TheFailure of the tested society

Tests, tests and more tests, they are all we seem to worry about these days. From SAT's at KS2 to A-Levels to University and driving tests. Our society is built around these pieces of paper and yet some of the most influential people in the world didn't even achieve 5 GCSE level qualifications, Lord Alan Sugar,Simon Cowell and Joss Stone to name but a few. This system fails a large amount of our young people and our society as a whole. At the end of the day, would you rather have someone operate on you (medically) who had a plethora of degrees and has spent most of their time in university  or somebody who has a proven track record and experience of performing the operation successfully and safely? I know I'd certainly have the one with real life experience.

 I suppose my real niggle with tests is that they only test you on a certain slither of the cake, not the cake as a whole. I've seen many teachers come through the education system and one thing I notice  is that those who have done a straight teaching course find that they learn so much more from actually teaching in the class than on the course. I mean when teaching are we really thinking about the theories studied at university or are we trying to cater to an individual child's needs, adapting and changing things as we teach?

Modern day tests are in essence just memory tests. How many of us spent weeks and months revising for a test, finished it never coming back to the content again. I have a certificate to say I achieved a GCSE in maths but I couldn't tell you half of the stuff I learnt for that exam, . I have a GCSE in ICT but the test proved useless  as I had I had already taught myself how to do what it needed me to do years before. On the test I got a C (if memory serves me correct) yet in the workplace I am always the person everyone comes to for ICT support. I myself could also, and frequently do at work, sit down with a history book, flicking through, talking and teaching a child about hundreds of different eras of history in great detail, but ask me to write an essay on that subject and it wouldn't be anywhere near half as good. We, as teachers, see day to day that every child is born to be and do a different thing. School gives children the opportunity to discover what their thing in life is. Tests often shatter and destroy those aspirations. A test does not test what you know it tests what you have remembered about a small snippet of that whole subject.

Maths tests may at first seem like the only good test. After all it is not down to somebodies opinion of what was right but a definite answer e.g. 1+3=4. However these tests and questions do not get the angelic award it at first seems they deserve. Modern day mathematics tests set out to deceive and trick a child, certainly in my opinion anyway. The amount of times in test conditions I've been asked "what does it mean when it says the difference between 17 and 5?" and I have had to say" I'm really sorry I cannot tell you" knowing full well that that child can do subtraction and is extremely good at it, they have merely forgotten what it meant in that context. To the marker they haven't a clue as this poor child has then proceeded to write that 17 has one ten and seven units whilst 5 has just five units. Technically that child is not wrong, that is a valid difference between 17 and 5, yet the marker will give them a big fat zero.

A great example of where testing fails is that the marking and judging is usually done by a person. As we know all people are all different, we like different things and if somebody submits a piece of artwork to be marked, that persons opinion is all that matters. If you impress them, well done your in luck, they like it and naturally the mark will go up. However if it is not to their taste unlucky I'm afraid. We all do it, some people find Vincent Van Gough's paintings to be hideous, to some they are beautiful works of art. Likewise this can apply to many different areas, in literacy if I write a short story and you mark it, again you might think it utter tosh but the next guy might not be able to put it down. At the end of this month I submit my end of module assignment for a university course I am doing, It will go off electronically to somebody to sit and read through. Then this person will read through a checklist and decide what mark I deserve. It literally wont really matter what I put in my exam really as long as I tick the boxes and put what they want to hear.

Tests are good for those people who naturally can write 100''s of words where a sentence will do, people who can remember the facts and figures that they need to know for their exam next week and I agree it does work for some. But for the rest of us the test system is a failure. Tests shouldn't be abolished but test people on more practical things not just theories.

The story of the mind

I let the rain wash over me. wash through me. Cleansing every inch of my spirit. For the first time ever I felt like I was in touch with my inner self. Nothing else around me mattered. No fears. No thoughts. Just being one, a presence within the world. It was then I knew I was ready. I could face it now. I no longer heard the screaming. No longer saw the wounded. All I heard was my own breath and the beating of my heart from within. I heaved myself up over the top. I was ready to meet my maker. I raised my weapon, screamed an almighty battle cry and ran out through the smoke and remains of my fellow companions. It was one hell of a leap of faith but it had only two outcomes. either I died or they did. (start of a story that popped into my head today)


I have these momentary boosts of creative writing ideas quite often, I just struggle to remember them next time I'm sat at a keyboard! Fortunately I was sat in front of one this time. I really enjoy creative writing and I am fortunate enough to find writing the beginnings stories quite easily. I find writing the next chapter or next few pages the difficult part.  I end up writing 5 different starts for 5 different stories, never finishing them. In a way I quite like this as the stories could go in any direction. I write for fun, expression and as a peaceful hobby. This was one such story that came to mind when listening to music earlier today so I thought I'd post it for everyone to see to get a little bit of feedback, if anyone actually reads these! Feel free to post your own stories and thoughts as well.

