Change bLog

Schools minister Jim Knight yesterday opened the BETT Show 08 with the announcement that all school will provide ‘real time‘ reporting on children by 2012, using the internet as a vehicle. Whilst I welcome the broad concept, this is yet another example of a good initial idea implemented badly.

Firstly, I am a teacher. Has anybody asked me what I think? If schools are being treated as businesses, then we as staff should have been told, rather than just catching it at the end of a news bulletin on Channel 4. If we are a public service, trying to give our children the best possible education rather than make money, then there should have been some public consultancy.

Providing up-to-date feedback on a number of areas to parents is essential. However, most primary teachers have a good dialogue with most parents, often at the school gate. This announcement seems to suggest that there will be a minute-by-minute update on everything from behaviour to what the child had for dinner. Will we be given an assistant to sit in class, constantly typing information into a computer about each child? Are teachers expected to do this rather than actually spending time helping the children to learn (I thought that was one of the main points of teaching)? This seems to be a rushed announcement to make the government sound like they have their finger on the pulse. A far more considered announcement would have been better, outlining a practical implementation of the scheme.

One of the best things about this communication ‘revolution’ that we are experiencing is the choice that is available, especially from freeware/open source solutions. Even better is that these solutions are usually natively compatible with each other and, if not, there is usually some patch or work-around. The choice is also there with how and when to use these tools. Some schools might decide to use SMS to keep parents informed, some may choose email and others may choose a combination of protocols. The important thing is that the school can choose a method that best suits a particular situation and preference. The government seems to have taken the same approach to school administration as it has to the curriculum, make the children fit the plan rather than making the plan fit the children. Have we learned nothing?