English isn’t a Real Subject

[noblegiraffe]

Just saw this on twitter and thought it was interesting. As a maths teacher, I teach what is on the syllabus, and that’s what the exam is on. They won’t need matrices (not taught at GCSE but appears on Further Maths) to answer anything on the GCSE paper and they won’t get any more marks if they do use matrices.

From the twitter thread: “It’s just mad to expect English teachers to cover the whole of anglocentric knowledge, which they need to do for kids who are new to it.”

So you can’t get high level success in English unless you have a huge range of general knowledge?

What do English teachers think?

maths is easier

I’d probably agree, a clearly defined syllabus with tight marking and not having to read five million essays. My eyes start to glaze over at marking questions where they have 3 lines to ‘compare the distribution of Group A’s results with Group B’s’.

So you think the AQA examiner’s report is bollocks? It would certainly explain the inconsistencies in marking.

I used to teach GCSE English. I taught my year 9-11s nursery rhymes and Bible stories and fairy tales and history and politics, in order to teach them literary analysis.

Yes, English Literature is an exam partly in cultural capital, partly in language use and the ability to actually think (if you cannot think coherently and express your thoughts in writing, you can't pass) and only partly a test on whether your teacher covered the syllabus.

Yes, it's harder than GCSE maths which AI could pass.

It's unfair, but can be rebalanced by a teacher prepared to go off piste and piss off the department head if they notice...

English, RE and history are pretty much the only subjects which give children a chance to top up their cultural capital, if they aren't getting the input at home...

Mind you I once spent a triple lesson with a year 8 class who were 80% special needs and 20% with almost no English at all, teaching them to tell the time on an analogue clock. It had become transparently obvious in the preceding 3 months that none of them could. I think it was the most they'd learnt in one day since infant school... I used to tell them the stories of the set texts, bedtime story style. I read the whole of mice and men aloud to a year ten bottom set - head of English had told me just to show the video as they'd never read it, then teach the lower paper exam topics. I had complete, rapt silence in the lessons whole I read to them - nobody had read to them since infant school, and then only teachers. Head of English found out and was angry I wasn't following the scheme of work

English should be about cultural capital - not about assessing it, but about imparting it - IMO.

the whole of anglocentric knowledge
Gove banned all non British born English writers from the examined English Literature syllabus.

I've not seen any non British born writers' source texts on exam materials for English Language across AQA, OCR, or iGCSE, but maybe I've missed them.......

I did read somewhere recently that literacy is massively overlooked in maths. (most people think it's an English teacher's job!) and that the demands of language are so domain specific in maths (such as our hypotenuse chat the other day noble) that it needs very specific teaching.

I think you are right there woman. I assume it has to be British : but that one about the hat, who was that by? Her name escapes me, but isn't she Canadian?

edna, that's a great post! Nice to meet another rebel!

And , yes, noble , that part most certainly is bollocks.

I tell a lie. The original sample exam papers for OCR English language were speeches by Obama and Mandela: different times...........

Take it back : Katherine Mansfield - from NZ.

I no longer live in an English speaking country, but our grammar school warned us at open evening that children with an A (equivalent) in maths and a C (equivalent) in the native language leaving primary school tend to struggle significantly with the entire curriculum, whereas children with an A (equivalent) in the native language and s C (equivalent) in maths tend almost universally to catch up in maths within a couple of years and do very well indeed overall. Entrance requirement is A-/ B+ average across the key subjects.

Thanks Piggywaspushed unfortunately I left mainstream teaching after 6 years - deeply frustrated by the fact that genuinely teaching, the way the teachers who inspired me taught, generally got me into trouble! I'm not a very good "yes (wo)man".

Not sure which one it is about a hat. piggy

The standard required to get an 8 or 9 now is an odd, archaic, erudite style, especially in the essay questions.

It is not a style which is recognisable or achievable to most normal, clever, working class kids.

Old syllabuses tried to blend practically and even vocationally (!) relevant style and skills with a range of cultural reference points. And critically; media analysis, which would have been useful in the last few years.

Can't help with the hypotenuse, although I do remember initiatives, (about 10 years ago?) to improve the quality of English across the curriculum.

Wish I could. I'd like to learn more maths now.

The famous Rosabel one was about a hat. Think it was my DS's year so 2017 AQA.

OK!

I did read somewhere recently that literacy is massively overlooked in maths

Ooh guess what I’ve been looking at this year!

teaching them to tell the time on an analogue clock.

Just look at my phone, innit? I don’t think analogue clocks are on GCSE maths any more, but I still teach it!

What’s interesting is how many kids don’t know how many weeks there are in a year, or days in April. Not sure who is meant to teach that.

Not sure who is meant to teach that.

Primary teachers. Within the Maths curriculum.

'Language related to dates' mostly in Year 1. 'Knowing' mostly comes into Year 3. 'Being able to convert', mostly into Year 4.

I would say that this is the type of thing where the maths equivalent of cultural capital comes in - children from chaotic, language-poor homes may not necessarily experience e.g. the same amount of repetitive conversation about 'What happens on a Tuesday? oh, that is Rainbows' or 'We will go on holiday in August' as others - and others will not have the literacy skills to decode the quite complex vocabulary involved at the point it is 'supposed' to be covered in the curriculum....as well as the perennial problem that 'Number' has tended to have much more time and practice than 'Measurement' or 'Geometry' within a child's primary Maths experience.

Ah, like Roman numerals, it’s not repeated in the secondary curriculum and so they just forget it.

Kids are also increasingly less likely to know how a pack of playing cards is set up.

It doesn’t seem fair, but it’s unavoidable. If you are asked to write an article (which is a core skill in English Language) and your article uses knowledge gleaned from history, philosophy, economics, theology etc. to make your writing more plausible and persuasive, then that’s the nature of the beast - it’s better than an article that is uninformed and basic.

Another thing many kids don't know (can't be arsed to know) these days is centuries! They seem permanently confused that the 17th century is 1600s...