Education Secretary Michael Gove has attacked an English culture that accepts poverty limits the achievements of poor children.

教育大臣戈夫抨击一项当代英国文化现象：贫困限制了寒门子弟取得伟大成就。

He told a conference of independent school heads that parentage dictates progress in England more than in any other country.

在一个私立学校校长大会上，他呼吁，父母们（在孩子教育问题上）应该致力于英格兰地区取得比其他国家更大的进步。

But there need be no difference in educational performance between pupils from poor and wealthier homes, he said.

但是，学习成绩方面应该同等对待寒门子弟和富裕家庭孩子。

Other countries were already closing the achievement gap, he added.

别的国家已经消除了这种明显的成绩差别。

Research suggests children from poor homes are already behind by the the time they start school, and that the achievement gap widens as they progress through their education.

研究显示，寒门子弟在入学的时候成绩就落后一截，并且随着每年的升级，成绩差别在增加。（也就是说，寒门子弟在起跑线上就输了）

At GCSE there remains a "stubborn and unchanging gap in achievement" between the number of disadvantaged pupils who achieve five good GCSEs - including English and maths - and the rest of the population.

这种固有的成绩差别会带到中学毕业会考，很多寒门子弟拿不到五门优秀，其中就包括语文和数学。

Speaking at a conference at independent Brighton College, in East Sussex, Mr Gove said it did not need to be this way.

在东萨塞克西郡的布莱顿私立学校举行的一个大会上，戈夫在发言中说，我们根本就不能在这样的教育之路上走下去了。

He cited evidence of other countries closing and even eradicating the attainment gap.

他举例说明了别的国家都已经采取措施消除了这种差别。

He said: "Deprived pupils in Hong Kong and Shanghai, who struggle with challenges far greater and more debilitating than any we know here, achieve as highly as their English peers from the most comfortable homes.

他说到：在香港和上海那些低收入家庭的学生都在勤奋努力力争上游，我们这边根本不知道这些情况，这些寒门子弟都想取得的成绩要超过咱们英国贵族家庭的孩子。

"Only 24% of disadvantaged students in the UK perform better than expected compared with 76% in Shanghai, 72% in Hong Kong and 46% in Finland.

在英国只有24%的寒门子弟取得较好成绩，而上海那边是76%，香港是72%，芬兰也有46%。

"The OECD average is 31% - putting the UK well behind countries like Poland, Greece, Slovenia, Mexico and Chile when it comes to making opportunity more equal."

在平等教育方面，咱们英国OECD平均才是31%，比不上波兰，希腊，斯洛文尼亚，墨西哥，和智利。

Mr Gove added: "Despite the evidence that other nations are closing the gap between rich and poor through great state schooling, some in this country still argue that pupil achievement is overwhelmingly dictated by socio-economic factors.

"They say that deprivation means destiny - that schools are essentially impotent in the face of overwhelming force of circumstance - and that we can't expect children to succeed if they have been born into poverty, disability or disadvantage."

Mr Gove said he did not accept this, adding that there were a growing number of schools "proving that deprivation need not be destiny - that with the right teaching and the right values they can outperform everyone's expectations".

Research has suggested there are more than 440 secondary schools where the average GCSE point score for children on free school meals - a key measure of poverty - is higher than the national average for all children.

Mr Gove said: "What they share is an unwavering, unapologetic focus on standards.

"Led by inspirational heads and teachers, every day these schools are proving the pessimists and fatalists wrong."

He continued: "They show us all that there need be no difference in performance - none whatsoever - between pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and those from wealthier homes.

"They show us that a difficult start in life can be overcome, with hard work and good teaching."

Mr Gove said the government must stand for "aspiration, ambition, hard work and excellence - for success based on merit and a celebration of those who do succeed".

He said he knew the government was making progress when he heard opposition from what he described as vested interests in the trade unions and local government.

Shadow education secretary Stephen Twigg said: "Launching another attack on the teaching profession is not the way to close the gap between poorer and richer pupils.

"The truth is that the government's key measure - the pupil premium - is not being targeted at the poorest children because many schools are using it to plug holes in their budgets."

But general secretary of the NASUWT union Chris Keates said: "Coalition ministers are becoming more and more frantic as their flawed ideological policies, which are creating a lost generation of children and young people and plunging millions into poverty, are exposed."

NUT general secretary Christine Blower said: "Michael Gove is right to highlight the fact that the UK has a 'profoundly unequal society'.

"It is a great shame that the Coalition government's policies will do nothing to alter this fact, and in many cases will make matters even worse.

"Cutting the Education Maintenance Allowance and raising the cost of university tuition fees has meant that for many poorer pupils further or higher education is not an option.

"This is a decision based not on their educational achievements but on their family's economic abilities to keep them in education."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-18020187

2. England's schools should learn from Japan, says Twigg, 14 May 2012

推戈说：英格兰的学校教育应该向日本学习。

By Hannah Richardson, BBC News education reporter

England's schools should take lessons from Japan and the Far East on how to improve performance, the shadow education secretary says.

影子教育部长推戈说，咱们英格兰的学校教育应该向日本和远东地区学习，学习他们怎样提高教育水平。

Stephen Twigg says despite many school reforms, there has been little change to the style of classroom teaching since Victorian times.

Labour's number one priority for education is raising the quality and status of teachers, he says.

And he plans to visit Japan to see how education has been reformed there.

This will form part of Labour's review of its education policy.

Along with other Far Eastern countries, such as South Korea and Singapore, Japan constantly outperforms England in international studies on maths and science.

This is something that has been highlighted by Education Secretary Michael Gove.

Mr Twigg says that although Labour improved results in the core subjects during its time in office, it was clear that "more of the same isn't the answer".

He added: "We must learn from high-performing nations like Japan to radically transform education in England.

"Labour will bring reform into the classroom by learning from the Japanese system of lesson planning, known as jugyou kenkyuu."

This involves teachers meeting regularly to collaborate on the design and implementation of lessons.

He continues: "Education in England has had years of reform to structures, exams and accountability measures. But the style of classroom teaching has changed little since Victorian times.

"In Japan, teaching practices have changed markedly in the last 50 years, through a process of gradual, incremental improvements over time. Japan gives teachers themselves primary responsibility for improving classroom practice."

He highlights how participation in continual professional development, known as kounaikenshuu, is considered a core job requirement in Japan.

Mr Twigg also points out that in England, teachers lead students through a series of steps to help them learn how to solve problems.

In Japan the focus is on allowing students to develop their own methods for solving problems, through trial and error.

He adds: "If we want to change teaching, we can't just change teachers - we must change the culture of teaching, its very fabric and DNA."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-18057883