Keep politicians out of education.

If I were you, this is what I would do........

Yes, thanks mamie. I like Rosen's style in that blog.

Lovely, dry post by Michael Rosen - thanks for that, Mamie!
Yes, I can certainly see that not many 11 year olds would feel inspired to get to grips with something which is only used in 'some very formal writing and speech'!

If I were secretary of state for education, I'd forget about the subjunctive (and any other byways of grammar).

This is Michael Rosen on subjunctivitis
michaelrosenblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/outbreak-of-subjunctivitis-mad.html

Well the point is Anagram, that it barely exists in English today. I can only come up with;
Be that as it may
Would that they were taught the subjunctive
Hold me lest I fall

So you mght reasonably ask "Why would you bother?"
I think this is about Michael Gove's obsession with Latin. I certainly don't think it is much use to an eleven-year-old.

No offence to you, Mamie - I certainly don't understand it myself - but shouldn't English teachers be expected to know it?

True about the bluebells, Bags. When we first moved into this house I got quite excited when hundreds of bluebells came up in the spring - I thought we had a wonderful display of British wildflowers - but closer inspection revealed them all to be Spanish...

On the subject of the subjunctive (!), surely English teachers should understand it? I honestly don't understand how some teachers seem to be woefully lacking in certain areas.

Yes it is fine in French - well actually no, it is flippin' difficult and I get it right about 20% of the time - but in English?

I think I understood the subjunctive mood better after I'd learned about it in French. That wouldn't be in Y6.

What a pity, jess.

Actually, investigating close-up the colour of bluebells is not as silly as it sounds. It's one of the things on the checklist of how to tell whether a bluebell is the native kind or a "Spanish" import. Native bluebells are a darker blue, almost violet. Then there is the width of the leaves, the droopiness or otherwise of the heads, the colour of the stamens, etc. Not too subtle for Y5, and quite scientifically investigative, but perhaps not of interest to your pal.

How many teachers know what it is? Even English teachers!

The recommendation from the Michael Gove "changes" to the curriculum that I struggle with is the one about learning the subjunctive in Year 6. Be that as it may, can anyone (without cheating) come up with six common uses of the subjunctive in English today?
I have used one already.
Subjunctivitis I reckon.

I checked bags with my mate , Year 5.
"In year 3 we went on a trip to a forest and had to do a checklist about what colour bluebells were"
On probing he said: "Sometimes we go out and do something called ecoheroes and we get a glove and go round the school picking up litter and some people think it's cool but it is just a way of tricking us into picking up litter"
So no, I don't think nature walks are on the curriculum round here!

I suppose taking kids on nature walks and similar things could depend on where the school is. City schools have perhaps fewer opportunities than rural ones, but even cities have trees and parks and gardens and rivers...

I agree about how important the scientific method is and would be very surprised if elements of it were not already on the national curriculum at all levels from infant classes upwards, which is why I'm a bit puzzled by the word "unveiled".

There was an interesting article about things not being what they seem recently, where an early Antarctic explorer (one of Scott's crew?) was perturbed by what he interpreted as the unnatural behaviour penguins. Newer interpretations make it seem perfectly natural. One can argue, of course, that anything natural things do is natural.

Anyway, yes, teach the scientific method. I'm all for that, starting with the wee ones observing and taking an interest in all that's around them in their natural environment, which is what they do naturally, at least in my experience.

Interpretations of the observations, especially when you're dealing with the more complex parts of nature that we don't fully understand yet are, as history shows, where problems arise. But rigorous application of the scientific method should, eventually, iron those out.

Where have I been bags ? in secondary that's where.
I will ask my mate who is a Year 5 student if he gets to go on nature walks.
My DH at the age of 6 had a year in the Irish system, in a tiny village school in the furthest SW tip. They had one teacher, known throughout the village as "Batty O'...." and a wood fired stove. He used to send the entire school out collecting driftwood sometimes, presumably so he could have a nap.
He also once, famously, insisted to my SIL that there was "no such word as crockery". They call it "delft" over there.
Apparently the kids were more than a bit behind when they returned to England a year later.
However DH at least did recover and passed his 11+.

I was quoting from The Guardian: reforms to the national curriculum unveiled by Michael Gove......"children will be encouraged to learn science by studying nature, and schools will be expected to place less emphasis on teaching scientific method".
Of course, it goes without saying that studying nature is good. However observation is just not enough - things so very often are not as they seem. Understanding the scientific method is so so important. Start with observation but then measurement, experiment, hypothesis, testing, predictions and so on.
It is so important to question everything and there are processes to go through before something can be thought to be scientific (or true). I think people's misunderstanding of science is a big problem in today' world.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_method

Or read Popper

Have to say that I'm now in the habit of carrying one of those hand gels in my handbag these days ...especially having been on a cruise where something was rife!!

I'm glad it's not just me FeeTee. I always think of tights.

Handwashing is overrated!

After using the loo and b4 food are my only absolutes for kids. On the occasions we visit farms I make an exception and wash as we leave the farm!

Now that Bags is what learning is all about!! Wonderful That is something they'll never forget.

Some of them found a lizard in their tent last weekend and brought it to show me. It was lovely.

Still do nature walks and scavenger hunts with Cubs too. We make them wash their hands before touching food, but we ain't fussed otherwise. Neither are they. Besides, there is usually enough rain on the grass to wash one's hands naturally around here !

Parents keep saying how much they like our down to earth approach

So loved taking the gs on nature walks when they were young and doing scavenger hunts with them!! Happy days

'health and safety' now ...every child has to wash hands as soon as handled something ...where is the pleasure in that?? Even a simple nature walk around the school grounds ...goes with the mantra of 'don't touch'