It’s easier to teach compliance than initiative

Wisdom from Seth

Found this on Seth Godin’s Blog and had to share it.

Compliance is simple to measure, simple to test for and simple to teach. Punish non-compliance, reward obedience and repeat.
Initiative is very difficult to teach to 28 students in a quiet classroom. It’s difficult to brag about in a school board meeting. And it’s a huge pain in the neck to do reliably.

Schools like teaching compliance. They’re pretty good at it. To top it off, until recently the customers of a school or training program (the companies that hire workers) were buying compliance by the bushel. Initiative was a red flag, not an asset.
Of course, now that’s all changed. The economy has rewritten the rules, and smart organizations seek out intelligent problem solvers. Everything is different now. Except the part about how much easier it is to teach compliance.

Really love this by Seth and it has really made me think of the definition between the two what do you think?

Technology and cheating

Youth Exams and Cheating

More than 4,400 people were caught cheating in last year’s GCSEs and A-levels in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the exams watchdog says.

Figures from Ofqual show a 6% rise in cheating by candidates although the body points out cheating is still very rare, affecting 0.03% of exams taken.

The main way pupils cheat is by using mobile phones or other technology.

Schools are being sold detection equipment to trace devices being used secretly in exam rooms.

But pupils are also being targeted by websites openly selling “exam cheat equipment”, including concealed ear-pieces to receive information.

As mobiles have become more sophisticated – for example, providing internet access – they have become one of the biggest problems for exam invigilators.

Every exam centre must now display a warning poster telling students about strict rules on not bringing mobiles or other electronic equipment into exam halls.

So what do you do if your child is caught cheating?

Education and Youth: Shallow Cuts lead to a Great Divide

Government approach to Education is damaging youth

by Heledd Straker of Naked Generations

Over the last few months there has been a lot of media coverage surrounding the government’s tackling of the recession, in particular its approach towards education.

Over the next three years, higher education institutions are going to face nearly £1billion of budget cuts, including £215million slashed from teaching budgets and the elimination of 6,000 university places from next year. As well as this, Adult courses have been cut by 16% and, perhaps even worse, the government is planning £2billion of ‘savings’ from secondary schools.

According to the government, these ‘shallow’ cuts are to create more efficiencies in the system and to force universities to charge higher tuition fees (from which, of course, they will have to pay tax).

But does this not hint at a return to the Victorian age, where higher education was for the rich and served to maintain a vast social divide? Right now, not only are the Class of 2009 the most debt-ridden (the average graduate is over £30,000 in debt), but young people are hugely and disproportionately affected by the recession, with 18.4% of 18-24 year-olds unemployed (nearly three times the number of 25-49 year-olds, at 6.3%). If things continue as they are, we will have year after year of unemployed youth, who are highly educated and increasingly debt-ridden. Not only this, but increasing numbers of poorer pupils will lose out on the opportunity to go to university, creating a massive social divide and significantly reducing the graduate talent pool – something we really don’t need in the face of the impending retirement of the massive demographic that is the Baby Boomers.

Considering that education is the key to creating long-term economic growth and stability, while debt and inequality are what caused the global recession in the first place, it is easy to wonder whether these cuts will actually help the long run.

Why social media should be taught in schools

Educating Youth in Social Media

The wonderful Andrew Davis has just sent me the results for his first Social Media course in a school and it is impressive.

Every student received a Grade C and above for 90% of course work submitted. All students were border line C/D before. (Quite a few As and Bs)

· Two thirds of boys targeted, benefited by remaining or by moving into a top target group.

· Submitted as part of the School Improvement Plan (SIP)

· 100% course work submitted, which equates to 90% of English Course work.

· 100% attendance over the 4 weeks

· Hitting tight turnover deadlines in all of the course work

Here is a video on his work please help spread the word

Socia Media Fundamentals Case Study from andrew davis on Vimeo.

Have you seen smart fm?

I just had to share this I thought it was a fab tool. They call it the world’s sharpest learning tool, I think they have a way to go until then but it is certainly heading in the right direction. Take a look

Calls to Parent helpline shows 84% of bullying is in schools.

National Anti-Bullying Week

National charity Parentline Plus is calling for a stronger partnership between parents, pupils and teachers to tackle bullying in UK schools.

The call comes during National Anti-Bullying Week* (16th – 20th November) and follows research carried out by Parentline Plus from calls to their free 0808 800 2222 Parentline which shows most bullying happens in schools.

f 41,513 calls taken by Parentline Plus during the period October 2008 – September 2009; 1,847 calls (4.4 %) concerned bullying in its various forms.

Key findings from Parentline Plus:

• 84% of bullying occurs in the school environment
• For 89% of the cases, the perpetrator was known to the victim
• 11% of cases, the callers child is the perpetrator
• 69% of the perpetrators come from either the same class or same social circle as the victim in school.
• 76% of calls about bullying were from parents concerned about the verbal abuse their children had received, where as 56% concerned physical abuse.
• 5.7% of calls were from parents concerned about their child being cyber bullied.

Jeremy Todd, Parentline Plus Chief Executive said:
“Bullying in schools is a real concern to families and parents of bullied children often find the situation traumatic and difficult to manage. Some families may find it difficult to report bullying to the school concerned and parents should contact Parentline Plus, or visit our “Be Someone to Tell” website if they need support. Fostering strong partnerships between parents and schools will ensure that if problems do arise there is already a trusting relationship between teachers and families.”

Scary isn’t it.  So schools looks like we have not tackled this problem fully. What do you think the answer is…

Also take a look at Bullying by Text

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