I work with kids and this is very clear to me. The school system is a system of torture and repression. It has no other function. The thing that astonishes me is that parents seem completely indifferent to this reality on the whole and they willingly send their offspring to be abused and even pay through the nose to extend the abuse in the form of tuition. This is one sign for me that the human race is beyond redemption. No right thinking human being would send their children to school.
In the UK it's allowed to educate a child at home but obviously the economic system is designed to make it difficult for people to do this. Nonetheless I don't think that many people understand the mendacity of the school system. In fact they don't understand anything because they took were victims of school prior.
I couldn't agree more, Peter. Standardized testing and standards-based curriculum represent another way we are blatantly designing schools to be more like factories and less like living ecosystems. I understand standards for plugs, cables, nuts, and bolts. But for children, not so much. Ecosystems are powered by diversity. Meetups for children should work the same way.
Just to note A'levels are not compulsory and are generally taken at around 17/19 after 2 voluntary years at college as a stepping stone to University. Compulsory secondary education ends at 16 with GCSEs.
Thank you for clarifying that, Beverley. It fits with what I inferred from some of what I read, but I wasn't clear on it. I realized that A levels were not compulsory, but assumed that was for the same reason that in the US school is not compulsory (in at least some states if not most) after age 16.
I went through secondary (high) school from 1967-74, and was a class teacher of 4-9 year-olds from 1977-88. I got out just as the first incarnation of the National Curriculum was coming in - I could see the writing on the wall and wanted none of it 😞.
Even when I was doing my O-Levels (took them in 1972) there were certain subjects I couldn’t take together. Yesterday I spoke to someone whose 14 year old is now having to choose her GCSEs. They HAVE to take 11 subjects (!), of which 9 are compulsory (!). This girl is very sporty but not academic. If she wants to do a sport subject, the only options for her second subject of choice are…History, Classics or Latin!!! This poor girl adores football (soccer) and isn’t the slightest bit interested in amo, amas, amat…
What a waste of everyone’s time.
Oh for places (can’t call them ‘schools’ where people can go and take classes in things they’re interested in. Now THERE’S a novel idea!!!
(Incidentally, your first grade is our Year 2. Old people like me took O-Levels (O stands for Ordinary) at 16 - these were replaced in the early 1980s by GCSEs (General Certificate of Secondary Education). These are taken in Year 11 (the courses are studied in Y10-11). A-Levels (Advanced Levels) are taken in Y13. There are some vocational courses - BTECs - available post-16, and some schools offer the IB (International Baccalaureate).)
Michael Gove (horrid little man who sailed through school) certainly has a lot to answer for. The real rot started with him.
And Michael Gove's name is still mud in education circles... 😐 I was in school when the National Curriculum came in and still in school when the Standardised Assessment Tests (SATs) were introduced in Year 9 (age 13/14). I remember a particular teacher expressing their opposition to SATs at the time, but then both the NC and SATs just become part of the norm. When I was teaching Year 6 (age 10/11) in 2004-2010, neither were really questioned... Now I educate my children - and a big reason why is the National Curriculum and all of the high-stakes testing. When I tell them about the state education system, they just can't get their heads around the idea of being told what to do all the time and being constantly tested on it!
Actually, SATs = Statutory Assessment Tests! I was thinking about all the testing that happens in English state schools: there's baseline assessments in Year R (Reception - age 4/5), phonics testing in Year 1 (age 5/6), SATs in Year 2 (age 6/7), multiplication testing in Year 4 (age 8/9), SATs in Year 6 (age 10/11). Year 9 SATs (age 13/14) were scrapped, but the young people I tutor often have classroom assessments about every 2 weeks. Then there are GCSEs (General Certificate of Secondary Education) (or sometimes equivalents) in Year 11 (age 15/16). Then young people are expected to be in education, employment or training until the age of 18, but there's no legal penalty if they aren't.
