Last time I was in The Salvation Army Shop in town I somehow managed to get into a debate with the person behind the counter and an elderly lady behind me.
The man behind the counter wanted to teach in Primary School, but with his speciality being History, he was struggling. The elderly woman was firmly convinced that subjects like History shouldn't be taught in Primary School when children were behind on their reading, writing and arithmetic (the 3 Rs).
I volunteer with the charity Beanstalk, which encourages and develops children's reading skills. I do it because of my passion for books and remembering what it's like to be lost in my own imagination, in incredible worlds with exciting characters on wondrous adventures. I see first-hand the children that are struggling with their reading and writing. They're often struggling with every aspect of education as well as socially and crave the one-on-one attention that I give them. I see three out of a class of thirty, I could see many more and children often request to come and read with me. It's brilliant that they want to read with me, but I also wonder how many of the children would actually benefit from the time I spend with them.
As well as reading with each child twice a week I am involved in the class, with the teachers. If there is a school trip, or a nativity play I am asked to assist and do so willingly. It makes a pleasant change for me and the children. The most recent trip was to the Grosvenor Museum in Chester. They've been learning about Romans for the past few months, everything from Roman Baths to Gladiators. The Grosvenor Museum put on a brilliant itinerary. The children learnt about archaeology, heating systems, armour, food (and cooking processes), including a marching exercise with a real-life Roman Soldier (not really, but he had a rather lovely pair of legs!). Most of it was hands on, practical, combining learning with fun. The following day they wrote a report on the museum, what they saw, what they enjoyed. They spent the day learning and THEN they wrote about it.
This was my argument in The Salvation Army Shop. Yes, children are behind, some drastically so, but in order to get better at writing, reading and arithmetic, they need things to write about, to read about and to work out. Practising the same sentence over and over again is boring, and definitely not inspiring, writing a story about a Roman Soldier is exciting, it's an adventure! Before they know it, they're learning without really knowing it.
If I was to redesign school, from the ground up I would include more or less what is included now, Art, History, Geography, all those subjects that inspire. Children can be inspired by all kinds of things. I would promote the arts, anything creative as I believe the imagination is one of the most powerful tools each of us has. Dance, Drama and Music would also feature heavily as I believe all of these subjects are overlooked in Primary School. Drama promotes confidence which a lot of children lack. One of the children that I read with loves Drama and I write mini-plays for us to act out during our sessions. He's reading without even realising it and he often wants to write his own after, which develops his writing skills. In fact, the only subject I would remove from Primary Schools is a foreign language. Although I believe learning French or German is important in learning new skills and developing an understanding of culture, I think the English Language should be mastered first. Foreign Language should be left for Secondary School.
The only other thing that should be included in school is manners. I run my local school choir, something I enjoy which is a lot of fun, the youngest child in 6, the oldest 11. Last year, I discovered that despite all their musical ability the one thing they lacked more than anything was respect for each other and their opinions. Manners are something I would have thought parents would have taught their children but it was definitely an issue and I wasn't the only one to discover this. I take pride in my patience but the only time I lost my temper was on this subject. Maybe manners and good behaviour should be taught in schools too.
This post was inspired by... http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/12/29/prompt-new-school/
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