After eleven years of 'doing it' in the primary classroom though I had become frustrated. Over the course of this year the the reasons for that frustration have gradually become more clear, to the point where I can now say with some confidence that the vacuum of ideas, values and philosophy had alienated me. The current culture in education is one in which teachers are forced to be goal driven. We look at what we are expected to achieve and everything we do is aimed at this.
I can't remember the last time, whilst teaching, I sat down with colleagues and discussed what we collectively valued or believed was important, or established common philosophies as a starting point for curriculum development. I don't think I even heard the word 'Pedagogy' after graduating! Practice was driven by desired outcomes, almost never by beliefs. We look at our eventual goal and say "we'll do x or y to achieve it." We never say "this is what we believe, therefore we'll do x or y". The semantic difference between these two approaches is a small one. The difference in practice is vast. Especially when you consider that many of the goals themselves are being set by someone else and read something like.... 'All pupils must make progress in the (1 hr) lesson,' something any teacher will tell you is in itself a nonsense.
So, I ask, where's the pedagogy? Where are the educational beliefs? How did our profession, which is a wonderful mixture of psychology, sociology, physical, emotional and neurological development lose touch with ideas and become dominated by pragmatism?