This got me thinking about how wonderful and brilliant our brains really are. We are all capable of moulding and manipulating a story and plot in our heads either through words or images generated by our own minds. Its bonkers to think of the amount of content we produce a day. The amount of things we process and see all neatly tucked away in their own little brain folder. I find when thinking of a story I can see things from the characters perspective as if they were my own eyes. I can feel the emotions feel his or her pain and understand the relationships that character has. I do this on the bus, in the shower, whilst walking home after teaching is over for the day, even sometimes whilst teaching. All this information gets stored in a temporary brain file. If I don't write it or save it for later I forget and it is sent to the recycle bin of my mind, soon after that the space is filled with some other nonsense.

As I said in my first post, no longer am I sending things to my metaphorical recycle bin, I'm publishing them and I urge you to do the same. Imagine the world we would have if more people shared these thoughts. Imagine the progress we would make if we shared our knowledge and our thoughts more often with the world and imagine that collaborative world. Let us not forget, let us remove the isolation, let us share our knowledge. The future is sharing, and the future starts now.

Project Morpheus

I'm rambling on today about something I have been excited about for a few years now, virtual reality headsets. PlayStation have recently announced their exciting virtual reality headset called project Morpheus. The headset itself, only a prototype, actually looks quite sleek and trendy and seems to be comfortable to the wearer. However, this is not the thing that excites me the most with project Morpheus. I'm giddy because of the possibilities of this technology not only as a gamer but also the possibilities of this as an educational tool. Imagine for a moment that you could show a class of kids a simulated reconstruction of historical events both major (the streets of London during the Great Fire) and minor (the inside of a fully constructed and populated castle), allowing them to interact and experience that reality from within the classroom, at home or at a club whilst friends, family, teachers and fellow classmates can watch along. Imagine teaching children about a country or natural wonder and being able to pop on the headset and instantly transport them to the foot of a mountain, volcano or waterfall. Used in this way it would change the way education can be accessed and delivered and would open the door, paving the way for new opportunities and experiences for children who often don't get the chance to visit these locations. It would work across the board in many different subjects, not just History and Geography. In maths you could explain the scale of objects, in Literacy you could walk through a forest and experience it before you write it into a short story. The possibilities are endless. It may surprise some people that Sony PlayStation seems to be quite interested in taking steps towards that image, mentioning in a recent video (http://youtu.be/7mOcJ9PdKUE) the possibilities of exploring the international space station or looking up at the Eiffel Tower! Don't get me wrong this kind of technology will only work educationally if it is used in moderation and used in conjunction with modern day teaching practice. Nobody wants to see a society where nobody experiences the real world because virtual reality is, well, too much of a reality. I suppose what I'm saying is this technology, if used this way, will boost hands on experiences for children and allow them access to new and unexperienced areas. I look forward to seeing what the future holds and I hope somebody with the funding and experience can envisage something similar!

First Posting (could be the only one) (could be a while for next)

Have you ever found yourself ironing or walking (or doing something else that requires little thought whilst your doing it) and an amazing thought or idea just pops into your head? The setting of a story, some inspirational thought provoking statement or an idea for something fun and exciting to do. But alas as soon as these thoughts pop into your heads they seem to get lost in the very next moment or forgotten until the next time your waiting for your cheese on toast to melt.  Well this was one of those ideas!  I've decided enough is enough brain, your going to write these meaningless babbles down for some other unfortunate person to absorb and spit out! Yes my spelling is atrocious ( I even had to check that spelling) and yes these will likely be the random ramblings of my mind, but I hope somebody somewhere enjoys reading them, if not never mind at least I can come back one day and observe what strange thoughts ran through my head at the time.

I aim to talk about a variety of things in randomised ways, this will be a compilation of random thoughts and ideas.

                                         However it will likely consist of ...

• Video game rants, raves and reviews
• Hstorical views and questions
• Food for thought
• The education system and teaching in primary schools
• Fun ideas and things to make and do
• and many more things I'm sure