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There's a question I get asked all the time as a maths teacher:
"When am I ever going to use this in real life?"
There's a question I get asked all the time as a maths teacher:
"When am I ever going to use this in real life?"
"I'm making you smarter" or "How do you know for sure you won't need it?" are my default responses. If this isn't met with approval then I resort to the old classic:
"It's on your exams. Your exams will determine the next part of your life."
"It's on your exams. Your exams will determine the next part of your life."
GCSE exams are arguably the most significant event in the lives of 16 year olds. Whether they should be is a debate that needs to be had again. I suggest we have it right away.
Now, like last summer, we are faced with the high probability that GCSE exams will be cancelled.
Now, like last summer, we are faced with the high probability that GCSE exams will be cancelled.
I keep loads of data on my kids. I test them regularly and thoroughly. I can predict accurately what they are most likely to get. I'm prepared for this scenario.
What I'm not prepared for is their next 5 months of teaching.
What I'm not prepared for is their next 5 months of teaching.
Later this week I'm supposed to cover solutions to quadratic graphs. Why? Because it's on their exams.
Without those exams it's going to be very difficult to get that buy in. Yes, they'll be 'smarter' for knowing it, but there are many more valuable things they could learn.
Without those exams it's going to be very difficult to get that buy in. Yes, they'll be 'smarter' for knowing it, but there are many more valuable things they could learn.
When I started maths teaching I couldn't remember how to solve them. I had to spend a few minutes teaching myself how to do them. I'm a maths teacher and not remembering this from my school days hasn't held me back.
Education in this country is so horribly biased in favour of exams. With no exams coming up, what's the point of their next 5 months of online maths lessons?
I'm sure we'll be told to teach as normal. All that shows is the lack of a back-up plan and it will highlight just how unsuitable a lot of GCSE syllabuses really are as interest, attendance and completion craters.
They'll ask us why they're doing this and the answers we used to give just won't wash any more.
This pandemic has given us the perfect opportunity to look at the education of our nation. It's always been about exams, grades, Ofsted etc
This pandemic has given us the perfect opportunity to look at the education of our nation. It's always been about exams, grades, Ofsted etc
But those things don't matter. I know they don't and you know they don't but we team up in a conspiracy to tell the kids that they do.
Think about all the people you know. Do you know their exam results from school?
Of course not.
Think about all the people you know. Do you know their exam results from school?
Of course not.
Yes, there are areas of life and employment when testing and certain standards are required. But not at 16. Not like this.
I'm going to have to predict the grades of my students and in doing so I'll limit their future options. I hate that some courses won't accept them.
I'm going to have to predict the grades of my students and in doing so I'll limit their future options. I hate that some courses won't accept them.
I give them a grade 4 but the college they applied to says they only want people with a 5 in maths. Sorry.
When a fire alarm goes off, what does it mean?
Nope.
It means the fire alarm is going off. It doesn't mean there's a fire. You don't know why or where it was set off. Was the button pressed or is their an internal fault? You don't know.
Nope.
It means the fire alarm is going off. It doesn't mean there's a fire. You don't know why or where it was set off. Was the button pressed or is their an internal fault? You don't know.
Being "Grade 5" at maths doesn't tell you anything about them. It doesn't do what it's supposed to do and tell you that they are "good at maths".
All it tells you is that they got a grade 5 across three maths tests when they were 16. You have no idea what they got right or wrong. No idea if they still know it or not. No idea if they got all the easy ones right and hard ones wrong or vice versa.
It is entirely possible to get grade 5 in GCSE without knowing your times tables.
But the FE college courses only want kids with grade 5s (or 4s or whatever standards they have for their courses). This is just to make their recruiting lives easier.
But the FE college courses only want kids with grade 5s (or 4s or whatever standards they have for their courses). This is just to make their recruiting lives easier.
It's not to get the best mathematicians. If they want to know who's "good at maths" I can put together some parameters and tell you. The list will definitely not correspond their in-class grade order.
It will have at the top the people who work hardest, are good problem solvers, are resilient, open to new ideas, have good memories, can perform under pressure. It'll be some, part or all of those characteristics. These are the students you want on your courses, want to employ.
I've not once mentioned numeracy because if they have those attributes then they'll be able to fill any gaps in basic knowledge when required.
Don't recruit kids based on the GCSE grades they got, get them based on what they're going to do.
Don't recruit kids based on the GCSE grades they got, get them based on what they're going to do.
I'm not looking forward to predicting my students' grades again. I hate that it closes some doors for them. Now is the time to examine why those doors are even in the places they are.
I'd love to spend an hour with them tomorrow just chatting. Listening to their thoughts on the situation. Debating, discussing, empathising.
"Every lesson shapes a life." Lessons like this really can.
"Every lesson shapes a life." Lessons like this really can.
Instead I've got to teach them how to solve quadratic graphs because they need to get good grades to "help Britain win in the global race".
Don't get me wrong, maths education is important. A lot of those skills I mentioned earlier can be best developed via maths teaching.
But I'm told to teach to the syllabus/the exams at the end of the course. The syllabus is bloated, the exams are misguided and inefficient.
But I'm told to teach to the syllabus/the exams at the end of the course. The syllabus is bloated, the exams are misguided and inefficient.
And therefore I'll be spending tomorrow afternoon teaching 16 year olds to memorise steps for an algebraic process worth 0.4% of a GCSE exam that isn't even going to happen.
