We need fewer exams and more wilderness in education.

[elleng]

'Government plans to introduce national tests for seven-year-olds shows just how far our exam obsession has come. Our kids now face constant assessment as politicians attempt to measure the success of schools. Children have become tiny cogs in a box-ticking government machine. Education has lost its way.

This matters to me a great deal, especially since becoming a father to Ludo, five, and Iona, four. I don’t want my children to feel the same sense of failure I did growing up because they’re not good at passing tests. Let’s be honest, some people are better suited to exams than others in the same way that some of us are more sporty or arty.

There are a few of us whose minds turn to putty under pressure. Exams left me feeling worthless and lacking in confidence. The worse I did in each test, the more pressure I felt to deliver results that never came. When I failed half my A-levels, and was rejected by my university choices, I spiralled into a depression.

The wilderness rescued me. I have been shaped by my experiences in the great outdoors. Feeling comfortable in the wild gave me the confidence to be who I am, not who others want me to be. There is a natural simplicity to nature; it is far more tactile and tangible than the classroom. It’s a leveller; it strengthened my character and set me back on track.

It’s time to turn everything on its head and classrooms inside out
That’s why, instead of pumping time and money into exams, we should focus on wellbeing and encouraging our children to connect with the natural world.'>>>

http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2015/dec/17/we-need-fewer-exams-and-more-wilderness-in-education?CMP=share_btn_fb

Shared by one of my daughters' elementary school teachers, who has moved from teaching in DC and is now teaching in Halifax.

[immoderate]

1. I taught a lot of middle school, and long ago proposed that many if not most of these students would

benefit from spending some time in what I'll call 'nature camps' for the purpose of learning, but also for chance at discovery and fomenting relationships. No testing or traditional forms of judgement. Lots of peer interaction.

--imm