Down to Size

I've recently volunteered to help out at my local primary school. I want to return to peripatetic teaching and facilitating arts projects but as I've not been doing this for a number of years I need to build up my stamina again.

The kids I come into contact with are lovely and very well behaved. They sit for long periods of time having to listen quietly and stand queueing without fidgeting or talking for what must seem ages to them.

The average class has 30 children with very disparate abilities and not all of them have English as their first language. I sense that there is frustration amongst them sometimes. Some have to be patient and wait for the less able to catch up whilst others who are slower might feel very frustrated and maybe in their own little ways a tad dispirited.

I haven't been there for very long but I already admire the children which is a bit of a turnaround to how I thought I was going to react. I thought that my sympathies were going to lie with the teachers and what they are having to cope with, although don't get me wrong they are also doing a sterling job against the odds.

These five and six year olds however could teach many adults a thing or two, especially drivers on our roads that impatiently barge around and push in whilst others do not seem to be at all concerned about poodling along with a tail back of traffic behind them. And queueing for the bus no longer seems to exist, more of a scram on a first come first serve basis and never mind the old lady who needs to be helped up the steps.

I recall an interview on the radio not so long ago with Michael Gove the Education Secretary. He was being asked whether class sizes should be reduced. I was quite outraged that he took the view that this was not a problem providing school children had good teachers.

I knew and I strongly suspect so did the interviewer that his response was motivated by fiscal concerns alone and it made me angry.

I pulled back on my career to support my son through his schooling. That's us in the photo he's a big boy now! I know that if I hadn't he would not have achieved as much as he did. I know without a doubt that I was able to reinforce all that the teachers had tried to impart to him. That during our one-to-ones after his school day I was able to go slower and cover any difficulties that he had. Though I do not resent helping my son I am now trying to make up for my lost career time.

Other children are not so lucky. Their carers might not be able to give up the time to help reinforce the teaching and check out the homework. This is where the system starts to become unfair because some of these parents may have the financial means to pay for someone to do this on their behalf.

How ever this thorny problem is viewed, Michael Gove is plainly wrong. I have observed how difficult it is for one teacher no matter how good to spread themselves across 30 children. The added problem is that for the very young there is an inablilty to confidently pass classroom information on in support of one another, unlike older students who are are more able to work independently.

I believe that children between four to six years should be far fewer in the class. Fifteen would be much more manageable and individual children's needs could be specifically addressed. What is there for Michael Gove not to understand? Maybe he needs to go back to school himself and experience it from both view points: pupil and teacher or maybe he needs instructing on common sense. Perhaps this should be a training requirement for all Education Ministers.