A lot of them lack respect and need to learn it.

By: John Cunningham

John Cunningham — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:55:38 +0000

I do object to the words disaffected and underclass!
Words like this ‘disengage’ people even more. Perhaps if people, govt ministers, media knew how to engage with these people groups properly we may see a solid way forward.

By: Doug

Doug — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 13:21:49 +0000

The issue is not, and never has been testing. The issue is poverty, concentrated poverty and income polarization.