In the 1960s, when teachers were trusted, and schools
were still thought of as places for learning, rather than exam
factories, several interesting experiments in learning took place.
Despite what certain politicians say, some of these experiments
showed interesting results and proved that many of the features
of schools as we know them are not necessary to help students
learn.
My MSc Dissertation was written about one of these experiments
- The English Block, which happened in Uganda and Kenya.
We live in a time when experiments in education are discouraged,
and when the pressures of continual 'testing' promotes a style
of teaching that probably prevents many types of learning, to
the detriment of people exposed to it, and to the loss of society
when many skills are ignored.
One day times will change and students will rightly demand
proper learning again. These are important matters, leading to
questions about the nature of humanity, and imply important criticisms
of modern culture and its possible lack of attention to some
of the things our ancestors thought were important to keep us
human.
