10th September 2010 9:00
By Harriet Boulding
As the coalition is encouraging communities to set up their own schools, several journalists and educationalists have been imagining what a school designed by them would be like. There have been some interesting suggestions, from humanist schools to schools run by students themselves. As a tutor in London where there are a very diverse number of schools, I would be very interested to hear what London students would like to see in a school.
From what I gather from my students, if they could do anything they liked, the AS levels would go first. This isn’t simply because 17 year olds would do anything to get out of unnecessary exams, rather they see that the constant pressure to perform within a narrow framework is damaging. I was tutoring one student who said in an exasperated tone that she didn’t have time for her education because she was too busy revising for exams.
Another big change many students would like to see is a shift in governing power. Not to put too fine a point on it, the government has messed school pupils around for years, changing exams, experimenting with new structures and pressurising teachers to the point at which they become nervous wrecks with no chance of being able to encourage their students. Many people have suggested in view of the new plans that schools should be governed locally, with less interference from the government.
This could well be a slippery slope, with one kind of unequal power processes being replaced for another. But it was recently suggested that we take this a step further and elect student representatives to sit on the school’s governing body. As a tutor I think this is a wonderful idea, which really grasps the essence of what I try to tell my students – that despite the changes that are made to their school experience in the distant corridors of Whitehall, they should have ownership of their own education, and deserve respect from those who make decisions.