My education dream...

[ButterPie]

OK, so if you were somehow dictator, and could make any education system you liked, how would it work? (sum it up please) It doesn't have to be very practical, so go mad.

I'd scrap the idea of "playgroup, school, college, uni" and have small learning centres in each village/town and big ones in each city. There would be classes running all day in all kids of stuff, so a play room, where young kids could go and mess about with playdough and stuff was available to do with reading and counting, but it wasn't pushed.
Then there would be classes on all day, and kids and their parents could choose what level of class they needed in each subject. They could mix it up with free study time and home education. Some kind of computer would make this work.
There would also be adult classes in all sorts, at all kinds of level, some taught by qualified teachers (so you could work towards exams and such) and some just taught by people who happen to know about stuff (so the local baker could teach people cake decorating) with a mixture of academic, practical and hobby subjects.
There would also be a library, a theatre and a small museum featuring touring exhibits. Ooh, and small meeting rooms and a large hall with a big fire and food.

All free, all open to everyone.

I know it wouldn't work, but I can dream....

sounds lovely

An International Women?s Day and Mother?s Day Event
Assemble 2pm Trafalgar Sq
March to Parliament Sq

Saturday 13 March 2010

Mothers March & Speak Out

For recognition and support for all the work
we contribute to society

Come with your children, relatives and friends.

Bring your banners, placards and demands.

Westminster, London SW1 ALL WELCOME

mothering is hard work.

The survival of the human race depends on the caring work of mothers. But we get no recognition or support. Only blame when things go wrong. And we?re even expected to do more work to feed the family,
often on the lowest pay.

every mother is a working mother

MEN: Join the contingent of fathers & other male carers
who support mothers.

mothers, this march is for you who are raising children in cities, towns or villages l Who are separated from your children or have lost children l Who are surviving war and environmental disaster l Who are seeking asylum l For you who are grandmothers, non-biological mothers and other women doing caring work l For you who have disabilities or have a child with disabilities l Who are fighting for justice for loved ones l Who have been raped l Who are sex workers supporting families l Who have been criminalised by poverty l For you mothers of every race, age, passport, income, sexuality and occupation l For all of us who are overworked and underpaid.

Our demand is:

invest in caring not killing

Called by All African Women?s Group Mothers? Campaign (MoCa), Global Women?s Strike (GWS), and Single Mothers? Self-Defence

Endorsed by: Kay Adshead (playwright & poet), Black Women?s Rape Action Project, English Collective of Prostitutes, Oliver James (child psychologist, author of Affluenza & Guardian columnist), Sheila Kitzinger, (breastfeeding and natural childbirth campaigner & author), Payday men?s network, The Peace Strike at Parliament Square, Wages Due Lesbians, WinVisible (women with visible and invisible disabilities, Women Against Rape, Women of Colour in the GWS.

Sign MoCa?s petition for family reunion:

www.PetitionOnline.com/MumsKids/petition.html

For info on disability access and facilities for children, to sponsor or

to make a donation: (020) 7482 2496 voice/minicom

www.globalwomenstrike.net
[email protected] [email protected]

Erm, I think you put this in the wrong place!

ButterPie in utopia I'd go for something like your description.

In my more realistic moments (that is, if I was a benevolent dictator without unlimited resources) I would;

make EYFS optional so people could choose straight out care instead of Early Years Ed.

Make flexi-schooling an entitlement, so the head had to show good reason to deny it and not the other way around. And make big changes to rules about not taking term time off.

Allow parents to start their children in reception or year 1 at 4/5/6 depending on when the child was ready rather than missing reception if they didn't go in with their year group.

Start to make changes towards having a form class based on your school year (but taking into account the change above) but going into mixed age ability groups for subjects whenever its reasonable to do so.

Have exam centres in all big/medium sized towns and cities where people of any age can sit exams for free or low cost. So that a school not offering a certain subject doesn't mean you can't take it if you want to, it isn't expensive to carry on/go back and gain qualifications and home educated children can take exams without huge expense.

I don't think any of those would cost huge amounts either (on top of current spending, I mean). So when I take over the world I wont have to take any more of your money to do it

It sounds a lovely idea ButterPie, but it does start from the assumption that all children and all parents would actually bother to turn up and make use of the facilities - I'd love to live in a society where the education system worked like that, and everyone made full use of it. But I don't know how you would get over the bump of getting those who don't think education is for them to use it and benefit from it.

sounds like hippy hell.all that cake baking jesus wept