Too Quick For The Class
"You need to put more effort in, you aren't one of my A* pupils."
My teacher paused for a breath. I wondered absently why this was; it certainly wasn't my test results, they were all well into the A* band. I came to the conclusion that this categorisation was based entirely upon my effort.
After the brief pause she continues. "They may be slower than you now but in my experience that type of person scores higher on their final exams."
The scenario above isn't isolated, in fact it is common. Frequently I find myself being bored in a lesson, not because I am unintelligent. Quite the opposite in fact, I find the concepts too easy. My quick grasp of things becomes a disadvantage.
But first maybe a bit of relevant information about myself. I am currently preparing for my GCSEs and possibly some early A-levels outside of school if I find the time. I am fairly intelligent, by my own standards at least and seem to have a sponge-like ability to absorb information. My school have a "more able and talented" program (MAT for short) and in year seven, in which all students take a form of IQ test designed for children, I was found to be not only the highest scorer of my year group but also of the six year history of the test in the school. My score on the standardised scale was 100%. This feat has been repeated once in the years that have passed by one of my younger friends.
My problem then is with boredom. Of course many children complain of boredom of school, so much that it is a stereotyped norm. This is very much a different kind of boredom, a boredom in which the problem is not lack of application but lack of content for me to apply myself to.
Of course, different teachers take different views. Some think that the MAT students should be encouraged to fulfil maximum capacity. This is the official school view, although it is often not upheld. Instead it is easily possible to find teachers who, for whatever reason, think that our exemplary performances often detract from the education of others.
The reason for this is that due to a lack of stimulus, myself and often other members of the higher end of the MAT program often do not pay attention. We grasp a subject and then must wait sometimes up to several hour-long lessons for the rest of the class to catch up. I do not blame the other students, not everyone will grasp things as quickly as any other person, but I do blame the teachers who feel it unnecessary to engage the MAT students in more challenging activities.
Is it reasonable to suppose that it is not just those who struggle who have special educational needs?
Yes. Quite frankly, the more advanced have different needs as well. Is attention paid to those needs? Here we run into difficulty, a murky quagmire of lies, deception and double standards.
Children, at least in my experience, are treated condescendingly by their teachers. Treated as if they are stupid, upon the presupposition that they actually are. They are lied to, in the expectation that the lies will not be uncovered. Here we are, some of the lies exposed.
Do schools deal well enough with the needs of the individual or even of the groups of individuals?
No, in my opinion they do not. They lie, they say things will change, but do they? The expectation is still there for us, the children to work, but not the expectation of relevant support. So where is the line drawn? Where do we stop and say that something must be done? Well, ultimately we cannot, because we have no power. So the question is "is what we have enough?"
Info Education In School 11-16
Info Education In School 11-16 Rights At Schools
IMAGE: ne da se mi by Tadeeej
