Groundhog day
Alongside the rise of texting and lack of face-to-face conversation, in recent years we also have witnessed the demise of communication skills as a broad curricular aim. In this podcast, Charity Voice 21’s director of learning at Impact, Amy Gaunt joins Mark Taylor to advocate for oracy to rise again among our educational priorities.
As a teacher and as a parent, this all certainly seems like ‘groundhog day’ to me. We frequently pack the curriculum so full we fail to think about basic conversational skills and wonder why writing is tricky for year 6, and then we realise and try to do something about it.
In the days of Sure Start, those attempts centered around preschool language with a project to get families talking. It was useful for parents too, encouraging conversational back and forth over closed questions like “Have you put your toys away?” or direct instruction like “Clean your teeth”.
Sadly, much of this has fallen by the wayside. Thus, Labour’s focus on oracy, and indeed tooth brushing. The curriculum review will have to do something to ensure there is time for it all, but we are certainly finding more and more that we need to start with conversational skills before expecting a high-quality piece of writing.
Haidters gonna Haidt
In the effort to revive communication skills, this fascinating podcast with American social psychologist and author of The Anxious Generation Jonathan Haidt couldn’t be more timely. Coinciding also with Ormiston trust’s decision to go phone free, his take on the fraught subject their use among young people should give us all pause for thought.
As Haidt explains, there is a much wider societal issue at play than smartphones. His concern is that the price we pay for technological advancement is the disappearance of childhood and the end of the age of play.
From the beginning of time, childhood was play based. Now, play has been replaced by screen time that offers at best a shadow of real social interaction. In this context, a no-phone policy is a great idea, but unlikely on its own to restore the mental health of young people (and their parents and teachers).
For me, the podcast raises important questions about our work. Are we overly focused on the qualifications that supposedly open the doors to adult-life success? Have we been too quick to dismiss the value of play?
It’s surely imperative that the curriculum and assessment review led by Becky Francis consider their remit within this broader context. Schools must enable children to want to make real connections in the real world and experience real-life adventures.
Bricks to books
And if not real-life adventure, then at least we should foster the kind of adventure only a book can offer.
Here, Kelly Ashley, a lecturer in reading for pleasure for the Open University, she shares ideas for promoting a reading culture in schools.
Citing the importance of taking a holistic approach, she makes the analogy with Lego, how children enjoy the open play and endless possibilities it offers. We can do the same with the world of books, she says.
Including signposts to a wealth of resources to support schools to embrace reading for pleasure in its fullest and involve the whole community, this blog could be the start of a really big adventure.
Never a dull day
Speaking of which, Chris Passey has started one of his own. His new blog series is almost a diary, chronicling his thoughts and experiences in the ‘headship waiting room’ while a new school is built that he will lead.
Having ‘acted up’ for a term a long time ago, his first entry here on all the firsts on this journey really resonated with me. Being quite a way along that road though, I would reassure him and his readers that the firsts don’t stop when you take up the job.
Though it might feel like Groundhog Day when ministers have new ideas, if variety is the spice of life, then this is still a job for those who like theirs hot. That probably sounds daunting, but when is a big adventure ever not?
Your thoughts