this post was submitted on 05 Dec 2023
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I don't think it's trying to measure reading/writing ability. If the difference between ok and good/great skills doesn't impact people's life outcomes (however we measure that), do we care about improving this skill? (I found this a hard sentence to write because it feels like a silly thing to say, but as a philosophical statement I think it's worth thinking about)
Interesting! It sounded like a high school thing to me. I haven't heard of it before, but I went to mid-decile primary schools. And even so, if the study was recent then it could be newer slang that didn't exist when I was a kid.
No, it's not a new thing. I get the impression I'm your age or slightly older, and I went to a primary school where if the teacher said your work was good, or you got an award, the whole class would chorus "shaaaame".
I guess this is one of those if you know, you know things - I remember a colleague whispering "ow, shaaame" to me as a joke once when there was an announcement that I got awarded a grant!
The fact you haven't heard of it illustrates my point that NZ schools are not all alike in the culture around learning.
This is where correlation becomes less useful. It really depends on what other skills and resources the person can draw on - not everyone is cut out to be a plumber or a lawyer. My instinct is that we need to give students the opportunity to have a range of well-mastered skills in their toolbox, and then to develop their aptitudes.
Perhaps what we need first is a goal. Is our goal for kids to be able to get jobs? To get jobs they like? To make lots of money? Or is our goal for people to be happy? Feel in control? Have many opportunities? Live an ethical life?
Without a goal it's hard to know whether school is failing kids.
I know many would say a school is there to teach reading and writing and maths. I don't think schools are (or should be) there for that purpose, but rather to improve society by educating everyone. That may need to happen through teaching reading, writing, and maths, but if we don't know our goal we don't know if that's the way to achieve it.
I agree with everything you've just said.
All too often I think people can't see beyond it's there to babysit kids for 8h so parents can work.
That podcast I mentioned earlier actually said that's why kids in NZ generally start school at 5. It used to be 6, and in the war (first world war, maybe?) they changed it to 5 so more women to work while the men were at war. So the first year of school was literally to babysit.
That's interesting. Social changes so often happen for slightly weird reasons. Giving women the vote was partly about who they would likely vote for.