There is also a difference between the different countries in the UK. All four nations (England, Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland) have devolved powers over education and each goes its own way. So what you're describing, Peter, is actually state (government) schools in England.
Then it gets more complicated because in England we also have Academies, which are schools effectively run by businesses: they get state funding, so they're free to access, but they have more freedom (currently) to do their own thing, like not following the National Curriculum (although, in reality, many of them do). We also have private schools, which are paid for by parents or scholarships (or a combination).
Plus, the new Labour Government are currently undertaking a curriculum review. (We get a new version of the National Curriculum every time a different political party is in power.) 😵💫
Your letters are very enlightening. Do you have plans to publish a collection of them as a book anytime soon? In any case, I just upgraded my subscription to “Founding” in support of your work. Keep it coming!
Michael, thank you for your founding subscription!. Yes, I am under contract to complete a book, with working title "Restoring Childhood" that will include much of what I have been writing about in these Substack letters.
What a wonderful title! I teach HS 11th and 12th grade students interested in education as a career. Anyway, many have chosen to read your letters and were excited to learn of a future book release. Thank you.
Just makes me feel so grateful that my 5 youngest grandchildren (from 3 families) have been or are being home educated here in the UK. And I'm delighted to say that they're doing well.
Thanks for this. No surprises here, merely what John Holt was warning about sixty years ago--folks dreaming up "better" systems of education, but who "know" children only from textbooks rather than from sitting and watching them learn, try, fail, try again, and (eventually) learn, because they are trying something that interests them.
I am more thankful than I can express that we were able to homeschool our daughters, as are they. And I am v. thankful for your work--"Free to Learn" was required (and subversive) reading for my education students.
As the parent of 4 young adults who had to endure the school system in England I can confirm that it is pretty awful!
The results of the GCSE and A-level exams are used to make league tables showing how ‘good’ the schools are. So in addition to the external exams the children are constantly being tested/examined to make sure they have had plenty of practice before the real thing. It’s ludicrous how much teaching time is lost to this!
I finished school in the UK in 2002, after doing my A-Levels. I found my entire experience of school to be the worst of my entire life. Peter, if you see this comment, I'd like you to know that your comparison of school to a prison at the beginning of "Free to Learn" was a perfect articulation of many of my feelings about the experience and I had to set the book down for a while before I could continue.
As the parent of a toddler, I am now worried about what options I can expect for them in the future. I had hoped that the state system for primary (pre-11 education in the UK) would be okay and that my main worry would be secondary education. I am now torn between private (probably unaffordable and maybe not better), homeschooling (possibly not practical), and some kind of home curriculum to try and deprogram the effects of the state system (I have no idea if this would work). I hope by the time my child is older that the system will have seen the light, but I doubt it.
I have four children who thankfully are all thriving in good schools in England. Mainly because we are fortunate in the schools they now attend and the school and us encourage lots of extra-curricular to make the outdated and failing education system more palatable. They’re still learning lots of content that I learnt when I was at school. A little of which I have never needed to call upon as a functioning adult in society. I worry that my younger children will never see a change in secondary education and that we will be lucky if our grandchildren do. I do feel frustrated by the way they’re expected to work in shirts and blazers, sat at desks like full time jobs and not being equipped for the 21st century. However mine are happy being there with their peers, so homeschooling is not necessary for now. They occasionally get burnt out and that is sad but we try to recognise, prevent and support them as much as possible. This is not the case for many others. There is a huge amongst of SEN children who are being failed, kids who fly under the radar, kids who have huge potential for life but are learning the wrong topics. I really have no faith that a government or minister will see a positive change out. I certainly can’t see this happening with the current government who have made changes to private schools resulting in potential increased admissions in already overstretched state schools, a negative mindset towards home educators and high charges towards taking time off from school. Thank you for your work in highlighting these matters.
Hi, agree with this totally. Just here to be an annoying pedant and let you know that what you’re describing is the English education system, not UK. Scottish, Welsh and N Irish education systems are run by their own devolved governments.
