JDMcDsblog

To anyone reading some recent literature, it would not be surprising to conclude that Scottish education is undergoing some kind of crisis of confidence. For starters, there is the long running debate over the Curriculum for Excellence. Launched in 2004, it has become mired, becalmed and rudderless after countless assaults on its integrity. Consultation with stakeholders seems only to have confused matters and the relationship between curriculum and national exams remains hazy. Parallel to, but not synomous with ACfE, is the whole notion of Assessment for Learning, one of the more intellectually sound ideas of the last 10 years. Yet how can we negotiate the switch from formative assessment, with its emphasis on feedback and personalised learning, to an assessment regime based on end of year summative exams-Highers and Advanced Highers. Exams need percentages and grades, anthema to formative assessment. Added to this we have the Scottish Baccalaureate,  about which there are various opinions, ranging from the optimistic to the carping. Certainly UCAS has recognised the value of the interdisciplinary project, allocating it the equivalent of half an Advanced Higher. Howver, there remain concerns about the capacity of many schools to deliver the new qualification, with the Times reporting that Just 22 schools out of 376 will offer the baccalaureate after the summer. It has been derided as  “an exam for leafy suburbs.”

Letter after letter in the newspapers attests to continuing teacher discomfort, concern or cynicism aboy the whole adventure, One correspondant writes that,

“Curriculum for Excellence is an unproven ideology dressed up in glossy jargonised techno-speak, driven forward by an unelected quangocracy. The heart of CFE is a distillation of all the trendy, liberal thinking that has dominated education since the Sixties – “child-centred learning”, learning must be fun, learning must be relevant etc.”
while the Government retorts that ACE is the “biggest reform of our education system in a generation”.

Now we have a damming critique by respected educational guru (well maybe, less respected all of a sudden), Keir Bloomer, who argues that ACE has lost its direction and the big picture. His views are noted and rejected, but the letters and comments tell a different story. Many teachers share his concerns-they think ACE ill thought out, being different things to different people, or, worse, all things to all men. Bloomer argues that ACE has no vision; it has become caught up in incrementalism and jargon, overwhelmed by its own ring-bound weight of schemes and programmes and capacities.

Chris Woodhead has recently described ACE as a curriculum for ignorance; he points out that “Tens of thousands of children are failing to master basic literacy and numeracy by the age of 14. In some areas, in half of the schools, the majority of the children are failing to achieve minimum standards of literacy and numeracy”, and does on to say that, “In up to a third of schools in some parts of Scotland, most primary pupils are failing to achieve the benchmark standard in writing by P7. One in six pupils leaves primary school unable to read, write or add up.”

Meanwhile, writing in the Times Educational Supplement, Prof Lindsay Paterson debunks the default mode that Scottish education is the best in the world. Reluctantly, after surveying the evidence, he deduces that, ..”the essential point is that attainment in England has improved much more than in the other three nations. That is true in primary, as shown last year by the Timss (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study). It is true of attainment at GCSE or equivalent. And it is true of progression rates into higher education. Wales and Scotland have got a bit better. Northern Ireland, with its selective system, has bested these two and remains ahead of England, although it has not improved as much.”
All along Paterson has poured cold water on ACE, troubled that it lacks the rigour associated with traditional academic disciplines; being too dependent on a projecting culture of interdiscipinary projects rather than emphasing the hard slog which constitutes much learning. And following on from a dismal report on basic literacy and numeracy, Nick Seaton of pressure group  Campaign for Real Eduction, said,

“the Scottish education system was coming apart at the seams. “In a few years these young people will be looking for jobs. It is obvious that they will be no use to employers.”

HMIe, in a report entitled Learning Together; Lessons in School Improvement, note that follow through action by HMIe was required in 1/3 of secondary schools. This means that these schools had serious defects in major aspects of their work; often in leadership and self evaluation. While acknowledging many strengths in Scottish education, the report ends with a warning that,

“the system also faces challenges arising from significant longstanding problems and the general need
for further and faster improvement. These challenges include raising standards across the board, particularly in literacy, numeracy and science, and providing better support for the substantial numbers of children and young people from vulnerable groups or disadvantaged backgrounds.”

We spent few days last week with friends in Oban; once again, we were blessed with excellent weather. Incredibly warm, still and humid, it was more similar to southern Europe than the west coast of Scotland. Enjoyed playing beachball at midnight on Tralee Bay at Benderloch, the temperature still in the high teens. Highlight was a sail around to Kerrera to see the seals; on the way out of harbour we were followed by a pod of common dolphins, their fins breaking the surface just metres from us. At regular intervals they would leap out the water completely. Plenty of bird life, too; cormorants, oyster catchers and gulls galore.
Heavy thundery rain on Friday somehow added to the atmoshpere on Seil Island, rain and tide lashed, with grim lowering dark cliffs and gaping old slate workings. Crossed the Atlantic at Clachan Bridge, and rewarded by seeing large heron slowly flapping its way upstream, like some kind of pteranadon.
On way home, went via Crianlarich, owing to the diversions caused by the Tornado crash in Glen Kinglas on 2nd July. Felt sorry for the two men killed-having once taught at RAF Gutersloh in Germany I have a real fondness for the RAF; indeed any service death is a huge blow to the families and comrades, whether in peace or action. A depressing number of deaths this week in Afghanistan, plus ghastly violence in China today. Struck by the sheer contrast between the beauty of a Scottish summer and the cruelty that haunts so much of the world.

