In an ideal learning situation there would be no learning mastery gaps as each student moves through the academic year. However as I have noted in a previous post the reality is that for the Leopards there will be gaps unless there is a practice of mastery of learning outcomes before moving on to the new learning. Get the prerequisites bedded down then move the students on. Doing this requires considerable patience and innovative teaching. It also requires school leaders who can shield teachers from the pressures to cover the syllabuses for the particular year and the external assessment demands like NAPLAN.
For the mastery principle to work it should only be applied to a limited number of subjects in primary schools especially English language skills, mathematics and digital technology skills. A primary school may wish to include other subjects like science. At the secondary school level one could include all subjects given the focus that specialist subject departments allow.
I urge primary school principals to challenge the need for rigorous mastery assessment in the syllabus areas such as the Humanities & Social Sciences and Science. Set up programs in these areas that excite and ensure that the students enter secondary school with a general knowledge in these subjects ready for the gradual application of rigorous assessment. I usually have a lot to say about Physical and Health Education and the Performing Arts and have made some comments in previous posts about the special place of these learning areas in the development of students.
I further urge all principals to challenge the student labels of 'lazy', 'remedial' and 'potential'. A student may appear to be 'lazy' but it is important to explore the reasons behind this apparent tardiness, as each student is behaving as they are at any moment based on all the in-school and out-of-school factors that are affecting their lives. On the matter of a student being labelled 'remedial', if the no learning gaps mastery policy is adhered to then the concept of 'remedial' becomes redundant. There are so many risks in labelling a student 'remedial' and you know them all. The notion of 'potential' probably receives minimal air play in contemporary schools. I would steer clear of this difficult to measure concept that once used to feature in school reporting on students failing to learn as expected. There have been too many embarrassing cases of school judgements based on potential when in later life the student exhibits much success.
While I am on a roll I better issue my final challenge to primary principals and that is to ban formal homework. As a class teacher I banned formal homework for my year 6 classes and was able to convince the parents to come along with this decision. My rationale is that the students have a long formal schooling journey ahead of them and we need to take steps to avoid student disillusionment and burnout. The students would probably call it irrelevance and boredom. The French have recently banned formal homework in their government primary schools. A bit of reading practice at home is advocated for the little ones provided the parents are educated by the school on how best to manage this. The school project that sees parents rushing around madly and doing the work is of concern. I am not against parents being encouraged to help their sons and daughters collect materials for a project provided these materials are put together by the students at school. I once had to help one son write a poem for school which I did but I also sent in one of my own and received a mark from the teacher in good humour. Imagine if as a parent I had no idea about poetry writing. I rest my case!
I imagine in these enlightened times schools have given up scab duty and the writing of lines as punishments. Every student is to be encouraged to avoid littering at schools and anywhere for that matter and scab duty makes a minimal contribution to achieving this objective. If littering becomes an issue a whole school positive pickup drive on a 'keep our school beautiful' platform is much more effective. Similarly the writing of lines does little to enhance a love of writing and the language in general. I diplomatically explained to one or two of my younger and over enthusiastic maths teachers who gave lines that I did not see them giving sets of algorithms as punishment. This is all part of the hidden curriculum of learning social responsibility and of developing a love for learning.
I know I am a bit zany about various school practices but what the heck! One needs to challenge the status quo from time to time otherwise the ease-of-being-comfortable syndrome dumbs us down.
As I have said before I am nobody, a small cog in the wheel, but I am motivated to ensure that the kids have optimum opportunity and encouragement to learn so that they can cope with daily life and be ready for their future adult lives. This gives me the temerity to share with you what I learned over a long career as a professional educator.
GD
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