They’re similar but maybe less awful due to never having been run by Michael Gove. Scottish system seems a bit less rigid. (Or maybe I just want to believe this because my kids are at school in Scotland!)
It’s a very easy mistake to make because the Education Secretary in UK government is in the odd position of just making policy for England and also because many English people (including London based journalists) use UK and England interchangeably.
It’s maybe worth looking into the data on this further because it means you potentially have an education policy ‘natural experiment’ rather than just tracking changes over time. Young people’s lives in England, Scotland and Wales are pretty similar in other ways but the education systems have been separate for a long time (I don’t know if I’d compare NI as there are more cultural differences).
That said the correlation between UK data on wellbeing and English policy possibly still stands because England has a much bigger population than the rest of the UK. Something to be careful around though.
It would also be interesting to see the effect of MATs in the UK. Large Multi Academy Trusts which failing schools are forced to join, meaning all schools in one area can be under the same Trust. This leaves little or no choice for children or parents when choosing schools. The MATs also have very poor feedback regarding strict rules and punishment as tools for conformity.
Peter, are you looking into the influx of educational technology pushed by those that funneled significant funding into the common core standards? I believe they go hand and hand. These tech giants are also behind the significant testing and constant progress monitoring using online testing platforms. Results are often tied to teacher evaluations and school ratings. As an educator I am now inundated with AI products and webinars pushing these products. The harm we are doing to children in schools is not sustainable yet the tech industry continues to profit significantly.
Denise, are you required to use these tech products? If so, from where does the requirement arise? Is it part of your school system's drive to meet government requirements?
Hi Peter, yes schools are required to use these products. I have been writing about it on my substack, https://www.public.news/p/big-tech-hubris-and-greed-behind The tech industry has captured the education system. Curricula is now often provided in a digital form, even to students as young as K. It is destroying the development of foundational skills and was ushered in with the adoption of CCS. Tech truly has a death grip on education and the relentless push for AI in schools is terrifying.
I qualified as a teacher in the UK in 2012 and spent two years working in a deprived area of London, teaching elementary school. The pressure on both teachers and children to meet benchmarks—often at the expense of mental well-being—was overwhelming.
The lengths we had to go to in order to ensure children met targets were extreme: shortened playtimes, rigid structures, and a near-fanatical focus on discipline and behaviour management. I often wondered what kind of adults these children would become after such a childhood.
I couldn’t help but compare it to the experiences of my cousins in Germany, where school ended at 1 p.m. and children had time to play, rest, and explore. The contrast was striking.
After two years, I left teaching in the UK and have spent the past eight years working at an international school in Japan
I read your letter #70 which was sent to me by a friend. It inspired me to write my own Substack. It was only today that I realised you had written about some of these issues already in #69!
I ran a youth club until recently, feedback from the young people about their GCSEs were that they hadn't learned anything of use in yrs 10 and 11 (4th and 5th year of High School when preparing and taking GCSEs) just what they needed to pass the exams. For many their stress levels were so high they didn't even allow themselves an hour or 2 a week off revision to relax.
I have also worked in year 6, which is the final year of primary school and I am saddened that the majority of the work for the year was prepping to pass SATs exams. 10 and 11 year old pupils were making themselves almost sick with worry about exams that should have no bearing on their later life.
Just a few comments to amend some inaccuracies. GCSEs refer to year 4 and 5 of high school and final mandatory schooling, not the first 2 years as you say. The following 2 years students can choose A-levels, vocational qualifications or apprenticeships.
I work with kids and this is very clear to me. The school system is a system of torture and repression. It has no other function. The thing that astonishes me is that parents seem completely indifferent to this reality on the whole and they willingly send their offspring to be abused and even pay through the nose to extend the abuse in the form of tuition. This is one sign for me that the human race is beyond redemption. No right thinking human being would send their children to school.
