Nanny's much vaunted priority of "Educashun, Educashun, Educashun" appears to have hit the buffers.
Taxpayers have forked out over £21BN since 1997, on Nanny's early years education overhaul.
The result?
Fark all!
Nanny has failed to improve development levels of children entering primary school, according to research published last week.
A six-year study of 35,000 children by academics at Durham University found that children's development and skills, as they enter primary school, are no different than they were in 2000.
Since coming to orifice, Nanny introduced the early childhood curriculum, expanded the Sure Start programme, introduced free nursery education for all three-year-olds, passed the Children's Act 2004 and brought in the Every Child Matters Initiative.
There are some 1,325 Sure Start Children's Centres, and the Government wants to increase this to 2,500 by 2008.
Dr Christine Merrell, who led the Durham research, said her results suggested the Government's initiatives were not working.
"One would have expected that the major
Government programmes would have resulted
in some measurable changes in our sample
of almost 35,000 children".
Pre primary school, I had a morning or two in nursery school (with my toy rabbit, Merrythought, who still is around today). However, the majority of my pre primary teaching re manners, reading and other matters (eg how to dress myself and interact with others) was performed by my parents.
That's what parents are there for isn't it?
It is not the state's role to take over from the parents...PERIOD!
Interesting post as always Ken. It is not the role of schools or government to take over from parents however, when we have kids having kids that can't look after themseves let alone their off spring someone or some organisation has to do something.
ReplyDeletetonk has a point.
ReplyDeleteThis is a clear call for the banning of Sex just as I recently proposed.
Why does no one listen to me?
Aldous Huxley saw the light years ago, though he clearly let things slip for the recreational angle.
I don't follow how the post leads to the conclusion that some parents are inadequate. All it indicates is that children entering primary school now have the same abilities as children ten years ago and so the money spent was wasted. I don't buy the argument that there was anything wrong with the abilities of children entering the school system ten years ago or that nursery school is essential to a child's development.
ReplyDeleteI never went to any form of nursery school, I won't pass an opinion on whether that influenced me as a person but it certainly didn't stop me achieving academically. The difference being that once I entered the school system at 5, I received an excellant education. Now, when a young child enters the school system, they may get a poor education. It is not the quality of the children that enter the system that is the problem, it is what the system does with the children when it gets them.
Nanny doesn't hate bonking, she just wants you to do it with a condom on.
ReplyDeleteDocBud:
ReplyDeleteThere is more to education than academic performance.
In my view, the Pre School Age program is more about teaching social interaction skills and manners. I go to our local shops and often see "kids with kids" with little or no concept of teaching their children how to socialise or interact with others. I often hear young mothers using the F word when speaking to their offspring. One young chav referred to her son as a four letter slang word for part of the females anatomy...what chance does that child have in life if it perceives that language to be the norm?
I think the strongest language I have heard my mother use was bloody. I would never dream of using such language as previously quoted to my grandchildren.
By the way I do not live on an inner city sink estate, I live in Wokingham in Berkshire which is one of the most affluent areas in the UK, so it shows the chav problem is country wide. Are we dumbing down our society as we dumb down our education systems and our moral beliefs?
Just about ten years ago - having been told my skills were out of date - I took a teaching degree (it didn't work incidentally. When I finshed the degree, I was told I was too old to ge a job)/
ReplyDeleteTo say that I was astounded by the uneducated-ness both of many of my lecturers and of most of my fellow students would be a massive understatement. Here, I think, is the core of the problem. Many of the 'initiatives' imposed by this government are only too happily received by a teaching profession largely composed of 'teachers' who, themselves, are products of our flawed system.
Of course, when I was a lad.......
Who's the bloke in the picture? Gordon Brown is our nanny now.
ReplyDelete