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The Madness of Gove - discuss

116 replies

LizzieVereker · 03/02/2014 19:32

Explore and analyse the extent of the the Education Secretary's insanity. You must support your answer with evidence (despite the fact he doesn't).
Gove's latest "plan"

OP posts:
claw2 · 04/02/2014 10:38

My ds has SN's and i expect him to be able to maintain his level of progress, in line with his level of ability, because that is why i send him to school.

BirdintheWings · 04/02/2014 10:41

But do you expect it to be linear and predictable? Some children streak ahead in things they are interested in; others level out after an early start. That seems pretty normal to me.

claw2 · 04/02/2014 10:54

Yes i do. He is good at some things, not so good at others. I expect and predict he will do much better at the things he is good at and need help and support in the things he is not so good at. Like most kids, i should imagine.

Grockle · 04/02/2014 12:19

Ah, harddayswrite, I misunderstood. Maybe that is true then but that seems ridiculous. Teachers monitor and asses children & change targets to accommodate change in circumstances, achievement etc. If they are not meeting targets or making expected progress, we have to explain (long-term sickness etc)... what's the point in us doing all that if 1 child making less than expected progress for whatever reason means that the entire school requires improvement?

TamerB · 04/02/2014 12:57

You can't just programme like this. My friend's child has gone through the same private school from kindergarten to 6th form. He kept his place throughout -but at each stage, pre prep, prep, senior school, sixth form-children were asked to leave,because they were not up to standard, and they were replaced by higher achievers from elsewhere. Parents were paying for this and so obviously wanted them to succeed. If Gove was correct it is appalling that a school should have a child from 3 yrs and then say they were not good enough- they jolly well should have been! The way the school put it was that 'they were more suited to a different school'. Gove appears to think you can shape every child the same way.

I can't see why we want to be like the Japanese,with parents desperate to get the 'right' kindergarten so that they end up at the 'right' university. The 'competitive mummies' who obsess about reading levels in reception will get worse! It really doesn't matter which reading band they are on at that age it is more important to be able to listen to instructions, be able to dress themselves etc.

Interestingly the exercise class that I went to this morning had a punching exercise and our teacher said 'imagine someone you want to punch!' The immediate response was 'Michael Gove' and the one dissenter was drowned out by the agreement of everyone else!

rollonthesummer · 04/02/2014 13:02

Interestingly the exercise class that I went to this morning had a punching exercise and our teacher said 'imagine someone you want to punch!' The immediate response was 'Michael Gove' and the one dissenter was drowned out by the agreement of everyone else!

That is brilliant! I'm glad I'm not alone; I have been so cross!

Does 'Call me Dave' care that these suggestions are so poorly received by 'the people'? Arent we supposed to be a democracy!?

TamerB · 04/02/2014 13:06

I thought it was brilliant and I wasn't the one who said Michael Gove! I did join in the chorus of approval and I packed a lot into the punch!

soul2000 · 04/02/2014 13:42

Bird In The wings. It does not make any sense, to be on one side of the argument saying pupils must meet their potential. How can they /he say that when cutting funding to pupils when circumstances out of Pupils/individual's control have prevented that from happening.

It sounds like they want your son , to take his A2 Exams at a FE College and demand , either you pay the FEES or your son takes out a Student Loan.

This is surely at odds with his rhetoric , about everyone achieving their potential.

soul2000 · 04/02/2014 16:09

Bird In The Wings. I have just checked out the Government Document regarding funding for over 18 year olds .

The document says funding will be 17.5% lower than for 16/17 year olds so a typical school would still get £3300 funding instead of £4000, a loss of just £700 . The school need to be made aware of this and asked if they are want to ruin someone's education over just £700 ..... The school can surely absorb £700....

BirdintheWings · 04/02/2014 23:08

Hey, thanks for finding that. All the more ammo for a conversation with school this week.

GossamerHailfilter · 06/02/2014 16:44

The problem is that the potential that Gove believes pupils can achieve is a 'one size fits all' ideal, when no two children has the same ability.

He has taken the 'Every Child Matters' and tagged on 'as long as they fit my Oxbridge vision'.

I read an online article yesterday ridiculing his claims that private and state schools should be the same. If that were to happen, we would need to give over 33m acres of land to the DOE to take up the playing fields and facilities alone.

GossamerHailfilter · 06/02/2014 16:45

Here

I have to add to the voices though that worry that the 2 Eds wont be able to make much of a better job, which is worrying.

TamerB · 06/02/2014 17:55

There is no way that any state school could be like Eton -and Eton are having massive building work done at the moment.

AcaciaBeez · 06/02/2014 19:50

Some of you may enjoy this
www.etsy.com/uk/listing/164759623/michael-gove-voodoo-pincushion

Feenie · 07/02/2014 17:42

Has anyone seen this?

www.localschoolsnetwork.org.uk/2013/10/dfe-confirms-gove-has-visited-schools-that-dont-exist/

Mendacious as well as mad then.

lljkk · 07/02/2014 17:57

It's interesting to try to tease out which MN constituency likes Gove.

It seems to be people who are fairly aspirational but appalled by their local state schools and they have kids who they credit themselves as bringing up to behave & do well. In a parallel universe they'd just HE.

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