Hutchie Art Exhibition June ‘09

Originally uploaded by jmmcdgll

Attended our school’s excellent art show this evening. The range and quality of art, fashioned in many media, was fantastic. There was great use of colour and quirky ideas, showing everyday items like railway tickets and plastic bottles in a new context. I loved pouring over the Sixth Year portfolios and seeing how ideas germanate from simple sketches to fully fledged concepts. Deft pencil lines became costumes or sculptures. Annotations revealed astonishing insight and knowledge.The corridors and stairways are overflowing with work, all carefuly framed and positioned, juxtaposing the abstract with the everyday. Bobbins of thread cluster arrestingly against a pink panel while butterflies made of tissue paper dance against the window, seemingly superimposed against the trees beyond. Giant, many coloured geckoes crawl across a wall and everywgere there are sculptures made of pieces of card or paper or plastic. The Colours of the Clyde theme was there, too, with images of brooding cranes, black against pastel sunsets or river scenes, or unfamiliar views taken at river level, looking up to the compelxity of arches under a gloomy bridge. Art departments are essential in every school. They allow pupils to let off steam, to be themselves, and to discover and play with ideas; art develops thought; the ability to see objects afresh, to deconstruct and then to build anew. Like almost no other subject pupils can express themselves, be emotional and respond to images in powerful ways. Art is fun, it’s bright and colourful, laden with imagery and imagination. Yet it is also a discipline; the work shown tonight was not good because it was done by pupils; it was good because there was a rigour and structure to the teaching and hours of hard work and thought by the pupils that led to the kind of exciting, challenging and vibrant displays we saw tonight.

We have raised over £34 000 for the Childrens Hospice Asociation of Scotland (CHAS). This has been a team effort with all classes from the Primary and Secondary getting behind this fantastic charity. We liked CHAS becuase they were local, and we wanted to support a charity that was working with young people in the west of Scotland. We were struck by the work being done at Robin House, a hospice for children with life limiting conditions, set in beautiful countrtside outside Balloch. we felt that the launch DVD was very arresting, and immediately captured the attention of our pupils. We saw how much the hospice meant, not only to the patient, but the hard pressed families and carers. We were keen to find out as much as we could, so a group of Sixth Year pupils visited Robin House to have a special guided tour. The pupils saw the facilities, such as the sensory room and the swimming pool, and the specialist equipment they use just to help the children with everyday tasks. Just as important, we were shown the rooms which the mums and dads and brothers and sisters can get, to let them stay over. Everything is designed to make life as straightforward and normal as possible.

Back at school we got to work. Encouraged and cajoled by many dedicvated form teachers and year tutors, pupisl embarked on a series of big set piece events, such as the annual cross county fun run and the Talent Show. In both we were delighted to be joined by DEbbie Traynor and Grace Wilson of CHAS. Indeed, one of the hallmarks of this Appeal has been the ongoing link with the charity’s fund raising team Grace and Debbiealso turned up to listen to one of our new events, the eagerly awaited Sixth Year curry karaoke, while not to be outdone, staff band Teach That put on a concert in early June. First Year forms combined forces under the guidance of Mrs Smith to put on a highly professional Burns Supper, while Fourth Year had a monthly elimination quiz in the Hall. Special mention must go to the heroic eforts of the school’s marathon man, Steven Russell, who, along with his wife, ran the Loch Ness marathon for CHAS, and then did the Edinburgh marathon a few months later. A running money earner was the shortbread which sold extremely well at Parents’ Evenings, thanks to a well trained sales team.
Over the year, we have also donated books to the library at Robin House, and w eare delighetd that the money we raise will go to developing a garden.
The School also supported the Intensive Baby Unit at the RAH, Paisley, while making regular donations of clothes and toiletries to the St Rollox Asylum seekers centre in Springburn. Former pupils Fiona Shaw and Andrew Watson are both climbing Kilimajaro for Childreach, a small charity which is focused on providing help for children in East Africa. We have been delighted to help them with their fundraising; Andrew tells us he collected more in Auldhouse on one Saturday morning than in all the pubs in St Andrews, while both our mountaineers have been shaking cans at evening performances of the Hot Mikado.
ON Sunday several members of staff will take part in the East Kilbride Half Marathon, again for CHAS, and further proof of how much the Hutchie community have taken this deserving cause to our heart.

