Just to lend some festive cheer to teachers this Christmas, the Independent reports that:

The Government’s exams watchdog issues a damning indictment today of how core national curriculum subjects are taught in the classroom.

My subject, History, is criticized for having ‘too much concentration on slavery and post-war immigration painting a negative picture of what [black people] have contributed to the UK.’ Geography is said to be the worst-taught subject on the timetable and to be stuck in a ‘vicious cycle of decline’. The only subject which comes in for the faintest of praise is the political football, Citizenship, of which is said:

This is the fastest growing GCSE subject with 38,000 entries this summer – a sign schools are taking seriously the exhortation from ministers to instil a sense of civic responsibility into tomorrow’s young adults.

No comment on how well it is being taught – just that some schools are doing it at GCSE!

The exhortation from above is that, as teachers, we need to motivate pupils using praise, interesting lessons and rigorous teaching and learning techniques to raise standards. How we ourselves are motivated to do this by such negative reports  in the public domain is beyond me. There’s no mention, for example, of the fact that History is routinely singled out as being one of the best-taught and most rigorous subjects with a significant take-up at GCSE. 

I think it’s time those in the upper echelons of teaching stopped doing the equivalent of teaching their grandmother to suck eggs. Stop telling teachers how to teach and leave them alone to do what they’re best at. Their job is to make sure teachers are motivated to do their job properly – and the best way to do that is through support, promoting good practice and introducing a pay structure that isn’t intent solely on saving money.