Geoff Barton, headteacher and writer, spoke at the Stephen Perse Foundation conference, What Is Learning For, this week on a panel which I chaired. I videod his contribution, which you can see below. Barton was a leading figure in the fight against the English Baccalaureate exams Michael Gove tried to foist upon a reluctant profession this year, but has now backtracked on. He was characterised by an anonymous political critic on the Local Schools Network website as an extremist but when you hear him speak you realise that this is utter nonsense; I got the sense he is a real “middle-of-the-road”, sensible teacher. He argues for a curriculum which does contain “facts” as E.D.Hirsch, Michael Gove’s favourite educationalist, argues for; but he also wants a curriculum which is broad and balanced, where every child can learn a musical instrument, or work as a team. I thought his passionate plea for children to experience and learn about other cultures was very interesting because he speaks as a teacher who works in Suffolk, a largely white county which he jokingly refers to as “Suffolkating”. Unlike Gove who wants to ram British History down children’s throats with his new History Curriculum, Barton sees the importance of children learning about other cultures as a vital part of their education. Barton is particularly scathing about Gove’s new grammar tests, which appear to be rather nonsensical and abstract.
Francis Gilbert was born in 1968 and grew up in Cambridge and outer London. He attended local primaries and the local comprehensive as a child, before being moved to a private school when he was twelve. He read English at Sussex University, achieved a Post-Graduate Certificate in Education at Cambridge University in English and Drama, and an M.A. in Creative Writing, where he was taught by Malcolm Bradbury and Rose Tremain. Since the early 1990s, he has taught in a number of comprehensives in London. He has held numerous positions of responsibility and has taught all ages in the secondary sector. He currently juggles being a parent, partner, writer, teacher and researcher in the east end of London. His latest project is his PhD in Creative Writing and Education that he is doing at Goldsmiths College, London under the supervision of the writer Blake Morrison and Professor Rosalyn George.
He published I’m A Teacher, Get Me Out Of Here in 2004, which went to become a best-seller and serialised on Radio 4. After that, Teacher On The Run (2005), Yob Nation (2006), Parent Power (2007) and Working The System (2009), and a novel, The Last Day Of Term (2011) followed. Having once been a proponent of “privatising” education, he has changed his position now that a mass of evidence has accumulated showing it doesn’t improve standards overall. He is a founder member of The Local Schools Network, which aims to support and celebrate the achievements of local state schools.
His personal blog is: http://www.francisgilbert.co.uk
Local Schools Network: http://www.localschoolsnetwork.org.uk
Twitter: wonderfrancis
Contact: sir@francisgilbert.co.uk
Reblogged this on Pedagogy on the run.