Introduction
Consider primitive tribes like those that live in the jungles of the Amazon or live in deserts like the Kalahari. They all have something in common. They all must train their children in the fundamentals of life, otherwise there will be unnecessary deaths that the tribes can ill-afford. Their children need to know what plants they can eat and where to find them. They need to recognise and avoid poisonous plants. They need to know what animals are prey and how to hunt them or how to domesticate them. They need to know which animals are dangerous and how to protect themselves. They need to know how to tell friend from foe, especially when dealing with members of another tribe. They need to know how to socialise so they can co-operate with each other and support each other in the bad times. Let us abstract these scenarios. All the tribes are trying to maximise the chances of their children reaching adulthood by teaching them essential relevant survival skills. Further, every tribe needs their children to become fully fledged adults capable of taking over the reins and producing the next generation. The Law of Natural Selection insists on being obeyed.
My contention is that, while modern society is far more complex, we still share the same objectives. We must maximise the chances of our children reaching a full adult life by teaching them essential relevant survival skills. In the British Educational System, there is great emphasis on preparing children to take over society seamlessly. Indeed, to its credit, it enables adults to educate themselves throughout their lives. In this way, adults can retrain for new careers and can enrich everyone’s lives. However, there is a gross deficiency in maximising the chances of children reaching adulthood unscathed.
Suggested Education Policy
Policy for the first 1000 days
a) To protect babies from all immediate dangers.
All dangers threatening babies need to be identified and assessed. In these early days, all experiences good and bad will be buried deep within every baby’s subconscious. All babies that suffered physical and/or mental trauma could be unnecessarily handicapped for the rest of their lives at a tremendous cost to themselves and to society at large. Generous investment of time and money in their welfare will pay a handsome dividend in the enhanced quality of life for the babies and anyone close to them. Plus society will be relieved of their repair cost and enhanced by their eventual contribution. Training to competence in baby welfare is essential for parents and baby-carers.
b) To Stimulate the Brain Mentally and Physically
At about 1,000 days, every baby’s brain goes through a radical transformation. The brain builds an over-profusion of pathways between the brain cells. Over the following months and years, the brain reinforces well-used pathways with more pathways while pathways that are not used sufficiently are pruned. Further, early stimulation helps to thicken the brain’s cortex where the ‘thinking’ and ‘feeling’ take place. However, after the transformation the thickness of the cortex doesn’t change. As a society, we need to know so much more about this critical juncture in babies’ lives so that we can do our utmost to support them. The sooner, the better.
We must maximise each baby’s chance to thrive in its first 1,000 days
Perinatal health is about more than babies. It’s about improving whole lives that have a profound effect from cradle to grave. We want to spotlight the importance of good infant health and why the building blocks for lifelong emotional health lie in the first 1,001 days of an infant’s life.
… Neuroscience has shown that the first two years are the most important phrase of brain development, and that healthy brains develop when babies have a loving, secure relationship with their principal caregivers.
… Research from NHS England suggests that one in five mums and one in 10 dads experience mental health problems during pregnancy and after birth. Pregnancy can often be a trigger for domestic abuse, with between 15 to 30 per cent of domestic violence cases starting during this time. The impact of these adversities can have a profound effect on an infant, whose healthy social and emotional development depends on loving and consistent care.
… in the most extreme cases of neglect or abuse, [there are] long-term problems with violence and substance abuse. There is also a huge economic impact, with poor mental health in children costing between £11,000 and £60,000 per child annually – which is left to a variety of agencies to pick up.
… to review previous work done by the inter-ministerial group on early years, chaired by Andrea last year. … The review’s recommendations will seek to support the healthy emotional and physical development of babies through improving support for their families, so every child has an opportunity to thrive, regardless of background.
Advisory panels will support us in this work, made up of leading academics and professionals from the early years sector. They will also be supported by a separate panel of MPs and the project will have dedicated support from the Department for Health and the Cabinet Office.
… We want to remove the barriers so all babies and young children are supported to be ready for school and ready for life. Protecting the mental health of our nation should begin with babies – and that’s what we are both committed to do.
By Matt Hancock (Health Minister) and Andrea Leadsom
Daily Telegraph, 16 July 2020
It has been estimated that there are, in Britain, about 100,000 criminal families bringing up their children to follow in their footsteps. One can only hope they are included. It was a pleasant surprise to find that progress is being made. But in the end, actions speak louder than words. Anyway, best of luck to them.
