Thanks to everyone who has checked out the responses to the #threequestionsEDU series so far. I always enjoy reading the writing and thoughts of other teachers and I hope you find the responses interesting. Please respond in the comments and share what you think. If you’d like to respond to the questions, please read this post first. Kicking off the fourth #threequestionsEDU response is Abdul Chohan. An educator I’ve worked with a number of times, Abdul has a passion for education and improving outcomes for young people.
Name:
Abdul Chohan
Twitter handle:
A bit about yourself:
What do you think are the biggest issues facing education right now?
I feel education in the UK is a political football. Testing for exam purposes means that education is moving further away from what students need to be successful in the world we live in today. Unfortunately, we are still continuing to do the wrong things really well.
What’s your favourite teaching and learning idea/technique/strategy/tool?
I love the practice of voice feedback for every child. This is a policy we have employed at The Olive Tree Free School in Bolton. Feedback is far superior to marking and we are seeing the benefits of this, without having to compromise on handwriting skills.
If you were appointed Minister of Education in your country, what would be the first thing you’d change and why?
I would scrap grading schools. Every school has its own context and challenges and is unique. We can check for quality of learning and outcomes without classifying schools into categories.
My thanks to Abdul for taking the time to respond to the questions. I hope you find it of interest and look forward to reading your comments!
