Think back to when you were aged 6 or 7 at school. My memories are of water and sand play, of times tables, of reading and junk modelling and using rods for maths! I never remember a test. I remember relaxed teachers, who had autonomy in their classroom. My friend was in a different class to me and did totally different things. I can remember being anxious about the move from infants to juniors, where juniors sounded a lot more serious, but where I was aged 6, was a happy and fun place to be.
So how on earth have we reached a point where 6 and 7 year olds are being tested? It matters not that they don’t have to revise for them (God forbid), nor that the results aren’t published. The point is that yet again it is the teachers who are being judged. Where is the logic in piling the pressure onto teachers who are already knee deep in shed loads of paperwork and tick boxing exercises? A whole week wasted with children sitting down and taking tests under forced conditions.
Whenever our children are being tested, as parents we feel anxious. The teachers feel anxious, so how does this impact on the kids? The classroom should be a place of creativity and growth. It should not be a place where children feel judged. Of course, teachers must be accountable for the students’ learning, but surely individually monitored progression is the best way for this to take place. Recognising that every child has different strengths and actively being allowed to celebrate that.
I believe that when a child is feeling relaxed, motivated and stimulated, their confidence increases and this is when true learning takes place. You cannot tell me that a week of testing makes children feel positive about learning. In the worst case scenarios, children will actually feel anxious about the tests.
Some parents are backing a ‘kids’ strike’ today and attending events of ‘fun learning’. You can’t blame them and some schools are actually supporting their actions. In some countries, such as Denmark, children are only just starting school at 6. Does Denmark churn out a whole load of numpties? Funnily enough the evidence says, no.
I suspect that boys in particular will struggle with sitting down for a week! Why should they have to? Sod’s law dictates that the weather will be glorious and the kids should be outside running and jumping and falling over. Exploring their surroundings for evidence of natural life that exists beyond the classroom. They should be forging relationships with each other, through playing and arguing and sharing. They should NOT be stuck inside at desks, pandering to the latest government directive, that will be scrapped by this time next year, because it was shown to prove absolutely nothing.
Let 6 year olds play. Let teachers teach. Let parents have confidence in the system they have to buy into.