Educating Ruby (20 page)

Why do schools do what they do? If the case we are making for a different kind of school is so compelling, how come many more schools are not going down this route? The answer is that, although there is much rhetoric in England to the effect that schools have been given greater freedom, in reality, they have not.

In the following chart we have tried to give you a pictorial view of some of the forces which we believe influence what children in the UK learn today at school. We have identified how we view each of the seven different forces (parents/families, prominent and ordinary individuals, employers, charities, professional bodies, government) and their alignment with the arguments we have made in the book so far.

Perhaps surprisingly, the employers align most closely with our views (as we saw in
Chapter 5
) and the government the least (although we acknowledge that, in this regard,
Scotland and Northern Ireland are more in agreement than England and Wales).

Various prominent individuals (some of whom we have met earlier), third sector groups (often charities) and professional bodies are leading the way. You might expect parents and families to be of the same mind. Surely they want the kinds of things that we are arguing for? The answer, we believe, is that they do. But they are cowed into going along with the status quo in the very understandable belief that there is not enough time to change things while their child is at school, so the best they can do is swallow their misgivings and go along with it. Even the excellent websites Mumsnet and Netmums have surprisingly little (yet!) to say about how parents can challenge the status quo. Mumsnet has thoughtful, supporting information about choosing schools and Netmums is full of great ideas for family learning, but neither grasps the mettle of our question:

It was to provide an alternative vision that we decided to write this book, and in this chapter we suggest ways in which parents and teachers can take practical action.

But before you read on, we’d like you to stop and think for a moment about your own school days. Put aside for a moment any thoughts about how much you did or did not enjoy them (although that’s clearly important) and reflect instead on how much they prepared you for whatever you are doing now.

You could do this as a private thought experiment in your own head, or if you feel more sociable you could try it
out with your spouse, partner or a friend. Decide whether you are mainly recalling your primary school or thinking of when you were older.

You may turn over your paper now (sorry if this brings back unhappy memories of classroom tests!). If nothing else we hope that these questions may have got you in the mood to think about schools today. In fact, here are two more questions to bring our list up to a round 10.

For the purpose of this chapter, we are going to assume that you are a teacher, parent, grandparent or, at the very least, someone who is actively concerned in more than just a general way about the state of schools. We appreciate that if your concerns centre in particular on your own child’s school, then you may feel conflicted. At worst, you might be afraid that if you start making waves at school it might disadvantage your child because the teachers will somehow be cross with you. Or worse still, you might imagine the teachers somehow taking it out on the parent (or child) who dares to challenge the school. We empathise. But we also want to encourage you to be bold.

Provided you start from the premise that you’d simply like to make your child’s school even better in any way that you can, you are likely to be welcomed. Teachers are human and just walking in with your ten ways to fix this school may not be received in the way you intended. How you do what you do is going to be important. But unless teachers, parents and concerned adults
do
take action (along with employers,
charities and others) we can’t see how things are going to change in schools. In all of our experience – between us we have worked with thousands of schools – we have never found a school which was not delighted to meet with a parent who genuinely wanted to help. So how do you help?

There are three levels at which you might choose to act. The first one we explored in the previous chapter: working on your own ‘domestic curriculum’ at home. The second involves starting a conversation with your local school about how they might be even more effective at helping your child get ready for life. And the third involves tackling politicians and the wider bureaucracy of schools.

Before you talk to your local school, you might find this formula useful in planning your campaign.

It was dreamt up by a man called David Gleicher, who was trying to explain the three different elements which need to be in place if you are trying to overcome resistance to change. Here’s what each letter means:

If we were to try to summarise Gleicher’s formula in words it might go like this: to overcome people’s innate resistance to doing things differently you have to do three things. First,
you have to explain really clearly what the problem is (if it ain’t broke, why fix it?). Second, you have to make a pitch for a very different way of doing things, to get your listener to imagine a different scenario. And third, very quickly after you have done the big picture thing, you have to come down to earth and make two or three really practical suggestions as to how ordinary, fair-minded people could put your ideas into practice.

Let’s assume for a moment that your local school is resistant to change. Take a moment to try this out in your own head or with a partner/spouse or fellow parent. Think of a school you know. What’s wrong with it? Can you put your finger on your dissatisfaction? (I don’t like the way … I really wish they wouldn’t … It makes no sense in the modern world to spend time on … etc.) Don’t worry if your language is emotional. That’s why this is just a thought experiment or rehearsal at this stage!

Then have a go at describing your ideal school. (Imagine a school where … What I’d really like all children to learn is … In my view schools need to be different in these ways …) And, depending on what you have come up with, think of three or four simple and practical things you could suggest to bring about the kinds of changes you have in mind. Now you’re good to go!

Essentially, you need to shift the conversation away from the things that schools often want to talk about (subjects, attendance, uniform, tests, exams, options, etc.) towards the seven Cs, the development of your child’s character, real-world learning and all the things which engage you as a parent. It will be helpful if, early on, you stress your commitment to the conventional indicators of school success, such as high grades in all subjects. (What parent or family member does not want the best possible grades for their child in whatever educational system they find themselves?) But at the same time you may like to say something like, “Naturally I want the best possible results for X, but I care passionately about how s/he gets the results. I also want him/her to develop …” (add in the sorts of characteristics you want to see your child develop). Once you have started to have these different conversations, various opportunities will present themselves to you. You might be asked to:

Of course, the school may be threatened by what you are saying and ask you to do none of the above, in which case you will need to be more persistent!

There are two useful ways of thinking about dealing with schools that may help you. The first is to think of the life stages of a child at school and all of the key transition points these offer you (choosing a nursery, starting at primary, moving on to secondary, choosing a college or university). At each of these new beginnings, you and your child have a one-off chance to ask some probing questions and, because the people you are talking to are likely to want to be a school of choice, they are likely to be at their most receptive.

Questions you might like to ask include:

Once in a school, you can use the rhythms of the school day/week/year (drop-offs and pick-ups, school concerts/plays/trips, parent–teacher meetings, PTA meetings) to ask about the kinds of things we have been thinking through. Every meeting with a teacher is a chance to ask about how your child is progressing as a person and as a learner, as well as finding out their attainment grades.

For most parents, a parent–teacher meeting to discuss your child’s progress will offer you an immediate opportunity to shift the conversation towards your child’s happiness and emerging character, rather than merely listening to descriptions of her progress, typically in terms of attainment and effort. You could turn a “Ruby has only made a small amount of progress in her maths this term” into “I’ve noticed that Ruby seems to be much less interested in maths this term. Do you have any idea why this might be?” Or if the teacher is keen to talk about the test score or level of Ruby’s achievement, but you notice that Ruby has been given a good grade for her effort, you might choose to ‘ignore’ the teacher’s test grade and instead tell him or her how pleased you are to see that Ruby is trying hard in her maths.

In general terms, it is easier to shift the conversation on to a broader agenda if you start by noticing effort first and attainment second. If you can show you are interested in how your child goes about her learning, you are likely to have much more informative conversations with her teacher. And when you feel confident enough with some of the ideas
in this book, you can start to suggest ways in which you might personally be prepared to help and support the school.