There has been some upset on Twitter recently between a number of teachers and Lord Adonis. The issues mainly focused around Andrew’s assertion that ‘live streaming’ is deemed best practice and the implication that a number of schools are therefore failing the most disadvantaged students.
I attempted to set out my counter argument in a series of tweets, however the character limits make for good catch phrases but poor analysis and counter arguments. I am also reminded of a tweet I posted in March regarding home learning for students and how before we focus on the quality of work we must work to ensure their most basic needs are being addressed.
For that reason I opted to email Lord Adonis a letter outlining my concerns that his focus misses the real issues of students going without food due to the issues with the voucher system or that the government scheme to give students access to the internet which is still yet to produce a single computer or tablet.
Below is the text from my letter:
Dear Lord Adonis,
I write to you concerning comments made recently on social media about the work of schools during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic and resulting school partial closures.
Firstly, I agree with your findings that the current scenario in which the education system finds itself will be detrimental to the progress of more disadvantaged students in a disproportionate way to their peers. However, I wish to question some of your assertions and offer reasons for my doing so below.
Concerning ‘live teaching’ and your inference that this would constitute best practice. I believe this creates an even larger gap between the most disadvantaged students and their peers, as a number of the most disadvantaged students do not have reliable access to the internet or a device able to access any live-streamed lessons. As a result, these students would miss learning where they may currently be able to access learning through the work packs being provided by the majority of schools through online platforms.
Schools have worked hard to provide work that students can complete at home either through physical work packs or through online learning platforms. This was done in a short amount of time and naturally, this has led to some differences between the provisions being offered by individual schools. Overall, I believe schools are doing what is best for their students but like within the education system in its usual form there are examples of strong practice and schools where practice can be developed. I categorically do not accept that there are schools that are deliberately providing sub-par provision to their students at this time.
Schools are facing a number of issues surrounding the voucher system for free school meals, there are significant delays in the EdenRed system leading to those most vulnerable students in society potentially going without enough food. Without enough food, students who are already disadvantaged will struggle to learn, yet this most basic need is neglected both by the government and by your posts on social media regarding the provision of education at this time.
Another key point is the government’s promise of free devices and internet connections for students who currently are unable to engage with online learning. Despite being a promising development, the scheme is yet to go live meaning those who need devices are still going without. This has the potential to resolve access issues and prevent the gap from widening even more, yet the government is slow to respond and viewed in this light, your comments regarding schools not using live lessons appear to show a lack of awareness for the wider context schools are operating within.
My final point concerning live lessons is that a number of students including those who are disadvantaged are working in homes with limited access to the internet, where parents are working from home and multiple siblings are trying to complete work. Enforcing live teaching would create an unmanageable demand for devices within these households making a challenging situation for families even more difficult.
None of this takes into consideration the possible implications for teachers themselves, yes teachers should be setting work and giving feedback to support students. However, in many teacher households there are children and partners whom need to work online also throughout the day meaning a degree of flexibility would be needed and for some such as single parents of young children this could prove a very difficult task indeed.
I fully appreciate that your comments on social media seek to give the best possible chances to vulnerable and disadvantaged students within our education system. I do believe there is a place for lessons to be delivered live, pre-recorded and with learning materials and tasks set separately to any video of the classroom teacher. However, I think some of the most basic work must be completed first in order to give disadvantaged students the best chances to learn where opportunities are provided to them.
I was pleased to see today that you have now picked up the issue of the free school meal voucher system on Twitter, I believe 100% that these issues should be dealt with first before looking to share best practice on delivering lessons within the education community and your support in challenging the government on them is most welcome. I do hope that you will continue to raise these important issues for resolving some of the most basic issues for our disadvantaged students before moving on to engage in debate over what is the best way in which to teach the nation’s children in such an unprecedented time.
Yours sincerely,
Michael Power