The Telegraph reports on the following results of a survey of 1,500 pupils:
- a third felt that people who read a lot were boring;
- only half agreed that reading was a good way to spend time; and
- less than half thought that libraries were interesting places.
While I accept that not every child must like books, I think that the problem lies much deeper than that. It is not so much a disinclination to read, but a distaste for learning. In this country, I have very often encountered the belief amongst many that education in itself has no value at all.
In all my time living and working all over Africa, I came across many students who did not like reading (or even school, for that matter), and indeed, many who could not afford to go to school. However, whether they liked school or not, they were all very clear on one thing: that education had value, and that there was a direct relationship between a good relationship and wellbeing in almost every area of life. There was therefore a sense that, whatever one’s feelings on the matter, education was a necessary thing.
Not so in the United Kingdom. The relationship between education and self-advancement has been downplayed to the point that education is of little worth in the eyes of many. It obviously means nothing to this Government, under whose watch we have seen its value fall, through (for example), the inflation of exam grades, the proposed allocation of school places through lottery systems, and the so-called ‘widening of access’ to university by giving greater weight to factors other than merit.
A little over a year ago, I wrote about Carol Horne, a mother who was fined for turning a blind eye while her daughter played truant. Declaring herself unrepentant, Horne stated that she did not see the point of education, anyway, as getting a job was ‘a matter of luck, not exam results’.
Outrageous? Not at all. Ask any employer who has had the misfortune to interview any of the half-baked A-starred products of our education system. Ask any university lecturer who has had to offer such students remedial lessons in English grammar and spelling. Carol Horne may not be aware of the ins and outs of the education system, but her words ring with wisdom. Education has no value in today’s Britain, and this latest survey simply confirms that fact.
March 11th, 2007 at 1:56 pm
…While I accept that not every child must like books, I think that the problem lies much deeper than that. It is not so much a disinclination to read, but a distaste for learning. In this country, I have many times encountered the belief amongst many, that education in itself has no value at all…
Bel, this is not just in Britain. there is eveidence that it is an epidemic now across the loosely ‘western’ world, inc. Russia. And it’s no accident. Don’t know if you saw my long series on the Dumbing Down of Education.
March 11th, 2007 at 1:58 pm
“Don’t know if you saw my long series on the Dumbing Down of Education.”
Oh no, I didn’t, James. That sounds interesting. I’ll go check your archives now.
By the way, I’m finally responding to being tagged by you. Expect the post to come up in the net few minutes. I was waiting until my website returned to its normal speed before writing the post.
March 11th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
I read quite a lot. I know I’m not boring.
my education was a complete waste of time. Here was what we were NOT taught, some fairly important points.
History- Absolutely nothing of the British empire.
Geography- Very little about the flora/fauna/resurces of counties outside Europe
Chemistry- Nothing about atomic structure or the fundamental nature of matter
Physics- No allusions to the four forces, quantum theory, sub-atomic particles, the Big Bang etc
Biology- No explanation of genetics or evolution theory.
What hope is there? I had to learn these things myself.
And I was in the higher sets!
March 11th, 2007 at 4:43 pm
You are right. Education is crappy in this country. If we want t improve it we have to move away from state run education and move towards a system like Switzerland.
March 11th, 2007 at 9:24 pm
Britain has been an anti-intellectual country since the end of the victorian era. Education is after all elitis; thsu socialists hate it and wish it to be made valueless.
Perhaps they have suceeded (with the working class, rich people still get a good education privately).