- Robinson, K. (2013, April). Ken Robinson: How to escape education’s death valley. http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_how_to_escape_education_s_death_valley,
Ken Robinson poses a challenge to how the children are being educated. He proposes a thorough review of the school systems so that creativity can be cultivated and increased intelligence forms to be admitted. Robinson says that for better results, we must admit that, by nature, the children are very curious because normally, even lacking assistance, the children will learn because they are learners by nature. He also assures that for any achievement; curiosity serves as an engine. He also says that we must admit that creativity is part of human life. Robinson says that the reason why humans’ culture is very adaptive and dynamic is because of the creative nature in them. Humans create their lives and can also recreate them as they go. He says that education has the mandate to stimulate and progress the creative powers in humans. Finally, we must admit that humans are distinct by nature, and unlike because currently, education is focused on similarity. Though it is necessary to find a student’s ability across a small range, e.g., English or mathematics, it is still insufficient. He says that a good education system must give equalize its weight to physical education and art education, among others. He assures that children can do better with a curriculum that enhances their different talents. According to the author, good teachers: deliver, stimulate, mentor, provoke, and engage because stimulating learning is the teacher’s role.
The author says that the system in place is not able to equip a student to his/her best. He focuses on changing the present-day education system to a new curriculum that enhances children’s talents and involves art education as part and lifestyle of a student. He is pointing to the leadership and management sector to consider revising the system and create an atmosphere full of possibilities. He writes to the people who have not yet changed the education system and the people who do not understand how the involving curriculum is effective to the student. The author concludes by saying that the true mandate of education leadership commanding and controlling the students is controlling the students’ climate, and he says that a revolution of the education system is needed. The text was very helpful in my findings, and this was a good source of information.
Office of Standards in Education, Children’s services, and skills. (2017) Bold beginnings: The Reception curriculum in a sample of good and outstanding primary schools. Retrieved from: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/663560/28933_Ofsted_-_Early_Years_Curriculum_Report_-_Accessible.pdf
The office of standards in Education, Children’s services, and skills (Ofsed) aim at providing insights that are very fresh in the leader’s intentional curriculum and how the implementation will take place and how the pupil’s outcomes are affected. Ofsed says that the source of later success is due to a well-conducted early education. Ofsed had its findings after a review of some primary schools considered to be successful. They observed a successful year of the reception was a principle to the success of the school. They believed that at age five, a child’s achievement could determine his/her chances of life. Also, the heads gave literacy and language the first priority in learning. Reading also was noticed to be the key to the curriculum, and the time for stories was highly valued daily action. Ofsed also found that playing was a crucial curriculum part. In their text, Ofsed also notes that if some students were slow in picking up knowledge than the other students, they were given special attention and more support to help them catch up with the rest. According to the Ofsed, the year of reception holds an unmatched and important place in education. It is mostly known as the beginning year of the school and not a must, unlike other years. This is when the staff institute the routines, regulations, and learning expectations that will fit the students’ best and ease their remaining school life. It was clear to Ofsed that the early education of a child lasts forever. They found that what the children learn during the years of reception is much important. A recommendation was given that the primary schools should incorporate some teachings such as reading that are key in the year of reception. Ofsed is trying to point and show how important is the early education of a child to his/her remaining education life. Ofsed is trying to mobilize all schools to consider carrying out early education at a deeper extent. It is pointing to all the schools and the management in place. A limitation in the study is that the Ofsed did an analysis of the successful schools in which all students achieved well they did not consider the other schools where performance was much lower. Though the information was not enough to draw my conclusion, it helped me to conclude that reception education is much important to a child.
National Union of teachers. (2015). Stand up for education: A manifesto for children’s education retrieved from: https://www.teachers.org.uk/files/manifesto-16pp-a5-9623-_0.pdf
The national union of teachers (NUT) has a motive that the teachers and parents should have their say listened by politicians because the policies governing are currently are shifting the education system to the incorrect direction. NUT a belief that all children and young people should be highly valued to fight for actions that fight child poverty and give a curriculum full of flexibility and inclusion that all learners can access. Also, NUT values every teacher and fights for teachers with the necessary qualifications in all the classrooms. NUT believes that the connections between the communities, schools, and parents should be highly maintained. NUT says that they need more time to teach than to conduct the tests. They also have a determination that all children have a right to have all teachers qualified. NUT also in their text arms itself to fight and eradicate child poverty. They also state that it is their mandate to do away with the crisis witnessed in the school places. NUT admits that education is fractured, and it requires to be mended. NUT also notes that profitability should not be the aim of any school. They also fight in investing in education and make the art of teaching a profession that is attractive. In the text, they recommend that NUT recommend that every student be pointed to gain much from a wide, enriching, and balanced curriculum. They also recommend that an inspection of schools by the local authorities should be conducted to ensure accuracy and validity in a school’s self-evaluation. They also recommend that all teachers must be qualified or be on training path leading to the qualification and regular training should be done to all teachers. NUT recommends that the government should set strategies to help in ending child poverty. NUT the issues a manifesto that if teachers and parents work together, they can bring it to reality. NUT aims to give the student all the best conditions and improve the children’s performance through the book’s content well implemented. A professional climate of a sense of responsibility and respect should be natured. This is a good resource since they have given action to taken and stated who to do it e.g. the government should fight to eradicate poverty among children. It has helped in my findings, and the text is recommendable.
