by Mark Sumner
First published 1991
Mark teaches mathematics at a comprehensive school where the new National Curriculum has arrived like an unwelcome inspection. The guidelines promise to revolutionize how students learn numbers and equations, but Mark watches his classroom transform in unexpected ways. His pupils struggle with prescribed methods that contradict everything he knows about learning. The headmaster demands compliance while parents question why their children can no longer solve simple problems. Mark must choose between following official mandates and actually teaching mathematics. As term progresses, the gap widens between educational theory and classroom reality. The story captures one teacher's battle to preserve genuine learning while navigating bureaucratic demands that threaten to destroy what education should accomplish.
Genres: fiction, school, education, academic
Vibes: intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water
Setting: Comprehensive School, National Curriculum
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
Paperback · Heinemann Educational Books - Secondary Division