Teach Secondary Issue 14.2

Elliot Majoy, a Professor of Social Mobility at Exeter University, recently made headlines after suggesting some changes to the curriculum that would make it more inclusive for children from low income backgrounds. In the interests of balance, I should begin by stating that I agreed withmuch of what he had to say. He referenced the narrowness of howwe currently assess learning progress, suggesting that we should strive to celebrate those pupils who go on to become nurses and plumbers, just as much as those who go on to Oxbridge. He also said that teaching the origin stories of authors like Dickens would inspire children facing similar levels of deprivation and hardship themselves. I can’t fault any of this. Elitist attitudes Where he lost me, however, was when he said this: “ National directives encouraging schools to boost cultural capital have prioritisedmiddle class pursuits – visits to museums, theatres and highbrow art galleries, while our creative industries remain stubbornly elite preserves. ” My issues with this statement are manifold. For starters, it seems to be predicated on the deeply problematic notion that the sole purpose of education is to prepare young people for work. School isn’t a recruitment process and nor should it be. Creative industries may be difficult to access as professions, but that doesn’t mean children shouldn’t enjoy the benefit of their output. More importantly, however, I find the statement (ironically) indicative of an elitist attitude surrounding the arts – namely, that working class people couldn’t possibly be interested in, or relate to them. Under the radar I speak as someone with personal experience. I’m from a working class background and grew up in a low income family. Whilst my parents emphasised the importance of academic learning, and were pleased when I got good grades, we didn’t spend our weekends doing things like going to the theatre. Partly because it was prohibitively expensive for us, but more because it simply wasn’t on our radar. No one we knewwent to the theatre, so we simply didn’t consider it as an option. My first theatre experience came via a school trip and I was instantly hooked. Now, I can’t imagine it not being part of my life. In fact, as I write these words, I’m looking forward to seeing a production of TheMerchant of Venice ingeniously set in the East End of London during the 1930s – a play that I first developed a passion for when being taught by one of my English teachers, Dr Cochran. Theatre isn’t my job, but it enhances my life immeasurably. I know others who speak in similar terms about art galleries and museums. The impact that being exposed to the arts can have on an individual is, in some respects, intangible and indescribable. Though on the other hand, there is a reason why fascist governments seek to ban them. The arts foster empathy for our fellow human beings, whereas populism relies on us fearing and hating anyone different fromus. I think we can all agree that the former is needed now, more than ever. Broadeningminds The arts can also afford us perspectives on the world well outside of our own. In 1990, the musician Frank Zappa worked with the government of what was then Czechoslovakia on a study which found that providing access to ‘highbrow’ arts could make people feel less poor than they actually were, even with no changes to their financial income, because they were being spiritually nourished. Elliot Majoy, however, seems to think that I should have been going on school trips to *checks notes* football stadiums. I’ve no objection to such visits being included on schools’ trip rotas, but I can’t tell you how dull and irrelevant I would have found it. Moreover, even if I had wanted to learnmore about football, I already had ample access to ardent fans within my extended family or, once I was old enough, I could have simply wandered into the local pub. A key purpose of education is to broaden our minds. Yes, good teachers canmake everything feel interesting and relevant. That doesn’t mean that the scope of what pupils encounter should be limited to what already exists within their immediate environment. It’s widely acknowledged that young people from disadvantaged backgrounds benefit hugely from acquiring cultural capital – which is why any attempts at diverting them away from supposedly ‘middle class’ cultural pursuits should be firmly resisted... Natasha Devon Natasha Devon is a writer, broadcaster and campaigner on issues relating to education and mental health; to find out more, visit natashadevon.com or follow @_NatashaDevon 15 teachwire.net/secondary S C H O O L O F T H O U G H T