Today was my 20th markers’ meeting for Credit/General Geography. The time seems to have flown since the 1990 paper, when Standard Grade was in its infancy. Scripts arrived in a hessian sack, and had to be posted back to Dalkeith envelope by envelope, each one stuck down by lurid yellow labels. Now they are sent off in two batches of high tech plastic bags, using ultra sticky irreversible gum. It used to give you some kudos to get hold of a marking scheme, as they were formerly strictly embargoed. Now they are online and at the back of the Past Paper books. Some questions have endured; old favourites like describe the course and features of a river, or explain the changes over time of a British Farm landscape are hardy annuals, almost. Other questions reflect recent changes in the UK economy; in 1995 we had a question on Chungwa Picture Tubes in Lanarkshire, which was a reflection of new investment in Scotland; now that is gone. Major international themes have remained fairly constant; deforestation, urbanisation and trade inequalities. Some questions from the early ’90s could easily be recycled for 2010; synoptic chart is a synoptic chart for example, and a corrie or ox bow lake is pretty much a banker for any year.

Being on the Geography exam team has been one of my best times in teaching. I liked the debates we had when putting together the papers and sharing ideas for questions at the “shredding meetings”, where questions were torn up and rewritten, but most of all the chat afterwards over a few pints. My favourite night was a celebrated Burns Supper at Keavil House in 2002, where each of us on the team had to do a turn, or perhaps the impromptu piano duet in front of Welsh rugby fans one February evening. Marking’s a grind at times, but it’s a great way to meet colleagues from other schools and parts of the country, and keep up to speed with your subject.

Here is the brief. Please use the comments to outline youtr suggestions for the Valpak award.

The Valpak Awards 2009, now in their 8th year, are renowned for showcasing excellence and innovation in recycling and resource management. This award is open to the next generation of recyclers and business people who have taken on the challenge of resource management. Valpak is looking to identify young individuals who have shown innovation, commitment and drive in the field of recycling and resource management. They may have
designed a new product,
set up a new business venture
have outstanding ideas to reduce, reuse and recycle waste materials

Two worksheets on Farming which pupils uploaded to Scribd. We then embedded the code on to the blog. More sheets to follow.

Farm Exercise Sheet

Farmers Year 29-5-09

Britain’s Climate

Weather and Climate

_M220999bw copy.jpg

Originally uploaded by mingthein

I need to give more thought to detailed timings of lessons than I do

So, will break the 1/2 lesson into 3 10 minute chunks:

1. Go over idea of mind mapping. Look at some good examples of mind mapping. Also contrast with lists of bullet points.
2. Get class to read article on climate change. What are they key words they should pick out?
3. Use the white boards to produce a visual summary of what they have read OR draw up a bulleted list.

Homework is to make a fair copy and bring in.

Photo Credit:  OllieBray (shows the SAGT poster for Curriculum for Excellence)

ACfE seems to be taking some flak from major players in the educational world. Chris Woodhead, writing under the headline, Curriculum for Ignorance, in today’s Sunday Times lambasts what he sees as its lack of rigour and content, and attacks the emphasis on process as opposed to knowledge.

Lindsay Paterson, professor of educational policy at Edinburgh University has warned that, unless teachers’ subject knowledge improved, it would be difficult to deliver the new curriculum effectively or raise the attainment of Scottish pupils.

The “fashionable orthodoxy” of ACfE ignored the need for direct teaching, he argued, and focused instead on “the kind of applied inter-disciplinary project work which is supposed to displace the need for expertise”. While inter-disciplinary work had its place, it made no sense unless the disciplines had been grasped first. Pupils could not grasp these fundamentals if the “didacticism of the expert” was not available, and that depended on the teacher having the necessary disciplinary grasp, he said at a Directors Conference.

Is his, and Chris Woodhead’s, analysis wrong? Is there a ring of truth in what they are saying, or are they creating an Aunt Sally, a fictional travesty of ACfE which they can then knock down with impunity? Is there indeed a lack of subject knowledge, and a lack of passion?

Reading their articles, though, I find myself asking some questions on ACfE-and better experts than me are asking plenty, too.

I am less interestd in the global philosophy of ACfE than in how it works in individual schools. We need to look at certain types of pupils and ask how ACfE will work for them. For example what type of curriculum is best suited for a pupil who aims to study for a top course (say Law, Medicine, etc) and is likely to do five Highers and say 3 AHs over S5 and S6. What exams will he or she sit in the near future, and in what way will they be different from exams sat this year? What is the best way to design a curriculum and make up a timetable that supports ACfE?

And wider points arise: What is the SQA doing about ACfE? (We get an idea from their website-   http://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/34714.html and the report http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/02/23130007/0 What do universities think? How can there be “excellence” when schools can’t, because of funding cuts, offer a full range of AH courses? Which schools will become centres of excellence for the Scot Bac, and which will not be able to offer it?

Indeed, can there be excellence when so many pupils leave with poor qualifications, literacy rates and numeracy rates? What are those countries in Europe who are ahead of us in such league tables doing differently? do they have similar models?