In the UK it's allowed to educate a child at home but obviously the economic system is designed to make it difficult for people to do this. Nonetheless I don't think that many people understand the mendacity of the school system. In fact they don't understand anything because they took were victims of school prior.
I couldn't agree more, Peter. Standardized testing and standards-based curriculum represent another way we are blatantly designing schools to be more like factories and less like living ecosystems. I understand standards for plugs, cables, nuts, and bolts. But for children, not so much. Ecosystems are powered by diversity. Meetups for children should work the same way.
Just to note A'levels are not compulsory and are generally taken at around 17/19 after 2 voluntary years at college as a stepping stone to University. Compulsory secondary education ends at 16 with GCSEs.
Thank you for clarifying that, Beverley. It fits with what I inferred from some of what I read, but I wasn't clear on it. I realized that A levels were not compulsory, but assumed that was for the same reason that in the US school is not compulsory (in at least some states if not most) after age 16.
Since 2013, it’s compulsory to stay in ‘education, training or employment’ until age 18 😞.
Thank you for this, Peter!
I went through secondary (high) school from 1967-74, and was a class teacher of 4-9 year-olds from 1977-88. I got out just as the first incarnation of the National Curriculum was coming in - I could see the writing on the wall and wanted none of it 😞.
Even when I was doing my O-Levels (took them in 1972) there were certain subjects I couldn’t take together. Yesterday I spoke to someone whose 14 year old is now having to choose her GCSEs. They HAVE to take 11 subjects (!), of which 9 are compulsory (!). This girl is very sporty but not academic. If she wants to do a sport subject, the only options for her second subject of choice are…History, Classics or Latin!!! This poor girl adores football (soccer) and isn’t the slightest bit interested in amo, amas, amat…
What a waste of everyone’s time.
Oh for places (can’t call them ‘schools’ where people can go and take classes in things they’re interested in. Now THERE’S a novel idea!!!
(Incidentally, your first grade is our Year 2. Old people like me took O-Levels (O stands for Ordinary) at 16 - these were replaced in the early 1980s by GCSEs (General Certificate of Secondary Education). These are taken in Year 11 (the courses are studied in Y10-11). A-Levels (Advanced Levels) are taken in Y13. There are some vocational courses - BTECs - available post-16, and some schools offer the IB (International Baccalaureate).)
Michael Gove (horrid little man who sailed through school) certainly has a lot to answer for. The real rot started with him.
I could go on!! So I’d better stop now…
And Michael Gove's name is still mud in education circles... 😐 I was in school when the National Curriculum came in and still in school when the Standardised Assessment Tests (SATs) were introduced in Year 9 (age 13/14). I remember a particular teacher expressing their opposition to SATs at the time, but then both the NC and SATs just become part of the norm. When I was teaching Year 6 (age 10/11) in 2004-2010, neither were really questioned... Now I educate my children - and a big reason why is the National Curriculum and all of the high-stakes testing. When I tell them about the state education system, they just can't get their heads around the idea of being told what to do all the time and being constantly tested on it!
Actually, SATs = Statutory Assessment Tests! I was thinking about all the testing that happens in English state schools: there's baseline assessments in Year R (Reception - age 4/5), phonics testing in Year 1 (age 5/6), SATs in Year 2 (age 6/7), multiplication testing in Year 4 (age 8/9), SATs in Year 6 (age 10/11). Year 9 SATs (age 13/14) were scrapped, but the young people I tutor often have classroom assessments about every 2 weeks. Then there are GCSEs (General Certificate of Secondary Education) (or sometimes equivalents) in Year 11 (age 15/16). Then young people are expected to be in education, employment or training until the age of 18, but there's no legal penalty if they aren't.
There is also a difference between the different countries in the UK. All four nations (England, Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland) have devolved powers over education and each goes its own way. So what you're describing, Peter, is actually state (government) schools in England.
