A blog which is mainly about home educating in the UK.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Schools to be Abolished in Favour of Learning Centres
There was an April Fool story doing the rounds this year in HE circles which ran along very similar lines to this report in the Independent. No wonder people are finding it hard to believe a second time. It still seems too good to be true.
Sounds really interesting. Learning centres open until 10pm - great for teenagers who are rarely alert in the morning!
I'm not sure from the article, though, what role teachers are supposed to have -120 students get their 'tasks' in the morning and then disperse to internet cafes to carry them out - does this mean obligatory morning attendance and are teachers just cafe supervisors?
Do students get any one to one at all if required? It seems, though, like a step in the right direction AND there is a mixture of ages as adults who wish to learn may do so there as well.
I agree there are plenty of questions arising from the article, and one hopes that people get close to solving some of the problems that may arise, before they declare the whole thing a disaster.
I think they should be consulting with HEors to find out the likely areas of difficulty!
I find it curious they do this for a region where kids seem to show little interest in academic learning. It seems unfair for those that want to learn and would benefit from a less coercive system.
If these learning centers fail to capture interest, it could undermine the start of something really good.
Sounds really interesting. Learning centres open until 10pm - great for teenagers who are rarely alert in the morning!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure from the article, though, what role teachers are supposed to have -120 students get their 'tasks' in the morning and then disperse to internet cafes to carry them out - does this mean obligatory morning attendance and are teachers just cafe supervisors?
Do students get any one to one at all if required? It seems, though, like a step in the right direction AND there is a mixture of ages as adults who wish to learn may do so there as well.
D
I agree there are plenty of questions arising from the article, and one hopes that people get close to solving some of the problems that may arise, before they declare the whole thing a disaster.
ReplyDeleteI think they should be consulting with HEors to find out the likely areas of difficulty!
I find it curious they do this for a region where kids seem to show little interest in academic learning. It seems unfair for those that want to learn and would benefit from a less coercive system.
ReplyDeleteIf these learning centers fail to capture interest, it could undermine the start of something really good.
That, anon, is an excellent point. It would be awful to dismiss the idea just based on testing it in a place with low academic interest.
ReplyDeleteIf the children get the academic results, no one seems to care how miserable they might be whilst achieving them!
Thanks Carlotta for this - will be interesting seeing the progress.
D