Problems and Issues in Britain

This is from James who was a professor in Britain.
--------------------------------------------------

I will have a think about what I can say about schools in Britain. My
work has been in a university, teaching environmental studies. I still
do a little teaching but am mostly retired. I am
not even a parent so I have no experience of schools except as a
school student, and in meeting my university students.

We are,
however, at an interesting time. (1) For 20 years the government has been
saying, "teachers are no good, we must watch them and we must test the
school students. Test, test, test". Now people realise that, if you
ask teachers and students to do tests, that is all they know about,
how to do tests, how to give the right answers. What about creativity,
what about loving to learn? (2) For 20 years,
governments have been trying to create schools that are not run by the
local governments, but by other organisations, such as businesses. The
government wanted schools to do better through competition. (3) We now
have in the last few years all the new techologies and trying to learn
what they can do to make teaching and learning easier and better. I am
trying to learn what difference these technologies make to a university.

Do you have these problems?

--
James