Then it gets more complicated because in England we also have Academies, which are schools effectively run by businesses: they get state funding, so they're free to access, but they have more freedom (currently) to do their own thing, like not following the National Curriculum (although, in reality, many of them do). We also have private schools, which are paid for by parents or scholarships (or a combination).
Plus, the new Labour Government are currently undertaking a curriculum review. (We get a new version of the National Curriculum every time a different political party is in power.) 😵💫
Sorry Beverley that's not correct. Education or training - at least part-time - is compulsory until 18, but doing A-levels is not.
Since when? I missed that change - even my university days are long behind me lol!
Your letters are very enlightening. Do you have plans to publish a collection of them as a book anytime soon? In any case, I just upgraded my subscription to “Founding” in support of your work. Keep it coming!
Michael, thank you for your founding subscription!. Yes, I am under contract to complete a book, with working title "Restoring Childhood" that will include much of what I have been writing about in these Substack letters.
What a wonderful title! I teach HS 11th and 12th grade students interested in education as a career. Anyway, many have chosen to read your letters and were excited to learn of a future book release. Thank you.
Just makes me feel so grateful that my 5 youngest grandchildren (from 3 families) have been or are being home educated here in the UK. And I'm delighted to say that they're doing well.
Dear Peter (if I may),
Thanks for this. No surprises here, merely what John Holt was warning about sixty years ago--folks dreaming up "better" systems of education, but who "know" children only from textbooks rather than from sitting and watching them learn, try, fail, try again, and (eventually) learn, because they are trying something that interests them.
I am more thankful than I can express that we were able to homeschool our daughters, as are they. And I am v. thankful for your work--"Free to Learn" was required (and subversive) reading for my education students.
Thanks again.
fred
As the parent of 4 young adults who had to endure the school system in England I can confirm that it is pretty awful!
The results of the GCSE and A-level exams are used to make league tables showing how ‘good’ the schools are. So in addition to the external exams the children are constantly being tested/examined to make sure they have had plenty of practice before the real thing. It’s ludicrous how much teaching time is lost to this!
I finished school in the UK in 2002, after doing my A-Levels. I found my entire experience of school to be the worst of my entire life. Peter, if you see this comment, I'd like you to know that your comparison of school to a prison at the beginning of "Free to Learn" was a perfect articulation of many of my feelings about the experience and I had to set the book down for a while before I could continue.
As the parent of a toddler, I am now worried about what options I can expect for them in the future. I had hoped that the state system for primary (pre-11 education in the UK) would be okay and that my main worry would be secondary education. I am now torn between private (probably unaffordable and maybe not better), homeschooling (possibly not practical), and some kind of home curriculum to try and deprogram the effects of the state system (I have no idea if this would work). I hope by the time my child is older that the system will have seen the light, but I doubt it.
I have four children who thankfully are all thriving in good schools in England. Mainly because we are fortunate in the schools they now attend and the school and us encourage lots of extra-curricular to make the outdated and failing education system more palatable. They’re still learning lots of content that I learnt when I was at school. A little of which I have never needed to call upon as a functioning adult in society. I worry that my younger children will never see a change in secondary education and that we will be lucky if our grandchildren do. I do feel frustrated by the way they’re expected to work in shirts and blazers, sat at desks like full time jobs and not being equipped for the 21st century. However mine are happy being there with their peers, so homeschooling is not necessary for now. They occasionally get burnt out and that is sad but we try to recognise, prevent and support them as much as possible. This is not the case for many others. There is a huge amongst of SEN children who are being failed, kids who fly under the radar, kids who have huge potential for life but are learning the wrong topics. I really have no faith that a government or minister will see a positive change out. I certainly can’t see this happening with the current government who have made changes to private schools resulting in potential increased admissions in already overstretched state schools, a negative mindset towards home educators and high charges towards taking time off from school. Thank you for your work in highlighting these matters.
