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While this does seem like a nightmare, and comes from a respected source, those of us who have been in heritage education for some time cannot help but feel this is a little overly alarmist. The concentration on literacy and numeracy to the detriment of other subjects has long been commented on as a feature of the current system due to changes brought in by the last government. I lost track of the number of times I complained publicly in the last 20 years about government not understanding the difference between education and training and the lack of a humanistic vision for education. On the other hand there is little doubt that employers and universities are complaining about the poor literacy and numeracy standards of young people coming out of school. All is not well at the moment with education. We need a better informed and more rounded debate about the purpose of education and how to learn from the best systems worldwide (which mainly show the importance of having highly trained and motivated teachers rather than curricula or examination/inspection processes). I fail to see signs of such a debate either among the education profession or among politicians of whatever party they belong to. I also have little doubt that good teaching will continue, being delivered by principled, inspiring and hard working teachers who have devoted their lives to making a difference to their pupils, and have done this in spite of government regulation and prescription over the last 20 years. Don Don Henson Freelance Consultant in Public Archaeology and Education See my web pages at http://www.independent.academia.edu/DonHenson http://nowthenuk.wordpress.com and my new book, Doing Archaeology, at http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415602129/ I am also Hon. Director of CASPAR Centre for Audio-Visual Study and Practice in Archaeology Institute of Archaeology University College London <http://primaryreview.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=76419d6b1b1d19bdb86b 393b6&id=6359ac51ab&e=caa9224de4 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + GEM list: Contact the list owner for assistance at [log in to unmask] For information about joining, leaving and suspending mail (eg during a holiday) see the list website at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=GEM + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +