Interesting article about outcomes in one British school is being helped by strictness. Some of ideas being implemented in these schools are reminiscent of how school was for me in India growing up. Teachers were often strict and compliance was both demanded and expected. Not that we loved it as kids but understood clearly those were the rules we had to play by.
Good behavior was sometimes rewarded - even publicly recognized but the penalties for bad behavior were significantly more memorable. Yet, our parents complained about how lax things were in our schools and how our teachers did not command the kind of authority their teachers did. We heard stories of legendary punishments doled out to those who did not follow direction. I am not sure if class or wealth had much to do with any of this. School was not about fun and games no matter who you were and how affluent your parents were.
Ms. Birbalsingh argues that wealthy children can afford to waste time at school because “their parents take them to museums and art galleries,” she said, whereas for children from poorer backgrounds, “the only way you’re going to know about some Roman history is if you’re in your school learning.” Accepting the tiniest misbehavior or adapting expectations to students’ circumstances, she said, “means that there is no social mobility for any of these children.”
This is quite a different approach compared to what I have seen in some public schools here in America. Meeting the bar is made ridiculously simple and yet kids fail to deliver the basics like coming to school each day and maintaining a C average with the lowest possible course load. Maybe there is something to be said for how things were done in India back in my day and what inner-city schools in Britain are attempting to do - but being strict enough but not too much is a very hard balance to achieve in a school setting.
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