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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/apr/04/getting-to-grips-with-learning-inside-and-out
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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Getting to grips with learning inside and out | Getting to grips with learning inside and out |
| (2 months later) | |
| Tim Brighouse is right (Time for a new Butler act for the 21st century, 3 April). Of the five important issues he identifies, the most significant is that “Ministers exercise too much power and too little judgment”. | Tim Brighouse is right (Time for a new Butler act for the 21st century, 3 April). Of the five important issues he identifies, the most significant is that “Ministers exercise too much power and too little judgment”. |
| A national education council is needed which can variously advise parliament, government, local authorities, academy trusts, schools, academies, teachers, governors, parents, professional bodies and the general public (with membership from these constituencies) on significant issues in educational practice and the relationship between education and future society. | A national education council is needed which can variously advise parliament, government, local authorities, academy trusts, schools, academies, teachers, governors, parents, professional bodies and the general public (with membership from these constituencies) on significant issues in educational practice and the relationship between education and future society. |
| The immediate purpose should be to examine critically the state of national education and reflect on whether school standards, teachers’ morale, young people’s wellbeing and parents’ aspirations are being held back. If and wherever this is the case the council should propose ameliorating changes with the expectation that parliament would adopt them and ministers implement them. | The immediate purpose should be to examine critically the state of national education and reflect on whether school standards, teachers’ morale, young people’s wellbeing and parents’ aspirations are being held back. If and wherever this is the case the council should propose ameliorating changes with the expectation that parliament would adopt them and ministers implement them. |
| Thereafter the council, from time to time, should publish non-mandatory guidance on matters of curriculum and pedagogy, on the basis of research that it initiates; but it is schools themselves that should make educational decisions, in discussion with local communities, and from their professional knowledge of their pupils.Emeritus Professor Michael BasseyNewark, Nottinghamshire | Thereafter the council, from time to time, should publish non-mandatory guidance on matters of curriculum and pedagogy, on the basis of research that it initiates; but it is schools themselves that should make educational decisions, in discussion with local communities, and from their professional knowledge of their pupils.Emeritus Professor Michael BasseyNewark, Nottinghamshire |
| • Tim Brighouse makes a compelling case for a new settlement for education in England. Two particular further features should be addressed. First, it should be based on evidence, not politicians’ whims and prejudices. Second, it should reflect the fact that adolescents spend much of their time outside the classroom, and thus urgent attention needs to be paid to rebuilding the role of educational youth work for their leisure time.Tom WylieOxford | • Tim Brighouse makes a compelling case for a new settlement for education in England. Two particular further features should be addressed. First, it should be based on evidence, not politicians’ whims and prejudices. Second, it should reflect the fact that adolescents spend much of their time outside the classroom, and thus urgent attention needs to be paid to rebuilding the role of educational youth work for their leisure time.Tom WylieOxford |
| • Your report on outdoor learning for under-fives in Scotland (Wild bunch: Benefits of outdoor learning take root, 3 April) has a hint of reinvention of the wheel for those of us who have been involved in outdoor education for many years. | • Your report on outdoor learning for under-fives in Scotland (Wild bunch: Benefits of outdoor learning take root, 3 April) has a hint of reinvention of the wheel for those of us who have been involved in outdoor education for many years. |
| The value of outdoor experience, for young people of all ages, has long been recognised. Benefits have been proven not only for health – physical and mental – but also for social development, employability skills and social cohesion. However, outdoor provision for young people of school age is less rosy than your report might suggest. Many of the outdoor education centres that were established in the 1950s and 1960s have closed. Numbers of people gaining the national outdoor leadership awards have plummeted in recent years, threatening the very existence of groups such as ours. And availability of minibuses, a crucial means of getting young people into the outdoor environment, has also been reduced. | The value of outdoor experience, for young people of all ages, has long been recognised. Benefits have been proven not only for health – physical and mental – but also for social development, employability skills and social cohesion. However, outdoor provision for young people of school age is less rosy than your report might suggest. Many of the outdoor education centres that were established in the 1950s and 1960s have closed. Numbers of people gaining the national outdoor leadership awards have plummeted in recent years, threatening the very existence of groups such as ours. And availability of minibuses, a crucial means of getting young people into the outdoor environment, has also been reduced. |
| If joined-up thinking still has a place in government, there would be a 10-year strategy to get every young person into some sort of outdoor activity. Key aspects would be a national programme of leader training, provision of minibuses for community group use in every area, and establishment of stores of loan equipment for outdoor use. The national lottery has never had a fund for outdoor education. Now is the time to launch one and make a real impact on young people.Chris JohnsonSecretary, Bradford Expedition Leaders Association | If joined-up thinking still has a place in government, there would be a 10-year strategy to get every young person into some sort of outdoor activity. Key aspects would be a national programme of leader training, provision of minibuses for community group use in every area, and establishment of stores of loan equipment for outdoor use. The national lottery has never had a fund for outdoor education. Now is the time to launch one and make a real impact on young people.Chris JohnsonSecretary, Bradford Expedition Leaders Association |
| • What a remarkable article (Who’s a fast learner, then?, 3 April). In the 1960s and for the following 30 years we knew that teaching is learning from children and that a good teacher is a close observer. They are the curriculum. | • What a remarkable article (Who’s a fast learner, then?, 3 April). In the 1960s and for the following 30 years we knew that teaching is learning from children and that a good teacher is a close observer. They are the curriculum. |
| The piece mentions “the legendary Margy Whalley”. She was indeed an inspirational teacher and leader. She knew Christian Schiller, who famously said that the sum of the best research amounted to “follow the child”. The schools that did that were briefly world famous as examples of best practice. | The piece mentions “the legendary Margy Whalley”. She was indeed an inspirational teacher and leader. She knew Christian Schiller, who famously said that the sum of the best research amounted to “follow the child”. The schools that did that were briefly world famous as examples of best practice. |
| Will it make any difference? I doubt it because politicians simply can’t let go.Geoff MarshallPembury, Kent | Will it make any difference? I doubt it because politicians simply can’t let go.Geoff MarshallPembury, Kent |
| • Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com | • Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com |
| • Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters | • Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters |
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| Scotland | Scotland |
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