Teachers and educational reform

Schools and education systems in Britain have been under constant review for many decades and some would argue that teachers should have been more vociferous in challenging the many reforms which have been inflicted on them. Even today we hear voices saying that a teacher’s primary function is not to teach but to look after children’s well-being! To compound the matter, headline issues like the value of diversity, sustainability, globalisation and the prevention of global warming seem to have become the key points of reference of a modern curriculum. This is not to say that an exploration of such issues is not important but they have become totemic.

Some brave teachers have protested at the decline of 'traditional' education; many more are quietly and dispiritedly awaiting retirement and asking where it all went wrong. As a profession, teachers have much to contribute to educational debates and we need to hope that more teachers contribute -and are asked to contribute - to curricular reform.

One who has spoken out - and has been pilloried in return - is Katharine Birbalsingh. Perhaps this explains why so few challenge the prevailing orthodoxies. Her blog is worth a look.You might not agree with what she says but she does raise a number of points which are shared by many in education.

A challenge for education

In the previous post we considered the relationship between culture and education. In this post we will look more closely at how a rediscovery of ‘traditional’ education is a pre-requisite for a good society. (The deeper exploration of ‘good society’ is for another time.)

It is common to read of politicians discussing, for example, the link between education and ‘skills’ and how a good education system should align itself with the employment needs and industrial profile of a particular country.  Sadly, those who respond that education is a good in itself are portrayed as displaying elitist tendencies or of living in the proverbial ‘ivory tower’. When allied to possible accusations of being ‘exclusive’, this tactic is a convenient way of closing down debate in these aggressively inclusive times.

Those who wish to see the education system underpinned by the search for the good, the true and the beautiful need not despair. The search for ultimate meaning cannot be closed down by a narrow focus on the (still necessary) acquisition of basic skills. The human person needs the wider vision of the liberal arts and sciences in order to understand his or her place in society.

This traditional vision of education reminds us that we are not alone. We are nourished by the legacy of great minds, artists and artisans of the past. As humans carry the name and physical features of our ancestors, the human family can look back to and be inspired by those who sought the good, the true and the beautiful in their own time.  While we can admire and appreciate today the words of Dante and Shakespeare and the art of Michelangelo and Constable, as educators we ask ourselves two fundamental questions: will we pass on faithfully what we have been privileged to know; what will we contribute to the body of knowledge we have inherited?

This is the task we face. It is not easy. But face it we must.