Jill,
a friend who works at a local infant school calls. She's out with Tessa(right) so decided she'd call in. How are things at school these
days?
'Well,
they're not the same as they were when I started there. Today every minute
of the day is accounted for. There's a literacy hour and a numeracy hour
every morning and teachers are encouraged to meet performance targets
but there's never time for the more spontaneous things we used to do.
Everything has to be structured. Things are planned a year in advance.
'One
fine afternoon we decided to take the class out for a walk. We weren't
supposed to really, it doesn't happen these days, but the children loved
it. They were thrilled to be out there, it was such a change and they
enjoyed things like picking up acorns. We got so much work out of that
walk; writing and drawing.
'At
one time if a child brought something they'd found into school, an old
nest for example, you'd talk to the children about it, relate it to spring
and what's happening in the countryside but today, because things are
so structured, there's no time for that.
'There's
always a new initiative: you learn to use one system then a year later
that's all finished and a new one is introduced. Children aren't seen
as individuals any more: they're treated like so many little pots that
need filling continuously.'
Jill,
a friend who works at a local infant school calls. She's out with Tessa
(right) so decided she'd call in. How are things at school these
days?
'Well,
they're not the same as they were when I started there. Today every minute
of the day is accounted for. There's a literacy hour and a numeracy hour
every morning and teachers are encouraged to meet performance targets
but there's never time for the more spontaneous things we used to do.
Everything has to be structured. Things are planned a year in advance.
'One
fine afternoon we decided to take the class out for a walk. We weren't
supposed to really, it doesn't happen these days, but the children loved
it. They were thrilled to be out there, it was such a change and they
enjoyed things like picking up acorns. We got so much work out of that
walk; writing and drawing.
'At
one time if a child brought something they'd found into school, an old
nest for example, you'd talk to the children about it, relate it to spring
and what's happening in the countryside but today, because things are
so structured, there's no time for that.
'There's
always a new initiative: you learn to use one system then a year later
that's all finished and a new one is introduced. Children aren't seen
as individuals any more: they're treated like so many little pots that
need filling continuously.'