.....bang on about minding their mental health while still pushing them.

We know it’s just a regurgitation of facts and yet we celebrate it as the only measure of intelligence.

We know the system is flawed and yet we run with it!

WHY??

I think, it’s a bit of brain washing that we have all been subjected to. For so many years this is how it has been. After all, we score everything. We score exam results, sporting events, competitions, restaurant reviews, etc., etc.

It’s like we need a score to know where someone fit’s in on the scale.

I am guilty of it, and I’m thinking, deep down most people are. We like to see the scores, the high scores, it gives us comfort somewhere, on some level. I have to remind myself that it actually isn’t important, definitely some kind of deep rooted belief system going on there, that the most important things are unmeasurable.

I know and obviously accept that in some cases it’s necessary. It will always be around as a tool, as it’s a tool we need.

But where we can, can we not adapt the system? Can we not look at other ways to asses? Surely if nothing else, the pandemic has shown and proven that there are other ways it can be done. There must be a way to make a dual system. Asses the kids during first year and let them choose which format going into second year. Let them repeat that process every year. Surely, we owe it to them that now we know we can do it differently that we strive to change the system for the better.

Admittedly the LC was changed in a rush and out of an urgent need, but now that we have had two cycles and we have learned from the mistakes made, why are we not looking at this data and designing a system that works, that encompasses all types of kids?

Why are we now adamant to go back to what we had when we knew it was out dated?

Why are we moving backwards as opposed to continuing with the times and going forward?

I am biased, I totally am! My daughter did her LC last year and my son is going in to do it this year. I have watched their curriculum change with the wind and the uncertainty shadowing over them. I am biased, but I can detach enough from my emotions for our children and realise the overall benefit for all children to come.

So, lets all remember, even when our ‘default position’ sets us back to being comfortable with it, that scores are one type of measure. Not thee measure. Scores are often simply a number on an average scale, a way to categorise in the absence of another better system. This system is waiting to be developed, needing to be developed,