that when you boil education down, the residue left in the bottom of the crucible is student progress: it’s the only thing that matters.
Now I have a hunch that
- for all the words
- all the statistics
- the quality of teaching
- the school infrastructure or equipment
- all the latest gizmos and
- this week’s teaching fad
won’t figure anywhere near the top of the list of things that prevent progress. Because it’s ALL about the young person.
- are they interested in the material they need to study?
- do they understand why they’re studying something?
- is what they’re doing outside school more exciting?
- puberty
- family break-ups or relationship problems
- can they see a horizon of possibility?
- do they actually believe that they’re good at something?
Finding where a student is at, is more than just assessing what they know or what they can do.