Morton, K. (2015), November 30th sector mostly on professional love. Nursery world. Retrieved from: https://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/news/1154966/sector-mostly-positive-on-professional-love
Morton draws findings from his study that nature shows that many practitioners’ attitudes are positive to professional love for the past years. And to create an attachment and security, they are comfortably kissing and hugging the kids. Some concerns, however, raise among many how they will respond to the parent’s actions. The author aimed to investigate how professionals of early years on the love sector in the curriculum and decide how love relationships are appropriate to manifest themselves. A study was conducted in an online survey involving 793 early-year teachers, staff, lecturers, teaching assistants, childminders, and consultants. They also conducted face-to-face interviews involving ten respondents. Morton says that from the study, any would define the term professional love using similar strong words such as; kindness, caring, paying attention, and availability to children. He says that some were also concerned that the child’s feelings in professional love might be secure, valued, settled, or safe. In many definitions, corrected physical contact like kissing and hugging was witnessed to play a key role in creating attachment and connections. The author outlines the disagreement handled while trying to compare parental love to professional love. Because some argued that by nature, professional love should be parental e.g., showing love to a child as if her/she was your own, but others could not.
The author also indicates that despite respondent’s positive attitude, some still doubted their work aspects, and practitioners were described vulnerable by some. He says that in the study, ranging between one and five claimed that they would make sure they were not alone with the child. Because parents would have felt threatened and uncomfortable with the traditional staff, creating a relationship with the child. Some other respondents viewed that not all parents would understand or recognize the love of the children’s needs of attachment. The author says that from the research, a free attachment toolkit has been developed for the early practitioners. The author concludes that almost all practitioners had a feeling that showing affection to the children under their care was beneficial. It is clear that many practitioners have a sense that showing affection to any child in their care is a crucial practice part. There is also a concern existing about the view of others about how appropriate are their deeds. The limitation of the study is that a major part of the conclusion was drawn from the data conducted form the online study that does not assure accuracy. It is otherwise a good source since the data is well indicated, and it was helpful to me.
Au, Wayne. (2017). When Multicultural is Not Enough. Multicultural perspectives, 19(3), 147-150. Retrieved from: https://find.shef.ac.uk/permalink/f/98odl8/TN info rmaworld s10 1080 152’0960 2017 1331741
Wayne Au strongly informs that multicultural education is in short not satisfactory in the time white nationalism is rising. He further suggests that parents, teachers, students, and administrators must organize and fight against xenophobia, sexism, and racism and identify a way to support the communities and students. The author agrees and acknowledges the importance of multicultural education. But they witnessed the hatred violence experienced in many communities and students, so he admits that it is not enough. So he says that consideration must be made on what should be done to ensure the defense of the schools, students, and parents. He also showed how the school staff and teachers should clarify the willingness to offer protection to students physically and also clarity about the lying of our solidarities. Wayne Au adds that few teachers, unfortunately, have clarified their solidarities in publicity. He gives an example of what happened of 16/February/2017 that due to media comments, some teachers were put to leave.
The author says that we must admit all racial and multicultural education should be improvised in the school, classrooms, and districts to create teacher and student consciousness critically. He gives an instance given by Bigelow (2006) that if we decide to bring complications to the student’s understandings by making an analysis of the economics, history, environments, politics, and experience of humans of the Mexico-Us border. He adds that teaching about refugees should also be improvised. He recommends that the children must be taught activism of social justice and also protesting using the pictures in books. This is because the children should see themselves like warriors with the potential for justice and have all the power to fight back. He concludes by saying that the big tragedy is that unwillingly we quest for answers for what is being faced by the students, parents, teachers, and administrators. The limitation of the source it that the author does not give the clear effects of the lack of multilingual education, and also he does not give how the solution will be implemented. Concerning the unfitness of multicultural education, this is a good source.