COVID has reduced the time students spend physically in learning centres. Current hand wringing by Gavin Williamson centres around the premise of how to enable them to ‚’catch up‚’ with suggestions such as reducing the number of exam questions or providing the topics in advance ‚’ what a nonsense! If Queen Victoria parachuted into an average secondary school today she would recognise a lot of what is actually being taught though perhaps not the method being employed. This is a fantastic opportunity to take a pruning saw to the curriculum we impose upon our young people. Look at the range of skills we need as a country, add in the personal characteristics of the sort of person who we would want to see as a member of our community and then look at ways we can create that within our education structure. Lockdown has shown just how many people can work from home ‚’ the internet provides the information needed ‚’ who needs to learn by heart nowadays? How much of what we did in O‚’/GCSE/A‚’levels or even our degrees is really of use in what we do now? The age of maturation continues to decline ‚’ yet it is not recognised ‚’ Gavin Williamson continually refers to children which I find unbelievably offensive as exam age youngsters can vote or marry in parts of the UK ‚’ but that is typical of the attitude. We are short of people with essential skills ‚’ our education system devalued people wanting to go into service industries. If I am ill I want an empathetic nurse at my bedside ‚’ not one with letters after his or her name. Too many youngsters are written off because they are square pegs being forced into a round hole instead of being allowed to fly
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