From < a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Creating-Tomorrows-Schools-Today-Education/dp/1855393948">Dan Gerver:
Our children know exactly what school is for and the successful ones know how to play the game. School is about hurdles and about first past the post. They must score in their spelling and tables tests, they mus achieve the right level in their tests, they must get a smiley face for their story. The next time your child says they have written a story at school, ask them why. You may well get a vacant expression. If you’re lucky, they will say ‘Because that’s what we do on Friday mornings.’ Ask them if it was any good. If you get past, ‘It was all right’, ask how they know. ‘Well, I got a sticker’ might be the reply. Shouldn’t writing a story be to entertain, create laughter tensions, excitement? Shouldn’t we know we’ve succeeded because the teacher laughed, cried or was scared witless? Many children see school as a series of challenges set by grown-ups for no other purpose than to pass exams set by grown-ups. Is it any wonder so many opt out at the earliest opportunity?