Starting out:
Like many teachers, I came into the profession with a sense of nervous excitement, full of ideas, a strong desire to ‘make a difference’ and a playful energy.
It all started well. In my PGCE I learnt that;
‘teachers individually and collectively, have to reappraise their teaching in response to the changing needs of their pupils… Education only flourishes if it successfully adapts to the demands and needs of the time’. (DfEE, 1999; 13)
This felt very dynamic and I was ready to get stuck in!
Although working in a good state school, the reality of my role as a teacher equated to endless bureaucracy and tick-box testing. Most of the opportunities for holistic development were stripped bare and ground down to a series of ‘objectives to be covered’.
This didn’t feel right and certainly didn’t reflect the ‘flourishing education’ model I had anticipated as a student teacher and was reflected in the DfE guidance.
As I agonised over whether to change profession, I also happened to be moving to the other side of London. As I trawled through the TES I came across a school that looked to be doing things a little differently.
A welcoming environment:
During my visit, I learnt that here, children are respected on equal terms to the adults and that our teaching responsibilities were to guide, inspire, listen-to and be a role-model in this mutually respectful community.
In my interview with a group of the school’s students and with the Head, it became clear that this school was about the wellbeing of the whole community. It was an educational ecosystem where every part affected another, so the teachers and parents’ wellbeing were also important.
So how did this work in practice?
Progressive Pedagogy and Curriculum:
A group of children were in a small farm area, some reading in groups, some mucking out the chickens, some putting together a hutch, all independently. All the classrooms had comfy seating areas, and tables and chairs were clustered for group work, though many children were learning outside. Older children worked with younger children, helping them to read and to design products for their learning.
Most learning was cross-curricular and themed around projects that the students helped to design. I was curious how the ‘curriculum’ was taught and how progression was monitored. I was shown their cross-curricular planning and some data about each child’s progress that had been collated with the students through observations and focused collaborative and formative assessments. The National Curriculum was used as a guiding document for teacher’s planning and was then added to by the students’ interests.
The big question:
Why wasn’t this on offer in all schools? Two key findings quickly emerged…
- The school I refer to offers a ‘progressive education’, where the child’s holistic development forms the starting point of all learning.
- Within traditional educational models the content/individual objectives of the curriculum and SATS/exams are the starting point for the learning.
So how did we get here?
In the 1970s, James Callaghan’s Ruskin speech ignited discussion on what education was for and whether teachers were in the best place to decide what children should be learning.
Shortly after, the government introduced standardized tests, against the wishes of many teachers at the time, who feared these tests were placing too much pressure on children and would not fully represent what children knew and understood.
Over 50 years later, how can this same system still be meeting the needs of a society that has gone through a technological and social revolution?
Simply put, it is not.
The World Economic Forum (2020) has identified that students entering the work-force have a distinct lack of the type of skills required to fulfil their roles. These skills, termed ‘21st Century skills’ include collaboration, creativity, innovation and self-direction.
Regardless of whether education is to prepare students for the world of work or to engage fully in their lives as active citizens, why are we not using the now-abundant body of research available to us, on how children learn most effectively, while meeting societal needs?
Can you imagine doctors or engineers being forced to use the same methods and resources they were half a century ago? Why is education any different?
Education for 21st Century skills
The school I reference here is an independent progresssive school called King Alfred School. But good, holistic education doesn’t have to be the luxury of a few. An increasing number of inspired Head Teachers are using progressive and student-centred practice in their non fee-paying (state) schools, with incredible outcomes. Mike Fairclough of West Rise Junior School and Lucy Stephens of The New School UK are two of them.
Join the educational revolution!
Teachers are some of the most empathetic, caring, passionate and creative human beings. But the system in which they are operating only accommodates compliance, tick-box testing and regurgitation of facts.
Given the last few years of oppression, shouldn’t we be helping our children to thrive holistically in a beautiful and yet challenging world?
By offering support and practical guidance on how to place all students back at the centre of the education system, Holistic Learning facilitates a sense of autonomy for all those amazing students, teachers and parents out there.
Because our children and our educational communities DO deserve better!
If you would like to chat or collaborate with me, drop me an email or connect via Holistic Learning’s social media channels.
We look forward to meeting you!