Product reviews for Trivium 21c

A very interesting introduction detailing the author's personal experiences and difficulties in conforming within a chaos ridden school. His reflection on his “Hello Mrs Robinson” experience at the college of education certainly whet the reader's appetite for more, like a good sleazy novel for the summer holiday on the Gower ! However, the main theme of the book is to unravel “The Trivium”, the education content and delivery styles that will enable the author's daughter and other children to live a good life and attain the necessary wisdom to equip them for the challenge of the 21st century and beyond ..... an updated ”Emile”, with full respect to Rousseau. The “trivium” which the author outlines is both thought provoking and relevant in terms of the current debate and proposed changes in curriculum content, examination structures and models for assessment. He is critical of the inspection process, but his personal reflection / inspection of his school life in a chaotic and inadequate school underlines the improvements that the inspection process, both by Estyn and Ofsted, has brought about. The identification by inspection teams of inadequate management, unsatisfactory teaching and learning, poor behaviour for learning, lack of safeguarding of pupils, etc within a large number of primary, special and secondary schools and colleges highlights the inadequacies within our educational practice. If they go “unchecked” we replicate the institution where the author would not have chosen to educate his daughter. A thought provoking book which makes interesting reading and enables the reader to reflect upon the impact of the “education system” on their lives and practical ideas for change.