How parents can bring up children to be kind and helpful
Children who are close to parents at the age of three are more likely to be kind and helpful when they grow older, Cambridge University has found.
Experts found that a loving bond between parents and their children early in life appears to set youngsters up to be altruistic, generous and empathetic, while also protecting their mental health.
The researchers said policies which allowed busy parents to spend more time with their children could help create more “prosocial” citizens, benefitting society more widely. …
Children whose early parental relationships where emotionally strained or abusive were more likely to have more mental health problems.
Sarah Knapton, The Daily Telegraph, p2, 9 October 2023
c) Teach Safety in the Home
Again, the objective is to maximise each child’s chances of survival into adulthood and to give them the opportunity to realise their potential. The essential theme in these early years, is to teach children to recognise and to learn how to handle dangers safely in their home environment. Here are some examples but I’m not expert enough to give a comprehensive list and the list can vary according to the locality such as living by the sea as opposed to living on a mountain. Anyway here are some examples: beware of sharp or pointed objects, beware of hot objects like boiling water, fires, ovens. The child needs to know about cuts, grazes and bruises. Do they know their name? address? telephone number? Can they ring 999 when asked? Then as the child gets stronger and better co-ordinated, they will need to know how to enter the local neighbourhood safely.
It is never too early to teach children to be cooperative and to give them a sense of belonging. Parents should set an example and encourage their children to copy them. For instance, if each parent clears their place at the table after a meal, they should ask their children to do the same. Parents can ask for help doing the washing-up and other simple tasks. All of this enhances a child’s sense of belonging. Further, it encourages everyone to talk to each other, so problems can be identified early. Hopefully, we are sowing the seeds of children doing voluntary work when adult.
d) Prepare them for School
They need to recognise and avoid ponds and traffic on the roads. Do they know their Kerb Drill? Do they know what to do when they meet strangers? Do they know what a bully is? Do they know how to re-act to one? or a gang? Are they aware of the dangers on the internet? Can they swim competently? Can they safely use the leisure equipment in a recreation park? … and so on. Many of the responses to dangers require guidance from others. Hence, a child needs to develop social skills so they need know how to ask for help and to give it when they can. As it is, we leave many children unaware of everyday dangers and how to respond to them.
A highly desirable skill for children to have is to be able to make friends with other children.
e) Parents Need Help Too
With their first child, all parents are beginners and that is just the time when help is most needed. Possibly. the role of the District Nurse should be enhanced to not only give support but also to measure the mental and physical health of the family. Further, the Nurse cannot be with them for long, so the parents need ready access to various forms of information like pamphlets, videos and helplines.
Princess of Wales makes plea for every childhood to be nurtured
The Princess said in a pre-recorded video message: “Tonight is all about helping to support, champion and empower all children to be the very best they can be, which is crucial for their future health and happiness. Our relationships, surroundings and experiences during the earliest years lay the foundations that shape the rest of our lives.
“Yet sadly, we know that for too many people, stressful and traumatic situations in early childhood can cause harm and it can take many years to overcome.”
She went on: ” It is vital, therefore, that we nurture every childhood and why the sorts of projects supported by Children in Need is so important. They help the very youngest, most vulnerable of our society feel safe, secure and loved in these important, formative years, so that they can enjoy their childhoods now, grow to reach their potential and thrive in the world in later life.” …
Victoria Ward, Royal Editor, The Daily Telegraph, p9, 18 November 2023
f) It’s Hard to Believe Just How Much People Need Help
Most non-drivers don’t know what car reverse lights mean
MORE than half the country’s non-drivers do not recognise a car’s reverse lights, research has found. … The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL), which commissioned the study, suggested many non-drivers could be at risk from their ignorance of reverse lights and other aspects of the Highway Code.
Sam Elsby, APIL president, said “We’re focusing on pedestrian safety during Injury Prevention Week, and the latest figures show that nearly 22,000 people on foot were killed or injured in the last year. That’s 60 a day.”
A poll for APIL found that only 19 per cent of people had read the Highway Code for pedestrians, and 40 per cent said they didn’t even know it existed. Mr Elsby added:”There is a dedicated section of the Highway Code for pedestrians. Everyone has to play a part in avoiding injuries and deaths on our roads, including pedestrians.”
The research also raised concerns about children using roads.
…”One in eight parents went as far as to say they are very concerned about their children’s safety,” said Mr Elsby. Children aged 15 and under accounted for around a quarter of pedestrian injuries and deaths on British roads in 2018.
