But mostly, sadly, the system doubles down on doing what it’s always done, defending itself with some new words eg we want students to be autonomous - they achieve that through success, so use explicit instruction to get competent (at structured tasks / tests). Or, if only kids understand why all this knowledge and tasks stuff are important, they’ll be motivated to do them…the tensions in finding a way to address the issues are clear, but feels like v little appetite for meaningful rebalancing eg this guidance…https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/ambition-institute/documents/Achieve_and_thrive_A_research-based_guide_to_pupil_motivation_and_engagement_S_OBg1rjY.pdf
As a Youth Work team leader much of this also resonated with me. Youth work has both been relegated to the bottom of the education pile and integrated into rigid risk averse systems.
We are also working in this poly crisis with less training and less investment and often with those young people who have been failed by the school system - and they can be angry with the world.
This was an excellent, well thought out piece. I hope we can turn it around quickly.
Thinking of my own son - he had a lot of colds etc at primary school in the wake of covid years and we just let him stay home - I think his attendance dropped to 88% or something - we got a warning letter.
It was all genuine absence though, but it seemed right to be cautious. Also, covid had taught us he learnt more at home than the average day in the classroom, so that was not a reason to push him to school - he wasn't going to fall behind.
This is such a thoughtful and necessary naming of what so many of us feel in our bones but rarely hear articulated this clearly. I deeply resonate with your framing of the “educational polycrisis” — especially your call to reimagine the purpose of education beyond performance and toward human flourishing. I’ve been exploring how we might re-anchor learning in competencies like global awareness, civic literacy, responsible decision-making, and resilience — much like Singapore’s 21st Century Competencies framework. In your view, what would it take to meaningfully shift content and curriculum toward these deeper ends in systems so wedded to standardization?
Powerful and comprehensive review of the status quo James. Thank you for putting it together so effectively. Look forward to learning about your two concrete proposals - could one of them just possibly be the implementation of self-determination theory and moving towards Don Berg's and Rebecca Winthrop's 'agentic education'(and yours and even mine!) through a % (take your pick, 5% 10% 20%!!!) of self directed time and space in all school - as discrete timeein the timetable or just a portion of a lesson.
Super post James. Your ideas resonate and form a beautiful way of entering each day at student, teacher, leader, organisation and system levels. The process of making our own personal antidotes is so helpful, this feels though like a super collective manifesto in the making.
Thank you for posting James. I think what probably is most important in your list of 15 is purpose and self-determination. I think that this has been stripped from education because of the overemphasis on instructional methods and attainment of outcomes. Students need to be around adults who have a sense of what it is to be ethical and moral and should be in a classroom culture that tests people's intuitions and what that is. To flourish and to be well is underpinned by a sense of one's own well-thought-out purpose.
Great read as always - also agree with Jamie’s point.
On #11, this is where the interpretation of research matters. Sometimes it’s to really listen to children to shape what happens in school - which is great. Even better if the purpose IS healthy child development, civic reasoning, learning about yourself, others, the world through varied subject matter / lenses. Democratic, Rights Centred, affective neuroscience approaches - normalising systems (vs siloed) thinking. Also see the v good ‘Engaging Minds’ (Brent Davis et al) especially moments 3 and 4: https://amberroweblog.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/brent-davis-dennis-sumara-rebecca-luce-kapler-engaging-minds_-cultures-of-education-and-practices-of-teaching-routledge-2015.pdf
But mostly, sadly, the system doubles down on doing what it’s always done, defending itself with some new words eg we want students to be autonomous - they achieve that through success, so use explicit instruction to get competent (at structured tasks / tests). Or, if only kids understand why all this knowledge and tasks stuff are important, they’ll be motivated to do them…the tensions in finding a way to address the issues are clear, but feels like v little appetite for meaningful rebalancing eg this guidance…https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/ambition-institute/documents/Achieve_and_thrive_A_research-based_guide_to_pupil_motivation_and_engagement_S_OBg1rjY.pdf
As a Youth Work team leader much of this also resonated with me. Youth work has both been relegated to the bottom of the education pile and integrated into rigid risk averse systems.
We are also working in this poly crisis with less training and less investment and often with those young people who have been failed by the school system - and they can be angry with the world.
This was an excellent, well thought out piece. I hope we can turn it around quickly.
Thinking of my own son - he had a lot of colds etc at primary school in the wake of covid years and we just let him stay home - I think his attendance dropped to 88% or something - we got a warning letter.
It was all genuine absence though, but it seemed right to be cautious. Also, covid had taught us he learnt more at home than the average day in the classroom, so that was not a reason to push him to school - he wasn't going to fall behind.
This is such a thoughtful and necessary naming of what so many of us feel in our bones but rarely hear articulated this clearly. I deeply resonate with your framing of the “educational polycrisis” — especially your call to reimagine the purpose of education beyond performance and toward human flourishing. I’ve been exploring how we might re-anchor learning in competencies like global awareness, civic literacy, responsible decision-making, and resilience — much like Singapore’s 21st Century Competencies framework. In your view, what would it take to meaningfully shift content and curriculum toward these deeper ends in systems so wedded to standardization?
BTW Loved the "Angel of Death Will See You Now" clip!!
Powerful and comprehensive review of the status quo James. Thank you for putting it together so effectively. Look forward to learning about your two concrete proposals - could one of them just possibly be the implementation of self-determination theory and moving towards Don Berg's and Rebecca Winthrop's 'agentic education'(and yours and even mine!) through a % (take your pick, 5% 10% 20%!!!) of self directed time and space in all school - as discrete timeein the timetable or just a portion of a lesson.
Super post James. Your ideas resonate and form a beautiful way of entering each day at student, teacher, leader, organisation and system levels. The process of making our own personal antidotes is so helpful, this feels though like a super collective manifesto in the making.
Thank you for posting James. I think what probably is most important in your list of 15 is purpose and self-determination. I think that this has been stripped from education because of the overemphasis on instructional methods and attainment of outcomes. Students need to be around adults who have a sense of what it is to be ethical and moral and should be in a classroom culture that tests people's intuitions and what that is. To flourish and to be well is underpinned by a sense of one's own well-thought-out purpose.