The Culture of 'Rubbing Out' - Why erasers should be banned from the classroom

                                     

A six year old child, lets call her Millie, has been learning to write only one year. In class she is writing the sentence- 'I am really good at handstands'. At least, that is what she is trying to write. Instead she writes 'I am relly gud at handsad'. The teacher comes over to check her work, asks her what she has written, Millie tells the teacher 'it says I am really good at handstands'. The teacher spots the spelling mistakes, and goes through each word that has been incorrectly spelt, explaining the changes that need to be made. Millie immediately reaches for the eraser to quickly scrub out the errors. Nooooo! I hear my conscience cry out. Don't rub it out, cross it out and write it again, you can fit in the letters that you've missed out.

Instilled in our culture is that terrible emotion we feel when we make mistakes. Shame.

Why? WHY? Why should we be ashamed of our mistakes? Mistakes are the very essence of being human! One of the fundamental glories of our human nature is to make mistakes and learn from them! What benefit is there is erasing errors and pretending they never happened? Yes, mistakes can make us feel uncomfortable and even upset us, but how can we strive to be better and understand ourselves if we do not identify our errors and see them for what they are- opportunities to learn. For Millie to rub out her writing and write the word again, she may as well be using one of these- 

MIB neuralyzer.

Cognitive scientist Guy Claxton agrees following research that has suggested that "resilience and curiosity are two essential ingredients for pupils' success." - 'Ban erasers from the classroom', Daily Telegraph 26th May 2015. Claxton says that erasers are an 'instrument of the devil' because it 'perpetuates a culture of shame about error.' Children 'need to be interested the process of getting the right answer because that's what it's like in the big wide world.' No one gets the answer right the first time. Errors are how we learn and how we are shaped as individuals.

When I am a teacher, I will not be able to encourage the use of an eraser. There is no shame in Millie writing this:

'I am reAlly guood at handsadstands.'

'I am really good at handstands.'

Millie has corrected her errors, she has written the sentence again. There is no better way to learn than acknowledging an error. There is no negative connotations with 'mistakes'. We are simply understanding and learning.

EDIT 4/9/15 After relaying my thoughts to a class teacher, they said that if a six year old had made many spelling mistakes in their sentences, they would generally not correct all errors. It would discourage the child. It's more important that a six year old is collecting their thoughts and writing them down, rather than spelling every word correctly. Classes have spelling tests to identify words that need to be learnt, getting into the habit of writing is of importance before words are spelt correctly.

Back to school

So lucky to have the opportunity to get into a primary classroom at short notice! It's so good to get out of the books and into an actual classroom again. I spent the morning before break in a P1/2 class, and post-break in a P2/3.

The P1/2 class has eight 1s and ten 2s. I had a quick flick through the Staff Handbook which included policies on homework, behaviour, fire alarms etc. (Have seen that at my placement school I will have to photocopy all of these things...) After a group discussion the children filled in a learning log with 'What I am good at', then did some maths from workbooks. After break I joined the P2/3 class. In this class there are four P2s and fourteen P1s, one child with substantial behavioural difficulties (Child B) and one gifted child (Child G). The class were discussing 'Responsible Citizens' as a group. The teacher told me that each term the class would be focusing on one of the four capacities.

"The purpose of the curriculum is encapsulated in the four capacities - to enable each child or young person to be a successful learner, a confident individual, a responsible citizen and an effective contributor" - Education Scotland.

Responsible citizens links to Health and Well Being. The topic this term is Manners. The teacher has mostly created their own resources for this topic. The children then went into pairs to discuss what they thought it means to be a responsible citizen. Then they came back together as a group and discussed, this time the teacher wrote down their points on the interactive whiteboard. The connection between the verbal communication and visual aid helped the children in the writing task. They were given speech bubbles and had to write the sentence 'I am going to...' followed by writing how they are going to be a responsible citizen in school.

All the children engaged in the activity, I assisted by spell checking. Child B cause some disruption by slapping another child. Child B managed to complete the task, as did the majority of the class. These speech bubbles will be displayed at the front of the class. This was a really valuable lesson. The discussion as a group and in pairs, coupled with the text displayed on the interactive whiteboard further consolidated the class' ideas. The class worked together as a group, in pairs and individually to complete this task.

The next lesson was Maths and telling the time. (I had no idea that telling the time was classed as maths). The teacher told me that in Heineman Active maths it's called 'beyond number' - e.g. measure, shape, money, time. I was really impressed with the way this subject was presented to the class. Each child had their own laminated clock with moveable hands which they had coloured in and constructed themselves. The teacher had a large clock to show to the class, and displayed on the board was an interactive analogue and digital clock. The teacher showed the time on their own clock, asked the children to set the time on their clocks. The teacher also showed the time on the interactive board which displayed the digital time. The learning was active, interactive and interesting. All the children took part. The children then went into pairs and tested each other on telling the time. The teacher had given extension questions for Child G. Child G had no benefit in participating in the group activity, as they have fully understood the basic concepts of time. Child G was given questions on time for P7s. Child G completed this with full marks in an impressive time. (Child G is seven years old! P7s are twelve years old) I asked him if I could have a peek at the next set of questions - 'How many minutes in an hour? How many minutes in 1 1/4 hours?' I said, ooh, that seems quite difficult. Child G laughed and said that it isn't hard. There are two extremes in this P2/3 class. Child B with significant behavioural difficulties and Child G. Although Child B was behaving well today, they often refuse to do tasks and leave the class. Child B's academic learning targets are to stay in the classroom and not be aggressive to other people. Two polar opposites in this class, it's highly commendable that the teacher not only manages this class but has created a strong sense of class community, engaged learners and catering for individuals.

Two children who found it difficult to concentrate (including Child B) I found to be seeking reassurance and attention from me and the teacher. The teacher affirmed good behaviour with positive feedback. This morning in the classroom has given me so much to think about.

I just love being in the classroom. It's challenging, nerve-racking and exciting. I don't know how I will manage leading a class - that's the next challenge. I've had an invitation to lead a task the next time I go in - next Friday I think! Ahh! :) And my first placement? Yet to be confirmed!!! All I know that the only thing that encapsulates my feelings right now is this picture of a dog.

Again, you're most welcome.