I was very struck last week by the presentation given by maths Professor David Spielgelhalter at the Prince’s Teaching Institute, partly because he made such potentially difficult and abstract material, utterly captivating. But also because it was an exemplary piece of skilful teaching. Yet as I was sitting listening, I realised that thousands of children are routinely being denied access to the delights he finds in his subject because the idea that maths is somehow naturally difficult has become almost a truism amongst educational policy makers and exam boards alike.

So it was purer serendipity a day or two later, when the BBC covered news of the latest attempt to compensate for this fallacy, the new use of Mathematics A level, which many leading mathematicians have expressed concerns about. That coverage led me to discover Educators for Reform, a group with roots in the Reform thinktank, and to read their launch statement which can be found in full here. I found myself so completely in agreement with what the group is calling for, I have reproduced a few short extracts from their launch statement below.

The challenges of the twenty-first century can only be met by a rigorous education that promotes personal discipline, intellectual curiosity and independence of thought.

…successive governments have undermined the true values of education. A wish to make society more equal has undermined the teaching of knowledge, fixed syllabuses and assessment by examinations. A desire to make the economy more productive has weakened the intellectual content of curricula and put into question the value of learning for its own sake.

The go on to claim their agenda…is about abandoning techniques and philosophies that have been shown not work and have damaged the lives of many children.

All I can add is that…their appearance is long, long overdue.