Today, May 10th, we spent the day at Joseph Chamberlain Sixth Form College! In the UK, “college” is equivalent to “high school” in the United States. Chamberlain is a public school that students apply to and attend if they want to follow the academic route of going to university, or if they want to do an apprenticeship program. We began our day at the college with coffee and a discussion with the assistant principal of the school. We then went on a tour, observed both an English class and an English as a second language class, and had a short lecture on the pillars of teaching and learning.
This is a picture from the politics classroom where we had our mini-lecture and debriefs.
For context, Birmingham is one of the most diverse cities in the UK, and this college has students that speak 30 different languages. Additionally, this school is located in a very poor neighborhood that is not the safest, but thankfully there are security guards that closely monitor entry. Because of this, many of the students need extra support and guidance to boost their confidence and create an expectation that they can attend university– most of whom will be the first in their family. Learning that this school was in one of the poorest neighborhoods genuinely shocked me because the inside looked nicer than any high school I’ve ever been to in the United States. The building was modern, with a beautiful grass corridor in the middle of the campus where students can study and take breaks. The format of the school is somewhere between secondary school and university, so students have more independence, yet are supported closely by excellent staff. We talked with the assistant principal about resources available to students, and he told us that there are many, especially for mental health, such as free counselors and weekly meetings with a mentor for schoolwork and any other concerns. Not to mention, Chamberlain has an outstanding mark in the OFSTED, which is the highest ranking a school could possibly have in the UK and the school’s exam results in 2023 were 99% A-level pass rate. As an American, it just does not seem possible that a school surrounded by poverty could be so excellent and still be considered public. In the United States, schools in areas of lower socioeconomic status receive less funding from the government and therefore provide less resources to their students. This typically perpetuates a cycle of poverty as children living in the area receive inadequate education and the lack of resources or aid generates an expectation in the students that they will never be able to obtain a higher-level education. Although that expectation is similar in the UK by children living in poverty or seeking asylum, the country actually allocates more money to schools that need more resources. So, Chamberlain receives the funding it needs to provide education to students in the area, and it proves that providing more resources to populations that need more assistance actually works in ending the cycle of poverty and allowing those from low socioeconomic backgrounds or immigrant status to attend higher-level education with confidence in their abilities. This education equity is so important in making education truly accessible to everyone in the population, and I am so inspired by everything Chamberlain does for its students.
Classroom Observations
We were lucky enough to have Chamberlain college welcome us into their classrooms to observe an English class preparing for their GCSE exam in two weeks, as well as an English as a second language class. I was interested in the English class because this session was focused solely on the format of the GCSE exam. Rather than doing a lecture on material, the teacher went over everything to expect from the exam, including what each question will ask, how many points it will be, and how to answer the question. The teacher told his students that the exam makers want them to pass, so they just have to think about it in a straightforward manner and believe that they are capable of getting higher than a passing score. One way the teacher did this was by creating some healthy competition in saying he wants to outcompete another teacher by having a student get a score of 7 on the exam since the other teacher holds the current record. So, of course, he naturally wants the status of being the only teacher whose student got that score as well. This competition allows the students to believe they can actually get a high score, and it may help intrinsically motivate them to work hard and do well. I also noticed that the teacher only called on students, they never raised their hands. Now, he was not cold-calling his students in the same way I was cold called in high school as there was clearly trust between him and the students. The teacher never made the students feel bad or reprimanded for getting an answer wrong, or not knowing it at all, so the students were comfortable answering his questions. I later learned that the English class I observed had actually failed their GCSE exam last year and needed to retake the class. After learning that, it made so much sense how the teacher was boosting the students’ confidence in themselves and making them believe that they will pass. It also made sense that he was a little bit tougher in setting his expectations and the test-makers’ expectations as the students needed a push to challenge themselves to try hard on their exams this year.
The only thing that I found different from the teaching approach of this classroom was its structure of teaching students to pass an exam rather than to think creatively. I took AP English classes in high school, so in some ways I do feel as though I was taught to pass a test as well, but I did hear the teacher tell the students not to think during the exam. Rather than writing creatively and uniquely, he wants the students just to remember the formatting he taught them, and to stick with safer answers to avoid losing points. Now, it makes sense that he is teaching them this because he needs these students to pass, but I wonder if the education system in the UK as a whole impedes on the creativity and natural thinking of students by gearing their secondary education strictly toward passing an exam. At the same time, I only observed one class, so there may be many other ways in which students are encouraged to think freely and be creative that I did not see, but I still wonder if the curriculum itself in the UK challenges this way of teaching.
In the English as a second language class, I enjoyed my time observing because the students were very personable and engaged in the lesson. It was obvious that the students had a deep desire to learn and had a strong trust in their teacher. I was also impressed by the teacher because he was able to quickly adapt his teaching to his students and pick up on areas where they got stuck in order to back-track and try again in a way that would help them to recall the content he was teaching. This perfectly exemplified the pillars of education and learning that we were taught today as the teacher would teach the students about pronouns, then have the students try with less help from him, and then he was able to see where the students were still confused and quickly adapt to explain where they made a mistake and how to fix it. This method seemed to be working for the students, and it kept them actively engaged the entire class period.
A Trip to the Botanical Gardens
After an amazing day at Chamberlain, we stopped by BCU to go over our presentation expectations, and then we walked to the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. This was a beautiful location for pictures and walking! I would recommend that any tourist visiting Birmingham stop by and walk through the beautiful gardens. After the gardens, we had free time to explore the city and get dinner on our own!
This is a view from the stunning botanical gardens!
This is some of the group at the botanical gardens!