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Subject choice - are some subjects more equal than others?
Thursday 27 January 2011
The sudden introduction of the English Baccalaureate has brought into sharp focus the issue of which subjects pupils “ought” to study. In fact the E Bacc is not a new qualification but an umbrella ‘measure’introduced by the government to assess the performance of maintained schools and to make sure that all pupils study a broad and balanced curriculum at aged 16. This is a laudable aim, but the jury is still out on the details of the subjects included. Many teachers are concerned by some elements of this E Bacc, for instance that the range of humanities subjects is restricted to history and geography, thus demoting RE. See A parents’ guide – the English Baccalaureate for more details.
However, since it is that time of year when Year 9’s thoughts turn to GCSE choices it’s timely to consider what advice a parent should give.
The starting point for your daughter’s subject choices should be to keep her options open, to avoid closing any doors. An unwise choice at 14 could be very limiting at a later stage. After all how many 14 year olds really know what they want to do when they grow up? Equally, choosing what to study solely with one particular career in mind is unwise. The world, including the world of work, is changing so rapidly that it’s impossible to anticipate what careers will be available 7 years hence so choices should be made on different criteria.Breadth and balance are vital so, in fact, this new umbrella measure has a degree of sense. Your daughter is most likely to be successful in those subjects she is passionate about (hopefully there are one or two!) and an A grade in Food Technology will probably be more useful to her than, say, a grade E in Chemistry. But taking music and art and drama and photography and media studies, for example, would limit what other subjects she could study. It might be better for her to keep some of these passions as hobbies, unfettered by the restraints that public exams impose.
But what about the broader question: what are we educating our children for? Surely we aren’t just training them up for a life of work, simply creating a workforce for industry or the professions? We need entrepreneurs to create new businesses and opportunities, the team leaders and players who are vital for a thriving economy and we must have creative types to enrich our lives, to feed our souls. Society needs a wide, rich and varied workforce not identikit drones.
So listen to your daughter, guide her in her best interests but remember that the world she will inherit is not the world you are used to and that very few mistakes are irreversible.
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