By Telegraph Reporters
Daily Telegraph, 24 August 2020
Policy in Infant and Junior School
The programme of enabling children to identify close proximity danger and to respond effectively should continue.
g) Parents are responsible for their children Collectively, parents are the people most motivated and most capable of looking after their children. State schools are run by public servants “in loco parentis”. In some of these schools, the staff have their own agenda which is not in the best interests of the children. Corruptly, both Parliament and the courts refuse to recognise parents right to protect their children from all threats. They refuse parents the right to inspect what the schools are doing to their children. It is a major goal of democrats to give parents the prime responsibility for their children. This responsibility and power should only be removed if it is the parents who are the danger to their children.
h) We are All Social Animals
It is built into their make-up for children to learn by copying and to trust. In the main, they trust adults they meet especially their parents. They accept what they are taught without question and without judgement. In particular, they copy the processes and attitudes of their peers and the adults around them. When their trust is betrayed, when they are bullied or abused or have their views manipulated, they accept it all because they don’t know any different. For example, the dangers of the Internet need to made very clear to them. Hence there is an onus on all those responsible for looking after them, to encourage the children to express their life experiences in every way the child can. Thus a covert eye can be kept on their physical and mental welfare. They must be taught how to speak, how to write, how to listen, how to read and how to co-operate with each other. These are the essential skills they need to interact with those around them and to protect themselves.
h) Hands-on Democracy
These are the times, when children should learn the basics of democratic decision-making. Because when they are adults, the greatest threat to their welfare will be the actions of anti-democrats and the use of anti-democratic processes. There should be frequent occasions when they are asked to make a class-binding decision by first having a discussion and then holding a secret ballot. The secret ballot is essential as it teaches them that they cannot get their way by bullying others into accepting their point of view.
i) Get the Business Done
My personal view is that children should be introduced to the skills and attitudes of business. Whatever their future career, whether it is in business or not, they will need to know how business works and how to interact with it. Indeed, we all need to know how to look after our assets especially money. Such a subject offers numerous examples where numeracy is required. For example, the children could be asked which size of toothpaste they should buy. The answer is not obvious because it depends on the buyer’s situation. If the buyer is short of money , they buy the cheapest. If the buyer is canny and can afford it, they buy the one with the lowest unit price. However, the point of toothpaste is to protect teeth, so the buyer must buy enough. Better to buy too much than too little. So there is much to motivate children in class discussions. A variety of decision examples can be designed to call on all the arithmetic the children need to know at this level. Arithmetic is at the heart of making evidence-based decisions.
j) Shortage of Good Role-Models
During this time in their lives, children are particular sensitive and responsive to the prejudices of everyone around them, especially the subconscious ones. Of course, we all have them although we don’t always know it. Only some of these subconscious prejudices could be harmful. But it does put the onus on anyone, particularly teachers, to recognise anyone with possibly harmful prejudices and to neutralise their effect using guidance and support. In primary schools, there is concern that there not enough male teachers to act as role models and so balance the female attitude and point of view.
Policy for Secondary Schools
k) Make Democracy a Compulsory Subject
As we saw earlier, babies are radicalised into infants. In this way, evolution prepares them for the next stage of their development. I would maintain that puberty is a second radicalisation. The child is a trusting weakling, a copier, asexual and a taker. Evolution requires that each child be transformed into an adult. The adult has to be a wary protector, an adapter, sexual and a giver. Further, as an individual has more options as a member of a group, it is probable that the urge to identify with a group has genetic reinforcement. So if the child has not committed already to a group or a cause, early adulthood is the most likely time, full committal will be made. On occasion, such committal can be a disaster (eg go to Syria to join ISIS despite a civilised upbringing) As children are going to be radicalised anyway, how much wiser to radicalise them in favour of democracy first! Democracy needs to be taught as a compulsory subject. Such a subject should compare and contrast democracies and dictatorships especially on the quality of life they offer, how they fall and rise, the democratic rights of citizens, how to recognise anti-democrats, how to be a democrat and become a guardian of our democracy. Possibly. History as a subject could be refocused to that end. So instead of taking the STEM subjects, they would take METHS! In adult life, the greatest threat to their well-being will be the actions of anti-democrats. Further, from learning Decision Theory at junior school, the children should graduate in secondary school to Game Theory which is about making decisions in competitive situations with one or more opponents. The quality of our decision-making, for better or worse, affects the lives of us all.
