The tipping point for more expansive education is on its way

We must be bold to hasten its arrival. Don’t give up the fight

In our new book Educating Ruby: What Our Children Really Need to Learn, Bill Lucas and I make five very simple points. First, literacy and numeracy are important – but so are many other outcomes of education. Second, the international research shows that many of these outcomes are what we call ‘character strengths’ or ‘habits of mind’: things like curiosity, persistence and imagination. In terms of the ability to lead a fulfilled and happy life, such traits are at least as important as SATs scores and GCSEs. Third, all of these habits are capable of being cultivated and strengthened in school – regardless of a child’s background or her so-called ‘academic ability’. In fact, we have no choice: the way in which we set up our classrooms either encourages children to be more adventurous, independent and ‘craftsmanlike’ in their approach to learning, or more timid, dependent and instrumental, interested only in good marks and fearful of making mistakes. Fourth, there is no necessary conflict between cultivating these qualities and getting good marks. On the contrary, children who are systematically helped to become more resourceful and resilient do better on tests. Of course, it is possible to drift into a vague, laisser-faire atmosphere that loses sight of all these clear objectives. ‘Character education’ can be done badly, just as ‘chalk and talk’ can. But the evidence shows that it doesn’t have to be. And fifth and finally, a lot of schools and teachers are successfully implementing this kind of twin-track curriculum already. They build confident kids who get good results. Ruby – the grand-daughter of the feisty heroine of Educating Rita, we like to think – isn’t academic and got poor grades, but she is lucky enough to have gone to such a school, and came out brimming with confidence, curiosity, grit and creativity. She will be happy, successful and innovative, whatever she sets her sights on.

It’s a no-brainer. It’s a win-win – especially for teachers, who find that inquisitive, robust, resourceful children are much more fun to teach. But, despite the evidence and the many successful twin-track schools, progress is too slow and too patchy. Though the vast majority of heads and teachers know in their bones what we are saying is true and important, there is still some fearfulness and reluctance. Despite the many excellent and accessible publications and resource banks for expansive education that are around – just look at the work of the wonderful educator Paul Ginnis who sadly died earlier this year – some people still don’t seem to know how to go about it.

Those of us who know that expansive education can be done, and understand why it must be done, have to be bolder, and shout that understanding, and our own experiences, from the roof-tops. We have to talk with passion and fluency to whoever comes our way – be it Ofsted inspectors, local counsellors and politicians, governors, parents or the children themselves. There is a tipping-point on the way – but we have to hasten it along. 

For example, we have to have the facts at out fingertips to challenge the misconceptions that get in the way of people taking action. There remain a few people with entrenched 19th century views about schooling, knowledge and children’s minds who need to be taken on. It is not true that a concern with children’s learning habits has to compete with attention to content: Shakespeare and algebra will be perfectly safe in the new world! It is not true that you have to learn (i.e. memorise) lots of facts before you can start to think about them – but it is true that being able to think is more important than being able to regurgitate undigested gobbets of information on demand. It is not true that developing learning habits is a condescending, second-rate curriculum that deprives bright working-class kids of their rightful access to high-quality knowledge. It doesn’t; it empowers them to engage with such knowledge with confidence and capability. And the ‘bright young things’ at Oxford and Cambridge are as much in need of resilience, resourcefulness and time management skills as the rest of us.

Educating Ruby spells out lots of practical ways to help to push expansive education forward. Do have a look, and then hop on to (educatingruby.org) to join the debate and connect with others. As the great Bob Marley sang, “Get Up, Stand Up, Don’t Give Up the Fight.”

Educating Ruby: What Our Children Really Need to Learn is published by Crown House Publishing.

About the author

Guy Claxton is Professor of the Learning Sciences at the Centre for Real-World Learning, Winchester University. He is the originator of the Building Learning Power. For more information, see guyclaxton.com