Choice in Education! Must be a GOOD THING!
But is it practical?
In theory a totally private school system is the ultimate guarantee of choice. The immediate barrier of course is the payment system. Anyone who cannot afford the fees does not have the choice.
If they can afford the fees, there are still other limitations:
- Physical distance - unless you accept a boarding school, the child has to be able to get there and back daily so is limited to those accessible.
- Even where several schools are accessible, the strengths and specialisms they offer may not be the ideal for any given child.
- A parent may want to make a clear choice but that can only be done when the school is prepared to accept the child concerned. Some schools may be oversubscribed; some may want to concentrate on a specialist area and make their own choice of entry.
The opposite philosophy insists on a standard education for all pupils so far as is possible. This seems the main driver behind the comprehensive system. Children should go to their local school and be subject to the statutory curriculum laid down by the government. The advantages should be that all have the same opportunity so the social divides are minimised.
I think we have to accept that the human condition is unsuited to standardisation. No system can be perfect. As usual in life we have to optimise our solutions within conficting criteria.
1 comment:
You cannot separate choice in education with the wider community and the wider global view.
When my grandfather was a village school headmaster there was no opportunity for the majority of children to attend anywhere other than the local village school. All ages attended until their early teens, whereupon they went to work.
When my father was head of a village primary school I observed the divisions and tensions caused when the majority went from there to the secondary modern in one neighbouring town and a few – two in my year – went to the local grammar school in another.
As the wife of a village middle school headteacher I witnessed the unpleasantness of battles about catchments areas and grammar schools. I saw the disappointment when the aspirations of parents were not matched by the IQ of their children. I observed the disintegration of community life in villages as children were driven to different schools all over the area, at great cost to parents and to the environment.
Choice has led to the break-up of good small schools, the loss of cohesion of communities, excessive large-car use and a reduction in children’s exercise as they no longer walk to school. The overall quality of education in this country does not appear to have improved as choice has widened.
I sometimes wonder if politicians who dream up the notions of choice really understand the issues. Just before a general election a friend of mine and I were discussing education. She was pro-choice, her daughter being educated at a very expensive pre-prep establishment. I said: “So where is the choice for parents who cannot afford to run a car so that they can drive their children to schools outside their catchment area?” Her response was: “Let them hire a taxi.”
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