Insult to intelligence
From Peter Coghill
Sir: Roger Graef’s piece ends with the valid conclusion that errant behaviour among children is copied from adults (‘How we betray the young’, 7 May). As a retired Australian high-school teacher, I can attest to the sort of bad classroom behaviour Mr Graef cites. ‘Anarchic’ is not an exaggeration. Teachers must put up with foulmouthed insults and threats of violence on a daily basis. The culprit is a theory that became fashionable in the 1970s: StudentCentred Learning.
This theory essentially makes the student the boss, in just about every aspect: deciding what homework shall be given, how much and when it will be handed in; when the teacher will talk and when he will be quiet; what is a fair or unfair punishment and even what shall or shall not be taught. For many years trainee teachers have been told they are not the authority in the classroom but that they must invite students to agree on various ‘social contracts’ between themselves and the teacher. This approach when it was initially formulated excited many educational theorists and planners, but it has clearly not worked.
Peter Coghill
New South Wales Department of Education, Australia
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