Education without failure

1
Education without failure

• Is it an impossible dream?
• Can the 21st Century school do better
• than its predecessors?

2
The Task

• I was supposed to be a welfare statistic. It
  is because of a teacher that I sit at this table.
  I remember her telling us one cold, miserable
  day that she could not make our clothing better
  she could not provide us with food she could not
  change the terrible segregated conditions under
  which we lived. She could introduce us to the
  world of reading, the world of books and that is
  what she did.
• What a world! I visited Asia and Africa. I saw
  magnificent sunsets I tasted exotic foods I
  fell in love and danced in wonderful halls. I
  ran away with escaped slaves and stood beside a
  teenage martyr. I visited lakes and streams and
  composed lines of verse. I knew then that I
  wanted to help children do the same things, I
  wanted to weave magic.
• (From evidence submitted to The National
  Commission
• on Teaching and Americas future, 1999.)

3
Purposes of Education

• Skillseconomic
• Culture....social
• Citizenship.moral

4
The Contexts

• The Schools
• Strong Achievement Culture
• Tenuous hold on Achievement Culture
• Fingertip hold on Achievement Culture
• Estate Schools
• Crossroads Schools
• Schools in Affluent Areas

5
The Values

• Success not Failure
• Multifaceted not General
• Inclusive not Exclusive
• Ipsative Formative not Normative
• Lifelong not Once and for all

6
Outstanding Teaching

• Beliefs
• Transformability rather than ability of children
• Success for all not some
• Intelligence is multi-faceted
• Every child needs a worthwhile relationship with
  at least one adult it may not be them
• A childs failure to learn is a challenge to
  their teaching strategies not a sign of inability
  on the part of the child
• A child showing great effort in learning is a
  sign of their character not their lack of ability

7
Outstanding Teaching

• Habits and behaviours
• Always improve their story telling technique
• Always polish their skill in questioning
• Always extend their best explanations
• Observe other colleagues techniques
• Sing from the same song sheet up to a point
• Treat teaching as a co-operative activity use
  we a lot
• Store and share videos and/or dvds of best
  explanations for student use
• Use formative and ipsative assessment in marking
• Teach alongside, behind and in front of
  youngsters
• Share leadership and management
• Teach in the corridors
• Share their hyacinths in learning

8
The Passionate Teacher

• Of some of our teachers, we remember their
  foibles and mannerisms, of others, their kindness
  and encouragement, or their fierce devotion to
  standards of work that we probably did not share
  at the time. And of those who inspired us most,
  we remember what they cared about, and that they
  cared about us, and the person we might become.
  It is the quality of caring about ideas and
  values, this fascination with the potential for
  growth within people, this depth and fervour
  about doing things well and striving for
  excellence, that comes closest to what I mean in
  describing a passionate teacher.
• Robert Fried

9

• The teachers talk about teaching
• The teachers observe each others practices
• The teachers plan, organise, monitor and evaluate
  together
• The teachers teach each other

10
Current Issues

• Curriculum changes
• National
• Local
• International
• Personalisation
• Every Child Matters
• School Improvement
• The essential pieces in the jigsaw of a
  successful school

11
School Improvement

• Data
• The Curriculum
• Learning Technologies
• The buildings
• School organisational changes
• Belonging to more than one school

12
Family of schools of similar socio-economic
background
Rate of improvement over 3 years
QUADRANT B
QUADRANT A
2 X
1 X
10 X
4 X
11 X
3 X
12 X
5 X
13 X
X
Average of all schools
14 X
6 X
15 X
16 X
7 X
8 X
17 X
18 X
9 X
QUADRANT C
QUADRANT D
Key Stage 2, 3 or GCSE Key X These
are 18 schools, numbered 1 - 18
13
The 21st Century School
Some of the features of the 21st century school

• The need for a homebase but belonging to more
  than one school
• Metronomic and non-metronomic timetables
• Sets of agreed experiences
• The learning technologies
• Support staff

14
What will the mature 21st Century School look
like?

• A curriculum that is explicitly international,
  national and local
• A curriculum that includes a set of young
  peoples experiences both within and beyond the
  school designed to support and stimulate their
  learning and that provides opportunities for
  co-production and enterprise
• Pupil access to coaching at specified times and
  bespoke learning reinforcement at any time during
  the week

15
What will the mature 21st Century School look
like?

• Pupil access to best in class explanations of
  key concepts at any time
• Individual pupil access to taking external
  exams/curriculum level tests when they are ready
  to succeed
• Pupils who maintain a planned out of school
  portfolio of experiences and learning replacing
  homework
• Planned chunked and intensive courses and
  experiences

16
What will the mature 21st Century School look
like?

• Continuous staff development including planned
  and focussed visits to other comparable schools
  and best in class practice
• A research programme
• Shared back office services and a shared
  programme of professional development and pupil
  enrichment with other partner schools
• Formal and active links with other professionals
  and community groups within the community