New Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has proposed that all children should
learn Maths to the age of 18. It may be a well-intentioned plan but it
rather begs the question of what education is for.
Sunak’s speech in January 2023 was focused on building a world class
education system, an NHS focused on patients, stronger communities and
safer streets and a society that ‘truly values the family’. The danger
with such rhetoric is that it can be easily twisted – valuing the
family can come to mean ignoring the rights of less traditional family
styles. And that’s where Sunak’s focus on Maths to 18 as an education
solution falls at the first hurdle.
A fair and functional society requires an understanding of shared
goals and a commitment to achieving them. But that means unpicking the
language used, the definitions understood and the pathways to
achieving them – and that can’t be done without questioning the
assumptions in those statements, and those assumptions that underlie
the goals.
No one wants an NHS that’s not focused on patients, but without
proper funding, decent levels of staffing, effective management that
doesn’t have a stranglehold on clinical care, that’s not going to
happen. And stating the obvious about what we want is meaningless if
we don’t understand how we’re going to get there. Understanding Maths
and economics might help us crunch the numbers to work out what’s
possible, but it’s not going to tell us anything about what we’re
choosing to value and how.
Sunak’s vision is for one where Maths will be compulsory to 18, as a
means of giving children the analytical skills that the modern
world requires. But analysis is not just crunching numbers – it’s about
nuance and perspective, about value and bias. The ability to question
bias, to examine value, to create new approaches cannot be taught by
expecting children to cite and learn mathematics – especially when
they often dislike or even fear it.
Part of the challenge is the fact that Maths is taught in a linear
rigid fashion. The elegance, beauty and even magic of Maths doesn’t
come into play until further Maths – and while children need to learn
the basics in order to explore the art of mathematics, that’s not
going to necessarily equip them with the skills to question and think about
what they’re doing. Data is everywhere -we need to interpret and to analyse
it,- but Maths isn’t necessarily the best tool for children to use. Mathematics is
important and can be exciting but forcing children to learn something they
don’t like, for reasons they don’t understand, cannot be the way
forward.
Sunak’s vision harks back to a Victorian approach which is about creating
a workforce to fulfil the needs of future employers. In a world where the UK
government is attempting to pass legislation to force striking workers to work,
removing one of the future tools for effecting change for working people, isn’t it
more important that we teach our children how to think independently,
critically and compassionately?
New Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has proposed that all children should
learn Maths to the age of 18. It may be a well-intentioned plan but it
rather begs the question of what education is for.
Sunak’s speech in January 2023 was focused on building a world class
education system, an NHS focused on patients, stronger communities and
safer streets and a society that ‘truly values the family’. The danger
with such rhetoric is that it can be easily twisted – valuing the
family can come to mean ignoring the rights of less traditional family
styles. And that’s where Sunak’s focus on Maths to 18 as an education
solution falls at the first hurdle.
A fair and functional society requires an understanding of shared
goals and a commitment to achieving them. But that means unpicking the
language used, the definitions understood and the pathways to
achieving them – and that can’t be done without questioning the
assumptions in those statements, and those assumptions that underlie
the goals.
No one wants an NHS that’s not focused on patients, but without
proper funding, decent levels of staffing, effective management that
doesn’t have a stranglehold on clinical care, that’s not going to
happen. And stating the obvious about what we want is meaningless if
we don’t understand how we’re going to get there. Understanding Maths
and economics might help us crunch the numbers to work out what’s
possible, but it’s not going to tell us anything about what we’re
choosing to value and how.
Sunak’s vision is for one where Maths will be compulsory to 18, as a
means of giving children the analytical skills that the modern
world requires. But analysis is not just crunching numbers – it’s about
nuance and perspective, about value and bias. The ability to question
bias, to examine value, to create new approaches cannot be taught by
expecting children to cite and learn mathematics – especially when
they often dislike or even fear it.
Part of the challenge is the fact that Maths is taught in a linear
rigid fashion. The elegance, beauty and even magic of Maths doesn’t
come into play until further Maths – and while children need to learn
the basics in order to explore the art of mathematics, that’s not
going to necessarily equip them with the skills to question and think about
what they’re doing. Data is everywhere -we need to interpret and to analyse
it,- but Maths isn’t necessarily the best tool for children to use. Mathematics is
important and can be exciting but forcing children to learn something they
don’t like, for reasons they don’t understand, cannot be the way
forward.
Sunak’s vision harks back to a Victorian approach which is about creating
a workforce to fulfil the needs of future employers. In a world where the UK
government is attempting to pass legislation to force striking workers to work,
removing one of the future tools for effecting change for working people, isn’t it
more important that we teach our children how to think independently,
critically and compassionately?
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