It took me around thirty seconds of being a part of this country's education system to become disillusioned. I had looked forward to school as a place where I would learn but quickly realised that my optimism been misplaced.
On my first day Mum took me to school, and we were greeted by the teacher. The woman said hello, and held out her hands, fingers spread. She asked if I could count her fingers. I looked at her in surprise, mentally reminding myself not to give obvious answer; they wouldn't ask such easy questions at school!
I remembered that two of the "fingers" I saw in front of me were actually thumbs, so gave my answer; "eight."
I was sure I had avoided her little trick, but she informed me in an intensely patronising tone there were ten, and just to prove it, counted to ten - really slowly. Of course I put her right, but she just laughed and then changed the subject (as adults always do when children are cleverer than them).
That was the moment when I realised this woman was never going to teach me anything.
Children do not enter the school system at the same level. However young we are when we start school, we all have differing levels of intelligence and ability, and different experiences. Yet schools ignore children who differ from their expectations.
I spent at least the first three years of school learning absolutely nothing. I read to the class to save the teacher a job.
Even at a basic primary school level, the system fails.
The first and most obvious consequence of this failure is that children do not learn at the pace of which they are capable. If a child is reading at three, two years ahead of the normal age, why is the standard school response to ignore this child until everyone else catches up?
Another, related and potentially more serious problem is that of motivation. Imagine being made to sit, every day for three years listening to other people being taught things you already know, and being tested on this. Imagine being made to read books you put away as being childish half your lifetime ago .It is draining, de-motivating, and extremely boring. When, eventually, the time comes when you do need to concentrate, to apply yourself to learning, and to make some effort, it is a shock. The later in life this happens, the harder it is, and it is very hard to re-learn how to make that kind of effort.
A third problem is that the intelligent child is often bullied as they are notably different. This was certainly true in my case; I went home covered in bruises through most of my early school years. Children can be cruel, and knowing that they are un-intelligent cowards does not make them any less frightening if they are bigger than you and threatening you on a daily basis.
It is not just the most intelligent that the system fails. I saw children at primary school that were still unable to read at age eight. The only ones who thrived at school were those "average "pupils, in the middle of the ability band.
Secondary school brings a new diversity of subjects, and new issues
Children are often put into differing grades groups (or in some cases sent to a grammar school) on the basis of their ability at age eleven. While this can be some indicator of innate intelligence, it may also indicate the competence, or otherwise, of the primary school teacher.
Secondly, there is a diversity of school subjects and children are rarely at the same level in each of these. One child may be a brilliant sportswoman, but unable to write. She will be bored in physical education lessons, and frustrated in English. Another may be unable to catch a ball or run, but reading at an adult level. She will have an opposite but equally pointless and frustrating experience. (No prizes or guessing which category I fell into)
Colleges and Universities are not working either. These centres of academic excellence turn out countless drop-outs, failures and graduates who are un-employable. The whole system is a shambles - it does not do the job it is required to do. The system fails almost everyone.
So, what would work?
Firstly, all children should begin their education at home. I am not suggesting this is regulated; I would never advocate "Big Brother" style monitoring to ensure parents are doing their job. However, once the system is running, all parents would be educated properly and there fore capable of teaching their children the basics - how to read simple words, count, write their name and other very simple tasks. People who have been well educated themselves would give their children a good start.
