Strictly Education<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like many people up and down the country, I\u2019m a massive\nStrictly Come Dancing fan, and like many people up and down the country, I\nshout at the TV because I don\u2019t agree with the judges. This is not unlike\npeople shouting at their football team, the opposing team, the referee, the\nlinesmen etc etc. However, I digress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The purpose of this blog is not to extol the virtues of\nStrictly Come Dancing \u00a0but is instead an exploration\nand insight into education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The most obvious parallel is that Strictly is a process of\nlearning, but that\u2019s not what I want to focus on. For me it\u2019s the judges that\nreally epitomise what happens in schools in terms of assessment and feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like in schools, the celebrities all come from a different\npoint of experience: some have no dance background at all; some have a musical\nbackground but no dance; some may have dance but not in this way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is also true that some children come to school having\nbeen read to by their parents, some have already learned to read, and others\ncannot read at all when they arrive at school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The judges on Strictly\u2019s Movie Week seemed to acknowledge\nthis. We\u2019re looking at different levels of expertise, and therefore, the\ncelebrities cannot by judged against the same standards; they are however\nrewarded for their progress. For example, not only did Shirley Ballas give\nKatie Piper a personal standing ovation, she acknowledged that Piper had taken\non feedback and is improving, even if she hasn\u2019t suddenly shot to the heights\nof the leaderboard. Imagine the boost to confidence and self-esteem that must\nhave provided, and how much further Piper will be able to go as a result. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When the scores come in, admittedly they are a reflection of\nprowess, but the reaction of the dancers demonstrates absolute delight in their\nown journey, yes I said the j-word. Look how happy someone is to achieve a 5\nwhen they scored a 2 the previous week, similarly, someone of 6s or 7s\nachieving a 9. The fact their colleagues are similarly as thrilled, or outraged\ndepending on scores, prove the value of an ethos that celebrates personal victories,\nno matter how small. An interesting question, however, is who has actually made\nthe most progress in this scenario, and whose potential has been unlocked most?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet, in schools, the emphasis is on the higher echelons \u2013 C and\nabove, or now 4 and above. Why aren\u2019t the individual achievements of children\nbeing treated the same way? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I know Primary schools give out \u2018Star of the Week\u2019 awards,\nor similar, which aren\u2019t always to do with achievement, but those same young\npeople arrive in Year 6 for the SATs conveyor belt, and then into Year 7 where\neverything is Assessment Objective focussed and attainment rather than progress\nis rewarded. \u00a0Where is the benefit to\nconfidence and self-esteem, without which, students are going to be prone to\nself-doubt, hindering their ability to move forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is easy to forget that these children are on their own\njourneys, that they have their own sets of talents and that progress is more\nimportant than attainment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My tagline is Raising\nAchievement<\/em> and I stand by it, but I whole-heartedly believe that it is an\nindividual journey, as much about rewarding progress, and building the ever\ncrucial confidence and self-esteem. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Let us champion victories, however small, because they are\nvictories for that individual.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Strictly Education Like many people up and down the country, I\u2019m a massive Strictly Come Dancing fan, and like many people up and down the country, I shout at the TV because I don\u2019t agree with the judges. This is not unlike people shouting at their football team, the opposing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":178,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-update"],"yoast_head":"\n