 |
|
| EDUCATION TRIBUNE |
|
Preparing children
for the future
Campus
Notes
|
|
|
Preparing children
for the future IT would be putting it too strongly to say that Education Secretary Michael Gove’s announcement of the proposed new primary curriculum had me jumping for joy. Indeed, on reflection, it was more a case of “about time, too” when I heard he had embraced the idea of making language learning compulsory for all children from the age of seven. It could, however, be one of the most significant announcements he has made in regards to attempting to change the culture of Britain. We have embraced almost with pride the fact that report after report in the past few decades has branded us as the “language dunces of Europe”. By us, I mean England specifically. Welsh is thriving in the principality’s primary schools and Scotland already teaches foreign languages in its primary schools. I was interested to read of the languages he would be encouraging in primary schools — French, German and Spanish, obviously, but also Greek, Latin and Mandarin. Of the six, it is Mandarin I would most like to see flourish because of its importance to our future as a trading nation. A mere announcement of intent to introduce language learning by September 2014, of course, is not enough. A report published by the education trust CfBT has made that crystal clear. History is littered with examples of countries introducing foreign-language initiatives without giving enough thought to the increase in the number of teachers trained in the subject to deliver it. Also, I take heed of the remarks made by Brian Lightman, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, that the government’s first foray into reviewing the primary curriculum made great play of lessening the bureaucratic burden on teachers and giving them freedom to innovate — but all the subjects that are compulsory at present will remain compulsory, so there is no obvious space for the new language requirement. That may not prove too problematic, though, because more and more primary schools are already flirting with language teaching and could be used as beacons to show the way to others. Gove’s announcement, of course, was not confined to just languages. It painted a canvas of a far more rigorous primary curriculum in the three Rs. I also welcome some of the other proposals outlined in the package. In maths, I am happy with the requirement that children should learn their 12x12 times tables by the age of nine. I remember David Blunkett when he was Education Secretary enthusiastically embracing a rap version of the times tables then being used in schools. Perhaps we could dust that down to bring a little more fun to rote learning in the classroom. Equally, the decision in science to put more focus on experiments and demonstrations is to be welcomed. I could see some Sir Humphrey-type figure in the Department for Education describing this decision as “brave” because of the impending health and safety issues. However, it is undoubtedly true that learning through experiments would be a way of making what always seemed a dry subject become more lively. Before I get too carried way, though, I should mention my reservations about some of the proposals for the teaching of English. I have no problem with the reciting of poetry by five-year-olds and I like the focus on the spoken word that will be achieved through debating and presentation. This is likely to increase a pupil’s self-confidence, which will then have a spin-off effect in other aspects of their work. No, my main worry is that the decision to publish a list of the words that children should be able to spell at each age in primary school is just a tad too prescriptive — especially the 236 words they should be able to spell by the age of 11. (It’s not just because some of them, I have to admit, I struggle with myself. “Embarrassed” is the one that always gets me. I prefer to spell it “red-faced”.) I also remain to be convinced that everyone should learn to read through synthetic phonics. Yes, it has a major part to play in the teaching of reading but generally I am against the idea of a one-size-fits-all approach to most things. Some of the critics of Gove’s approach, I feel, may have a point on this one. Chris Keates, general secretary of the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers, for instance, says: “Far from liberating teachers, the Coalition Government is more interested in shackling their professional discretion to a far greater degree than any of its predecessors.” Other critics, such as the children’s author and poet Michael Rosen, point out that some of the things Gove is to “introduce” are already happening in most schools. For instance, he finds when he visits primary schools that five-year-olds are far better at reciting his poetry that he himself is. All in all, it amounts to a more traditional curriculum than the one we have at present — giving fuel to the critics who say he is returning to a Gradgrind philosophy of education. (Actually, I think the words “Gradgrind” and “philosophy” are mutually exclusive as the Dickens character had no ideas beyond “facts, dear boy”.) I would not go all the way with those critics, but when Gove outlines his draft proposals for the teaching of the other compulsory subjects in primary schools — art and design, design and technology, information and communication technology, music and physical education — he will be under pressure to show that the requirement to teach them is far less exacting than it is at present if he really is