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I work out in the sticks in a small town in a rural area in The Netherlands. Reading blogs by fellow teachers, mostly from the U.S. and the U.K., I come across a lot of information that refers to national educational politics or local circumstances. Reading those texts puts my own teaching in a wider framework which is good.
A main theme emanates from these blogs: hard working teachers are being clobbered by politicians and school administrators to meet demands. Apparently a major crisis is experienced in the countries mentioned, and in my homeland for that matter, which has to be resolved by the teachers in their classrooms. Targets have to be met, forms must be filled in. The teacher has to cope with children's special needs. Differences in cultural background are to be equalized in the classroom. School must make up for the loss of the family as the bedrock of society. 21st Century Skills should replace academic goals of old.
So rightly Andrew Old complains in his blog Scenes from the battleground. He is not just carping, his blog conveys a genuine concern about his daily work with children. He consistently points the finger at fads, idiosyncratic demands and preposterous targets. His voice must be heard and acknowledged. I nominate his blog for Best Individual Blog.
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