At 8.30 the morning was positively golden as I jogged past the millpond.
Cloud has come and gone since then. In fact just after I had hung washing to dry in the garden, out of an almost cloudless sky came a shower of rain. I decided to leave the washing out there. And besides the shower didn’t last long.
It was very quiet out and about. The usual dog walkers must have been out very early or were waiting until later. And there was no interesting wildlife today, not even the odd squirrel. So it goes.
In today’s Guardian Simon Jenkins has been saying that we teach our children maths they will never use when we should really be teaching them to speak more fluently. Hmm! Yes and no. There’s a bit of me that says we need to introduce pupils to seemingly useless maths because some of them will find it fascinating (yes, they will - I have had students in A-Level French or Spanish classes who also studied A-Level Maths and did indeed find it fascinating and fun, rather as I have always found the vagaries of grammar fascinating, especially comparing grammar from one language to another) and they will perhaps become the great mathematicians of the future. As regards speaking, well, yes, we need to make sure our young people can express themselves clearly and coherently. In his article he tells us that people use fewer words than they used to and, more worryingly, young people don’t seem to talk to each other. Instead they text each other and in groups they shout at each other.
I was under the impression that speaking skills were assessed as part of GCSE English Language but it’s a long time since I taught it and maybe things have changed. Oracy is hard to assess and nowadays a good deal of importance is given to assessment. Everything has to be measurable!
Concern about oracy is not new. This is what Wikipedia tells us: “Oracy is articulating ideas, developing understanding and engaging with others through speaking, listening and communication. The term was coined by Andrew M. Wilkinson, a British researcher and educator, in 1965. The purpose is to draw attention to the neglect o speech and listening in education.l”
So that was back in 1965 when my grammar school had us holding formal debates in some English lessons, teaching us the formal rules of proper debating, maybe just in case any of us girls might end up in Parliament. And we had a public speaking competition. Granted we competitors only spoke to the assembled girls but, hey, you have to start somewhere!
And now they’re more worried than ever.
Something that nobody talked about in 1965 was the manosphere. Goodness! We were only just getting round to stronger ideas about women’s liberation. Anyway, Jess Harwood has made a cartoon about the manosphere and what it should be about.
Her final frame tells us: “Generally, I wish the manosphere taught men it’s Ok to be vulnerable and that women need to be safe, respected and heard.”
Here’s a link to the whole thing. It’s worth a look.
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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