Cruelty to children in the state education system...
Dear 7B,
At some stage in their lives, all students are cruelly confined in a darkened room and forced to write almost non-stop for 48 minutes, without recourse to books, without help from their teacher and without any electronic gadgets to aid them.
Requests for toilet visits, drinks and any kind of nutrition are denied them.
While they work like slaves for a harsh taskmaster (or mistress), they are watched by a woman of uncertain age and intimidating appearance, who wanders around the room, admonishing them and urging them on. Sometimes her encouragement is almost harder to bear than the ordeal itself.
This gruesome test of courage and perseverance is called a test. Tests give high school teachers a little score to write in their markbooks and show to parents on parent-teacher night. Tests are a bitter reminder that education is not just about learning but also about getting little numbers allotted to your name on the roll.
The week after next you will be completing one of these daunting tasks. That’s why I’m giving you a couple of friendly little revision tasks to do, as well as a link to a BBC game on mummification.
The games will be fun. But don’t forget, the test will be horrid, unless you use the games to ace the test, keep that mean old woman happy and show the Education Department, once and for all, what you’re made of. Play hard. Try to remember everything. Good luck.
Lastly, you can visit the wonderful BBC website and play Mummy Maker. In this game, you can learn by making mistakes as well as by not making them. I love games like that. Mummy Maker Game
