tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433144336299288135.post8457417103718256616..comments2024-03-26T13:27:26.499+00:00Comments on Zelo Street: Gove’s Philistine Exam RegimeTim Fentonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00726447899972084146noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433144336299288135.post-44521577490262326042014-05-25T19:17:07.118+01:002014-05-25T19:17:07.118+01:00You get the feeling that it'd be more efficien...You get the feeling that it'd be more efficient and cost-effective (in Gove's mind) if every summer he just had a parade of every GCSE candidate through his office, and on cursory information and his own personal prejudices stamp them with PASS or FAIL.Darrenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09565067090721329803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433144336299288135.post-43838102287335661532014-05-25T19:09:48.998+01:002014-05-25T19:09:48.998+01:00The c19th thing doesn't specifically exclude a...The c19th thing doesn't specifically exclude american literature but I can't see Moby-Dick or early Henry James ending up on a GCSE syllabus anytime soon. <br /><br />Essentially this is one of Gove's columnist policies. Decides he dislikes something based, more or less, on anecdote and personal prejudice, then enacts a ridiculous knee jerk reaction pretty much out of spite. I'm surprised he didn't also go for The Great Gatsby which feels even more central to A-Level than Steinbeck at GCSE. <br /><br />It's a terrible idea to specify c19th above all others so early - I distinctly remember what a hard sell Austen was to a GCSE classroom when I was taking them. the teacher, a brilliant teacher, more or less gave up. Steinbeck worked well at that level - maybe that was the problem, since Gove obviously wants results to decline in order to present for-profit (and specifically Murdoch's for-profit) as the only way for British education to succeed. <br /><br />Also the specification that they have to read Romantic poetry means the return of William fucking Blake just after he mercifully exited A-Level, who, much as I love him, should be withheld til the 3rd year of University, so hard is he to write well on. Organic cheeseboardnoreply@blogger.com