"The last thing anyone wants to hear," a teacher shrieked at a roomful of lively Year 8s today, "is the sound of children singing!"
Well yes, heaven forbid.
This week a theatre group came into school to work with forty Year 10 boys on understanding Shakespeare through performance. I had feared disaster. The boys chosen for the event were borderline underachievers, disaffected, too-cool-for-school hard cases. Within minutes the actors had disarmed them with humour, energy and a willingness to play the fool. Within half an hour the boys were completely engaged. I have never seen them so engrossed for so long. I have never seen them smile so much. This is what education is about - not Shakespeare specifically, but opening minds, channelling energy, raising self-esteem. This is what we should be doing.
According to our Great Leaders (and Ofsted), children failing to meet their target grades is entirely their teachers' fault. Nothing to do with social/economic deprivation or low parental expectations. Nothing to do with parents being drug addicts/mentally unstable/in prison. Some children barely make it through the gates with half their uniforms on because they are carers for their parents, or misbehave in school because it is the only place they can let off steam. Some are out of their minds on weed, or already have dysfunctioning livers due to their alcohol consumption. But if they don't mange to attain a C grade it will be because their teacher didn't ask them the correct question one Friday afternoon in July.
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