Keep saying this. No one seems to be listening. When I taught English in the inner city, I was told by colleagues “these kids” couldn’t do Shakespeare. Not only did they read it, they performed it, and they had a blast doing it. Children rise or fall to meet the standards of the adults around them. Teaching down to them is not only doing them a disservice, but doing a disservice to society at large.
I couldn’t believe the idea about visits to football stadiums - as if football is in need of promotion, rather than sport already overpromoted as a route to social mobility for working class children.
How will that close the widening gap in the arts?
The mention of football, graffiti and rap also felt like it came from someone whose ideas of ‘yoof’ were formed working in inner city London in the 80s / early 90s. They are, broadly, boys interests.
And considering rap, one of the most successful hip-hop producers in Britain - 34 year old Inflo - has clearly had a musical education that has taught composition and arrangement and exposed him to classical music (June 55 by Sault being a pure instrumental where this is clear).
I’m not making a case that it’s great contemporary classical, but it is the result of believing that all children have a right to learn about orchestral music.
What’s also clear is that this will all only apply to working class children. The government will have no power to close down Eton’s school theatre, or ban theatres from admitting children on the grounds that middle class parents are privately giving their children a leg up by taking them to see ‘Matilda’.
It seems so self-evidently wrong headed that I can’t believe it’s got this far.
And I say this as someone ideologically opposed to Gove and Cummings, but reluctantly coming round to idea that their instinctive suspicion of a lot of educationalists was right
It is so scary that institutions who should be strongly advocating exposure to as broad and challenging a curriculum as possible are dumbing down education. Education doesn’t need to be “of the moment” - students will learn about the latest craze, music and video games anyway, but they need directing to discover critical, less dazzling (at first glance) knowledge to find real education. That’s the job of educationalists. Don’t let the next generation down.
Keep saying this. No one seems to be listening. When I taught English in the inner city, I was told by colleagues “these kids” couldn’t do Shakespeare. Not only did they read it, they performed it, and they had a blast doing it. Children rise or fall to meet the standards of the adults around them. Teaching down to them is not only doing them a disservice, but doing a disservice to society at large.
I couldn’t believe the idea about visits to football stadiums - as if football is in need of promotion, rather than sport already overpromoted as a route to social mobility for working class children.
How will that close the widening gap in the arts?
The mention of football, graffiti and rap also felt like it came from someone whose ideas of ‘yoof’ were formed working in inner city London in the 80s / early 90s. They are, broadly, boys interests.
And considering rap, one of the most successful hip-hop producers in Britain - 34 year old Inflo - has clearly had a musical education that has taught composition and arrangement and exposed him to classical music (June 55 by Sault being a pure instrumental where this is clear).
I’m not making a case that it’s great contemporary classical, but it is the result of believing that all children have a right to learn about orchestral music.
What’s also clear is that this will all only apply to working class children. The government will have no power to close down Eton’s school theatre, or ban theatres from admitting children on the grounds that middle class parents are privately giving their children a leg up by taking them to see ‘Matilda’.
It seems so self-evidently wrong headed that I can’t believe it’s got this far.
And I say this as someone ideologically opposed to Gove and Cummings, but reluctantly coming round to idea that their instinctive suspicion of a lot of educationalists was right
The Latins had a saying : Quem Jupiter vult perdere dementat prious= Before destroying them the Gods drive them crazy
Bravo 👏 from a fellow homeschooling parent and bookworm.
It is so scary that institutions who should be strongly advocating exposure to as broad and challenging a curriculum as possible are dumbing down education. Education doesn’t need to be “of the moment” - students will learn about the latest craze, music and video games anyway, but they need directing to discover critical, less dazzling (at first glance) knowledge to find real education. That’s the job of educationalists. Don’t let the next generation down.
Agree completely. How do we begin to revalue classical education for those with little or no exposure?