My first form mathematics teacher introduced himself to his new class by informing us that a few years ago – in Victorian times, in actuality – a middle class young man who left school without any tangible abilities could always, as a last resort, find employment as a vicar in the Church of England. Clearly he was unimpressed by the prospects of those he saw before him. His name was Mr. Gower; he emitted an aura of cynicism which, even at the tender age of eleven, I found appealing – unless it was aimed in my direction.
Little seemed to give him greater pleasure than mercilessly berating hapless Christians who had the misfortune of being in his class; he used to ask whether they had received “a visitation” – I thought it great fun. Attending Morning Assembly was compulsory, yet I noticed he was never there. If it was good enough for him, it was good enough for me I decided so, as a burgeoning atheist, I demanded to be excused. To no avail: the headmaster informed me that the government compelled him to compel me to attend – there was no Equality Act in those days. It put me off Christianity for the next 20 years.
I digress. Mr. Gower’s view that the Church of England provides last resort employment is still in evidence in the educational theories of the Rev Dr Hugh Rayment-Pickard. He believes that schools should be run without the benefit of competition or rewards, leaving students entirely unprepared for any normal work, and thus fit for little other than jobs as Church of England vicars where all they have to excel at is managing the decline of their denomination.
From here:
Prizegiving ceremonies that recognise the achievements of outstanding pupils should be scrapped from Church schools because they are ‘un-Christian’, a clergyman has said.
The Rev Dr Hugh Rayment-Pickard argued that singling out the brightest pupils for praise left those students not receiving prizes with the ‘gently corrosive sense of being not quite good enough’.
Dr Rayment-Pickard, who co-founded an education charity with the aim of getting young people from disadvantaged backgrounds into university, said prizes cultivate an ‘individualistic and competitive attitude to success’, which he described as being at odds with the ‘servant ethics’ of the Christian kingdom.
With all due respect, I believe the Rev. Dr. Rayment-Pickard to be mistaken regarding the effect of prize awards to stellar scholars. The great pressure today is a ‘downward’ pressure to bring all education and social endeavors to the very lowest common denominator so that we are all equal – but equally dull and unaspiring. His comment may reflect a hidden truth: “The Rev Dr Hugh Rayment-Pickard argued that singling out the brightest pupils for praise left those students not receiving prizes with the ‘gently corrosive sense of being not quite good enough'”. The truth? Perhaps they ARE not quite good enough! Oh, for heavens sake! I wish I had not said that…(*___~)
Perhaps a banner in this fellows classroom would read:
“AIM LOW——– AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT”
Excellent conclusion, Terry.
Bishop Ogles [I am glad that you said it!]
& Terry:
You both make have a very good point. I have had meeting after meeting with teachers who tell my kids to “Dumb down…” Principals too; usually because they are spending their time on the underachievers; aiming low and have no ability in the techniques of classroom control.
Thank you, Malachy. We must take our shots at the targets that emerge…..(*___~) Your point is well taken on underachievers. The pace of the modern classroom has been adjusted downward to accommodate those underachievers. The result? A classroom full of underachievers. We need a restoration of academic liberty to allow students to perform at their very highest potential, not their least. We may then see greater advances in the sciences and literature. There is nothing wrong, and everything right, about recognizing academic merit.
Out here its called a paycheck
Strange how that works, isn’t it, Steve. (*___~)
Perhaps we can find some less strict biblical text than the KJV: “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
Phil 3:14 (KJV)
Perhaps we could take the license to re-translate that word prize to “mediocre mark”?
Everyone has two choices. We can work and compete to Excel; or we can learn enough Chinese to say, “Would you like fries with that.” In the modern world, where we all compete for our jobs with the best of Asia, nobody can afford the good reverend’s advice.
Amen, Roger!
Doonesbury had a comment on that