Apprenticeships and vocational courses – valued, to a degree…
Aiming to get 50% of the population into university, short of diminishing the advantage of the wealthy, may in fact have aggravated the problem.
Of course, everyone who wants to study at university should have an equal opportunity to do so regardless of the amount of money their parents earn. However, now that there is such pressure for students to go to university, not only have tuition fees risen (and look set to perhaps do so again soon), but a degree seems to be losing its value.
Students are leaving university with increasing levels of debt (largely due to the increasing numbers of students now attending university that perhaps wouldn’t have otherwise chosen to) and are then finding that, where a degree used to be a sufficient qualification to get a job, now it is necessary to fork out even more for a masters degree, or to depend on family to provide financial support through an unpaid internship. So, short of opening up job opportunities for all students regardless of socioeconomic background, anecdotal evidence and personal experience would seem to suggest that the problem has just been pushed further down the line – it is now if you can afford to study for further qualifications or to work for free, that you appear to be at an advantage when it comes to getting a job.
Of course the job difficulties for graduates are partly due to the current economic climate, yet it seems the real root of this problem is the assumption made by government, and amplified accordingly in many schools and industries, that without going to university and getting a degree you have failed in some way. If other routes into employment were genuinely valued by government and society at large (rather than being rather patronisingly referred to as ‘admirable’ by those who advocate that the only proper education is one that prepares for academic study at university) we could afford to send those who desired to pursue further academic study to university without leaving them with crippling debts, and others could pursue alternative qualifications or gain appropriate experience safe in the knowledge that this will be equally valuable and rewarded with employment or recognition in the same way that university degrees currently are.
I am not suggesting that university places ought to be reserved for only the rich, but that there is more genuine choice for all. That the student from a disadvantaged background has the chance to study at a top university, and that the student from a wealthy family of Oxbridge graduates can choose to attend an excellent vocational course in engineering. If the freedom of choice does not work both ways, then it is surely not providing equality of opportunity at all. Nor is it genuinely valuing vocational options – if middle class families are not aspiring to their children being able to access high quality non university learning then the claim that vocational options are valued as highly as academic options remains hollow.
I think therefore I learn
Teaching philosophy in primary schools is viewed by some as one thing too many or an unnecessary luxury, yet it seems to me that the disciplines such as rational and critical thought, learned through the practice of philosophy, can provide an important foundation on which a child can build throughout his or her school career. These are skills that will enable a child to more easily access the rest of the curriculum – to take full advantage of the learning opportunities provided in other subjects.
I don’t suggest that every 5-year-old be fully versed in Anaxagoras and Empedocles, rather that we develop curiosity and critical thought in children, and the ability to approach a problem creatively, without the fear of being wrong. Philosophical thought presents the perfect platform for this. Addressing questions such as, ‘Can we step in the same river twice?’ or ‘Am I dreaming?’ gives children the opportunity to exercise these skills. (Philosophy 4 Children and The Philosophy Shop are two good examples of teaching philosophy in primary schools.)
I believe that practising philosophy develops, most significantly:
- Meta-cognition
- Rational thought
- Critical thought
- Curiosity
- The confidence to be wrong
- A respect for other opinions or arguments, coupled with the ability to make informed judgements about their validity or usefulness.
- The ability to look at things from many different perspectives – to ‘think outside the box’, to use a popular cliché.
These things are not just intrinsically valuable, but also provide students with the tools to access and make the most of learning opportunities throughout school, and indeed throughout life.
The same seems to be true of the RSA’s Opening Minds programme. Competencies such as managing information are not only valuable life skills, but will actually enable students to reap the full benefit of their future school career. This is often an area overlooked – those who object to skills or competency based curricula, in favour of valuing subjects and learning for learning’s sake, tend to assume that all students are equally able to pick up a book of Shakespeare, say, and immediately appreciate its value. They assume that teaching skills is only for skills sake – can teaching skills not aid the teaching and learning of knowledge too?
Teaching philosophy, or indeed competencies, can provide students with a ‘hook’ or route into the enjoyment of learning, and the tools that allow them to get the most out of learning – they help to make learning not simply a means to an end, but an end in itself.
Reflections on the Manchester curriculum
On Monday evening the RSA hosted a reflections event in Manchester to celebrate and review the fantastic work schools and their students did last year, working with the Manchester Area-based Curriculum.
What was particularly encouraging was the enthusiasm of the Manchester Fellows to build on the successes and failings of the approach in order to further facilitate the interaction and collaboration of schools with the surrounding area, including (but not restricted to) local companies, facilities and environment. It would seem that many of the resources necessary to create lasting and productive relationships between schools and their local communities are already in place – local councils already have lists of contacts in local businesses for use when organising year 10 work experience for example – and there are many organisations really keen to get involved with their local schools.
What is needed is a way to aggregate all this information and to connect schools, resources and people, for instance, the professional tour guide company Tour Manchester, who are very keen to be involved in engaging students with Manchester, to the schools.
Yet all the enthusiasm for opening schools up to their locality suggests that this is not simply wishful thinking, but something very attainable if we harness the ‘social capital’ present, but often untapped, in and around every school. So our next step seems clear – to get the brilliant and enthusiastic fellows of Manchester together to discuss just how these relationships can be built and maintained.
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