‘Education has got
steadily worse over the last few years.’
Write a blog arguing
for or against this statement.
There are two running narratives that have grown over the
last year or so on Twitter. One narrative is propelled by the idea that secondary
schools have become some Gradgrindian institute which sucks out the life of
students and actively and intentionally causes stress and mental anxiety in
students. Another narrative spread is the destructive quality of the new GCSEs.
The new GCSEs have been presented as draining creativity and freedom and
leaving students as an empty husk empty of ideas and individuality. Everything
has been attacked in the way to propel these ideas. Vocabulary has been thrown
under the bus. Knowledge has been publicly flogged too. All for the sake of
propelling this idea that things in education are broken.
Now, I would love to write a blog exploring the flaws in
each narrative, but instead I think it is a great opportunity to help students
to get better in Question 5, because creativity is found under rocks, slipped
between the pages of an old book, behind a cupboard and under a desk.
Creativity needs to be discovered and found rather than enforced. Or, occasionally,
creativity is found on discussions on Twitter. Therefore, in the spirit of
creativity, here are some ideas I have had with Question 5 (Paper 2).
Emotions
One thing you can never argue with is emotions. You can
argue with facts, but you can never argue with feelings. That’s why a lot of
writing today is dripping in emotions. Those are my feelings guys! I am just
telling you how I feel.
I feel shocked, appalled and disgusted with the way that
homework is demonised in society.
Emotions also make your writing interesting. If we stick to
the facts, we get to the truth, but it lacks flavour. Emotions. You can’t argue
with an emotion.
Tyrants and
Victims
When presenting a strong case, it is helpful to present
clear sides in the argument. Present people as tyrants and victims. There’s no
need for ambiguity. Goodies and baddies all the way. A tyrannical system
enslaves and oppresses people. A victim is helpless and innocent. One causes
hated. The other causes pity and empathy. Present someone as a victim or a
villain and you have automatic emotional connection. Newspapers lead on this.
We live in a world where people are either a victim or a villain.
So, if students are looking at a question about sport and
its over commercialism, you could easily jump to large businesses as the
tyrants and the poor, innocent sports men and women are the victims. Look at
what those big meanies are doing to the little people kicking a ball.
Paint yourself as the victim
By all means, champion a person, but what makes things more convincing is if you are the victim. You are then giving us a personal and confessional perspective. This is the problem from the horse’s mouth. You have experience of it first-hand. That trumps everything. They are all outsiders.
No counter
arguments
Don’t go anywhere near a counter argument. Considering the
other side only weakens your argument and waters it down. Just bludgeon your
way through with your ideas. Take no prisoners. Blind yourself to the other sides.
Only talk about the other side to point out flaws, weaknesses or to ridicule.
Yes, there might be some benefits of healthy eating, but you
know they aren’t even as interesting as your argument. They are dull.
Shock
Use extreme examples to shock. One isolated incident can be
indicative of a wider problem. It is just the tip of the iceberg.
So, you are exploring the change of the driving age and I
just happen mention that my uncle died in a car he was driving at the age of
17. Like an emotion bomb, that little detail decimates the argument. It is not
true, by the way.
Extreme examples have the ability to hide the flaws in an
argument.
I’d say that Question 5 is perfect part of the curriculum to
address things in a modern age. Some people have criticised the lack of media
analysis in English when we are in an age of ‘fake news’. However, I’d argue we
need to explore how people present an argument. How they use emotions to
manipulate people. How they present themselves as the victim. How they present nonconformists
as villains. How they ignore the other side. How they use extreme examples to
paper over the cracks. We are no longer persuading. We are now convincing.
The teacher is the source of creativity. Sometimes it is so
easy to attack the system, when we miss out the key thing that is important.
The teacher. The teacher is the guiding light. The torch. The lighthouse. The
beacon. Let’s credit them for the creativity. Let’s look for the creativity
together.
Bleeding hearts on the right of me and jokers on the left, here I am stuck with you.
Thanks for reading,
Xris
