Sir Anthony Seldon
Put character on the curriculum
hen it comes to lessons for tomorrow’s pupils, it is not academia that should be the focus, but resilience, aspiration and compassion. So said Prince Harry yesterday when announcing the shortlist for the Global Teachers Prize and, having run schools, and now a university, for more than 20 years, I can only agree.
During my time as a headteacher, I became increasingly angry about the way the education of children and independence of teachers was clamped down on by the state. Our curriculum is reminiscent of British industry and banking before Thatcher revolutionised them in the 1980s; hopelessly ill-suited to the demands and needs of this century. It has been shaped by politicians who know little about the needs of today, let alone the future.
As educators, our chief mission must be to inspire students’ minds, help them to think imaginatively and entrepreneurially, and give them the skills and character to thrive.
School systems around the world now dance to the tune of tests run by the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment, or Pisa. They is beginning to realise that its focus on literacy and numeracy is out of date, but cannot undo the terrible damage that it has done, turning schools into exam factories where all that matters is the ability of children to recall facts and formulae, and regurgitate them in tests.
But what might a 21st-century curriculum look like? The essence is to develop active rather passive thinking, to engage every facet of a student. It will use artificial intelligence imaginatively to provide personalised learning for all. This new approach will fully captivate each student; their creative minds, their emotions, and their characters. After all, it is not the institution in question – my time studying at Oxford was one of the most intellectually dull experiences of my life – but one’s creative experiences around it, that proves to be the most beneficial, as I was to learn through directing plays there and having deep conversations with friends.
The new curriculum should have 10 elements. Maths and numeracy must lie at its heart, and be taught in far more imaginative ways. Literacy and language come second: students need to be able to understand their own language, and that of other nationalities, and to communicate fluently and articulately. Scientific knowledge follows, because without an inner understanding of the world of science, young people will be adrift. It is quite wrong to say all facts are available on the internet, and young people thrill to science when it is taught imaginatively: the best science teachers give their students a sense of discovery, of being at the cutting edge of knowledge, not merely expecting them to develop a sense of wonder staring at a decades-old textbook.
So far, so traditional. We now move to more novel areas. Critical thinking and philosophy should be taught to all students from the age of five, to nurture inquiring minds, and entrepreneurship and creativity must be learnt. Computer coding and an understanding of what computers do, and what human beings do, is the next plank in the new curriculum.
Prince Harry was right to highlight the importance of development of character and children’s ability to understand themselves. Schools that teach pupils about their wellbeing see exam results rise. The importance of physical education has been lost from many schools. Life expectancy is rising; we need to ground young people in a proper understanding of how their body works, the joys and benefits of exercise.
Finally, history of art, which has faced a turbulent time recently and creative subjects, including music and dance, should be taught, because all young people have aptitudes and interests deep in their souls, which may remain dormant if not nurtured. Several of my students have gone on to prolific careers in the arts, having had their appetites whet as pupils.
This vision of education is not a luxury. It is a necessity for Britain if we are to flourish in the post-Brexit world, if all our young people are truly to fulfil their potential.
Our curriculum is like banking before Thatcher revolutionised it