Carole Evans: Schools have less time for debate and discussion

From a speech by the president of the Girls' Schools Association, given at the association's annual conference in Manchester

Teachers are unique in having daily access to the generation that will be our future, and we should ensure that they take that responsibility with pride and passion. Surely it is time that teachers were given recognition for their achievements and the "blame the teacher" ethos ended. Perhaps then we may see more bright, sparky youngsters entering the profession because it is their first choice of career and not because they failed to get on to any other course.

I have always believed that learning should be fun. We do not want our pupils to feel as Mark Twain did when he said: "I never let schooling get in the way of my education."

Those of you who are of an age similar to mine must remember all those wonderful occasions when you could say to a class, "Let's investigate that, it's not going to be on your examination, but it is really interesting." Today we have teachers who would love to be able to do just that, but there is little time to do anything outside the syllabus. There is less time for debate and discussion, and pupils learn what they are told, as this is the only way to cover the syllabus in the time available. Have we moved back in time to when Dickens's Wackford Squeers demanded "Give me facts sir, give me facts"?

We need to continue to give our students the confidence to take responsibility for their own learning. We have this opportunity whilst they are with us, and we have the independence to ensure that there is time in the curriculum to allow for this; pupils need time to think, to reflect and to debate.

Thinking skills are crucial to success in life; we must teach our pupils to think critically and creatively. We live in an increasingly technical age, and all of us need to have the skills necessary to process information in this rapidly changing world. One of the skills we must ensure our pupils have is the ability to take a risk; they also need to understand that failure is an important part of learning. If we can educate our pupils to do this, then their education will be a lifelong experience.