Saw some KS3 English slides recently - a lesson on a topic, multiple slides crammed with writing, supposedly full of 'knowledge' but none of it what I'd call rich, powerful or any other adjective denoting quality in terms of English as a subject. What on earth is happening?
It's hard to critique without sounding harsh & judgemental but we are at risk of killing off the subject imo. Be clear – it's not the teachers who are at fault. There are immense pressures on them from a system sending out the wrong messages about what knowledge in English is.
I've been thinking about knowledge in *English* for a good long while but recently read one of the broader works driving the current knowledge curric. I have to say, it gives me lots of cause for concern. The formulation of knowledge isn't imo appropriate for English. 1
It's not a subject where 'truth' is the most important idea. There certainly isn't a single truth. It's all about gaps, uncertainties, ambiguities, interpretation. And here's where the student comes in. Texts are made by readers. Their 'knowledge' matters. 2
So hard & fast distinctions between 'school' knowledge and 'everyday' knowledge are really unhelpful. In English, if you don't bring your 'everyday' knowledge to bear then you're not doing the 'school' knowledge very well. It's not just about pedagogy/relatability. It's in the 3
...very nature of the subject. And if you extract it from the subject, you lose its essence. Students will no longer want to study it. What's the point? We see that happening now! More on this from me & @BobEaglestone & others at EMC What Matters Conference & at @EngSharedFuture
