- No one ever asks anything interesting, Sir? Why is that? They're always set in these ridiculous made up situations that would never occur in real life.
He was bang on. Anyone who has sat an exam in the UK in the last 20 years will remember the classic Maths GCSE:
Question: Abdul, Takul and Wee Billy are playing in the sand pit. Abdul has 3 sandcastles, Takul has 2, Billy has none. Why is this?
Answer: Coz Billy's da says he's no ti play wi Pakis.
That may not be factually accurate, nor is ever Billy a hideous racist (some of my best mates are called Billy. I would have loved to be a Billy myself...) but I do remember that it brought up more issues of race than it did arithmetic.
We had just looked at a Past Paper for the English Language paper, which had the following question:
Your local politician is organising a fun run, and would like to hear from students in the area who have fundraising ideas for charity. Write a letter outlining your ideas for a fun, fundraising idea.
- For a start, Sir, if this was in Argentina, they would just be trying to steal our money, so no would send ideas. Secondly, what politician has to ask for school students - who can't vote anyway - for suggestions on how to raise money. That's their job. And, shouldn't they have taxes to spend on local charities?
Inspired by this rebellious thinking, I set them a homework task. Based on the themes of Carol Ann Duffy's The World's Wife, write an example exam question that you will never see. They had to state a form, an audience and a purpose. The themes are marriage, sexual orientation, gender roles, social expectations...
I don't think I have ever been so proud of a set of students based on some homework:
1. Discursive writing. Some people believe a woman's place is in the home. Others believe it is in the kitchen. Discuss.
2. You are a horrible racist. Write the transcipt of a 'listener phone in' conversation you have with your local radio station on the subject of immigration.
3. You are gay. Defend yourself.
4. Some people believe that homosexuals should be locked up. Others believe they should be shot! Write an essay arguing both sides of this argument.
5. Write a magazine article exploring the following statement: An ugly (rich) man is more likely to get a beautiful woman than an ugly woman is a handsome man.