Hi, agree with this totally. Just here to be an annoying pedant and let you know that what you’re describing is the English education system, not UK. Scottish, Welsh and N Irish education systems are run by their own devolved governments.
They’re similar but maybe less awful due to never having been run by Michael Gove. Scottish system seems a bit less rigid. (Or maybe I just want to believe this because my kids are at school in Scotland!)
It’s a very easy mistake to make because the Education Secretary in UK government is in the odd position of just making policy for England and also because many English people (including London based journalists) use UK and England interchangeably.
It’s maybe worth looking into the data on this further because it means you potentially have an education policy ‘natural experiment’ rather than just tracking changes over time. Young people’s lives in England, Scotland and Wales are pretty similar in other ways but the education systems have been separate for a long time (I don’t know if I’d compare NI as there are more cultural differences).
That said the correlation between UK data on wellbeing and English policy possibly still stands because England has a much bigger population than the rest of the UK. Something to be careful around though.
Thank you, Annie. I'm going to have to look back at some of the research I found to see if it was limited to England or to all of UK.
It would also be interesting to see the effect of MATs in the UK. Large Multi Academy Trusts which failing schools are forced to join, meaning all schools in one area can be under the same Trust. This leaves little or no choice for children or parents when choosing schools. The MATs also have very poor feedback regarding strict rules and punishment as tools for conformity.
Peter, are you looking into the influx of educational technology pushed by those that funneled significant funding into the common core standards? I believe they go hand and hand. These tech giants are also behind the significant testing and constant progress monitoring using online testing platforms. Results are often tied to teacher evaluations and school ratings. As an educator I am now inundated with AI products and webinars pushing these products. The harm we are doing to children in schools is not sustainable yet the tech industry continues to profit significantly.
Denise, are you required to use these tech products? If so, from where does the requirement arise? Is it part of your school system's drive to meet government requirements?
Hi Peter, yes schools are required to use these products. I have been writing about it on my substack, https://www.public.news/p/big-tech-hubris-and-greed-behind The tech industry has captured the education system. Curricula is now often provided in a digital form, even to students as young as K. It is destroying the development of foundational skills and was ushered in with the adoption of CCS. Tech truly has a death grip on education and the relentless push for AI in schools is terrifying.
Thank you for bringing this to light, Peter.
I qualified as a teacher in the UK in 2012 and spent two years working in a deprived area of London, teaching elementary school. The pressure on both teachers and children to meet benchmarks—often at the expense of mental well-being—was overwhelming.
The lengths we had to go to in order to ensure children met targets were extreme: shortened playtimes, rigid structures, and a near-fanatical focus on discipline and behaviour management. I often wondered what kind of adults these children would become after such a childhood.
I couldn’t help but compare it to the experiences of my cousins in Germany, where school ended at 1 p.m. and children had time to play, rest, and explore. The contrast was striking.
After two years, I left teaching in the UK and have spent the past eight years working at an international school in Japan
I read your letter #70 which was sent to me by a friend. It inspired me to write my own Substack. It was only today that I realised you had written about some of these issues already in #69!
Here are my thoughts:
https://open.substack.com/pub/fwhittaker/p/whats-causing-the-rise-in-persistent?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=1as3ji
I ran a youth club until recently, feedback from the young people about their GCSEs were that they hadn't learned anything of use in yrs 10 and 11 (4th and 5th year of High School when preparing and taking GCSEs) just what they needed to pass the exams. For many their stress levels were so high they didn't even allow themselves an hour or 2 a week off revision to relax.
I have also worked in year 6, which is the final year of primary school and I am saddened that the majority of the work for the year was prepping to pass SATs exams. 10 and 11 year old pupils were making themselves almost sick with worry about exams that should have no bearing on their later life.
Just a few comments to amend some inaccuracies. GCSEs refer to year 4 and 5 of high school and final mandatory schooling, not the first 2 years as you say. The following 2 years students can choose A-levels, vocational qualifications or apprenticeships.