going to give teachers some space to innovate. Back to the starting point, though. I still see the foreign-language proposal as the most significant one in the government’s package. It is eight years since Labour decided to make the subject voluntary for 14 to 16-years-olds, a decision that led to a headlong rush away from the subject at GCSE level. Stephen Twigg, Labour’s Education spokesman, says his government’s mistake at the time was not in making the subject voluntary but in not boosting the subject in primary schools beforehand. He is right and it is a shame that it has taken so long to get to the stage that we are at now. (To be fair to Labour, it had been planning to remedy its error before it left office, but its proposals for a review of the primary school curriculum fell foul of the General Election as the legislation could not get through Parliament before its dissolution.) I remember I began my campaign (and this newspaper’s) to improve language teaching in the UK by recounting a story I remember from when my brother was holidaying in Germany. He was with three friends — one of whom was having trouble with a car-park attendant. “I say, Graham, come over here,” the friend said to him. “This peasant doesn’t speak English.” Hopefully, what is being proposed will help confine that sort of comment to the dustbin of history. — The Independent |
|
|
Campus Notes THE fate of hotel management courses that were to be started at the Government Rajindra College, Bathinda, beginning this academic session hangs in a limbo. The college authorities had planned to begin the admission procedure for a diploma course in food and beverage service and another diploma course in food production. However, the Public Works Department is yet to hand over the building, where these courses were to be started, to the college authorities. The building, which is being constructed next to a boys’ hostel on the premises of the college, is yet to be finished. “The last payment for the completion of work was made to the department on November 4 last year. The department has told us that 10 per cent work is still left to be completed,” said Dr G.S. Brar of the Department of Physics at Rajindra College, who is taking care of the project. Apart from the incomplete building, the college authorities are yet to procure equipment required to start the courses. “The cost of the equipment needed to begin the courses is around Rs 50 lakh. The Directorate of Public Instructions (Colleges) (DPI), Punjab, is asking the college authorities to spend the amount on the purchase of the equipment till the funds are released. However, the college doesn't have sufficient funds to buy the equipment first and then claim the money from the DPI,” said Dr Brar.
All-India entrance test on July 7 The Central University of Punjab will conduct an all-India entrance test on July 7. The online entrance test will be conducted at sixteen centres, including Bathinda, Chandigarh, Shimla and Noida. The entrance test is a part of the admissions process for 20 different programmes in science, engineering, humanities and social sciences. The last date for online submission of forms for the entrance test was June 22. According to information, science courses being offered by the university are in huge demand, while a large number of forms have been received for postgraduate, M.Sc, M.Phil and PhD courses in various branches of science. The candidates who have appeared in qualifying examinations and are waiting for the result are also eligible to appear in the entrance test and they can submit their results on or before the date of interview. Tuition fee for all the courses is between Rs 800 and Rs 1,200 per semester. All M.Phil-Ph.D integrated programme students are given monthly stipend, while the needy students belonging to economically backward sections are given financial assistance.
B.Com (professional) course Students seeking admission to various courses being run on the Punjabi University Maur campus have something to cheer about. While earlier the campus was offering six courses — MBA (integrated), BCA, PGDCA, M.Sc-IT, MCA and MBA — it will also offer a course in B.Com (professional) from the current academic session. Dr DK Madaan, Principal of the campus, said the admission procedure for all the seven courses was going on in full swing. Although the last date for receipt of admission form was June 22, forms will be accepted till July 11, albeit with a late fee. A late fee of Rs 500 will be levied on the forms submitted up to June 29, Rs 1,000 on those submitted up to July 6 and Rs 2,000 on the forms submitted up to July 11. Elaborating on the difference between B.Com (professional) and ordinary B.Com, Dr Madaan said, “The new course is more practical oriented. It will help improve communication skills, personality development, managerial skills, etc., and will include seminars, workshops on computers. After one year of the course, there will be compulsory summer training with a chartered accountant for four-six weeks regarding bank dealings, vouching and verification of accounts, income tax returns, sales tax/VAT returns, etc. The course is based on the semester system.” —
Contributed by Nikhila Pant Dhawan
|
IT would be putting it too strongly to say that Education Secretary Michael Gove’s announcement of the proposed new primary curriculum had me jumping for joy. Indeed, on reflection, it was more a case of “about time, too” when I heard he had embraced the idea of making language learning compulsory for all children from the age of seven.
