League tables - and what we have learned

["D C Flatman" <d.flatman@dsl.pipex.com>]

Hi

Re Ivan's posting.  I agree with your point, and, if the process of working
with an educational establishment starts with asking the question "what is
our purpose" then all the issues you raise about 'forcing' an inappropriate
paradigm fall away.  And that is where the problem starts - and some would
say, ends, in the UK.  We don't have a consensus on the purpose of
education.  Many, including me, are appalled at the shift towards a
'training', 'preparing for work' emphasis; at the asking business leaders to
tell us what is needed ( I really don't want my country's education system
run on Alan Sugar's priorities!!). It is quite clear that many schools will
be operating with a lot of ambiguity about their aims. I believe those
schools that are being successful, like the one quoted, are 'doing their own
thing' and they are clear about their purpose.

 

David Flatman