I am a great advocate of voluntary work from a child helping to lay the table to the old-age pensioner supporting chit-chat groups for the elderly; Secondary school is an excellent place for children to start voluntary work in the community in supervised groups. This would widen their horizons, give them insight into how the grown-up world works and to have the pleasure and the comradeship of helping others..
l) Training to be Parents
As the source of future families, the youngsters not only need sex education but also how to be responsible, effective parents. In this way, we will improve the chances of full, safe lives for their future children.
m) Bad Guys, Good Guys
Looking at this situation from a different angle. The greatest future threats and opportunities faced by these youngsters, are provided by organised groups of people. Our students need to know how to identify the bad guys and how to protect themselves against them. But also they need to identify the good guys and how to make the most of the opportunities provided.
Policy for Adult Education
n) Support the Weakest
What threats do adults face? For those in work, their company may make the less skilled redundant or the company may go bankrupt. Their needs are for courses that will enhance their commercial value or courses which will help them change their career. Such courses are well provided for by universities and technical colleges. But there are various groups who cannot find employment such as addicts, mentally ill, handicapped, work-shy, unskilled and so on. Their problems cannot be solved by educational means alone. Yet there may be occasions, when education can help. But with small groups and high running costs, such courses or support are of low priority. Here investment in computer-aided learning, programmed learning texts, targeted videos and virtual experiences could make teaching effective at low running cost. The point is that being able to support oneself, even if only partly, is a great morale booster to the learner but also it improves their health and enjoyment of life.
Implementation
The educational system exists to produce well-educated citizens as effectively and efficiently as it can with the resources it has. In their turn, these citizens are destined to take over the running of the country, hopefully for the better. Education is an essential task in every society’s struggle to survive.
The educational system consists of teachers, schools, the local council and Ofsted. The public expects them to work together to educate their pupils. For some reason, that doesn’t seem to happen.
Ofsted ‘not to blame’ for suicide of head teacher
The inquest at Berkshire coroner’s Office into the death of Ruth Perry was told that Ofsted does not have any statutory duties towards staff welfare. …
For a local authority-run school, the responsibility for teacher welfare would lie with the local authority and governing body, the inquest heard. However, Christopher Russell, national director for education at Ofsted, said the inspectorate does “feel a responsibility to do everything we can to reduce stress and anxiety around an inspection”.
The Ofsted report found Caversham Primary School in Reading to be “good” in every category except leadership and management, where it accused the school of poor record keeping and failings in employment checks which could put children at risk. This meant the rating for the whole school was dropped to “inadequate”, which meant the school was at risk of being forced to join an academic trust.
Louisa Clarence-Smith, Education Editor, The Daily Telegraph, p8, 29 November 2023
Democrat:- What is the purpose of an inspection? The inspection is necessary to ensure that the taxpayers’ money is being well spent to achieve educational goals. Inspection is a tricky skill. On one hand, For instance, inspectors observed that “reading” was being taught in many different ways. At the start, all were accepted, but as time passed it was found that the “phonetic method” gave better results than the other methods observed. Eventually, teachers were told to use the phonetic method. However, one must not stifle innovation. So the situation is that teachers are expected to use the phonetic method. If they don’t, then they would be expected to show their method produces superior results.
What is the purpose of the school report? It is to inform interested parties about the school so that they can take evidence-based decisions. People who are part of the educational system have ready access to the full school reports. But those outside the system like the general public and especially parents, don’t. Yet it is the public who are the most important, because it’s their assessment of public bodies that determines who they vote for. One word assessments of schools smell of cover-ups just when the public needs concise, honest evidence.
The electorate expects all public bodies to work together to achieve national goals. The voters abhor public bodies that point-score off each other. It shows an “us and them” attitude that fragments teams and presages failure. Part of the problem is the way that public bodies organise themselves. Most are hierarchies where the flow of information is easily corrupted and our employees try to built little “empires” to improve their pay and prestige. From experience, the private sector has learnt to use “inverted hierarchies”, where the elite, say Ofsted, consider themselves to be the support group of the workers, say teachers, who actually strive to get the desired results. To do this, the elite must continually consult with the workers to identify their needs.
At the moment, there are signs that the whole educational system is corrupted by “us and them” attitudes and actions. It is Ofsted’ s responsibility to ensure that there is cooperative teamwork between the different bodies involved
Please write any queries or any constructive criticism in the boxes below. Thank you.
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