hands up if you are an invisible pupil

Education has been in the news quite a bit recently, what with the Conservatives wanting to do away with grammar schools, well wanting to do away with grammar schools that haven't been built yet (is that possible?), then wanting to renew their love of grammar schools. But most people know my views on academic selection and the priviledged few by now so I want to think about another education story.

Teachers who encourage whole classes to put their hands up to answer a question, risk leaving quiet children behind, a government study suggests. bbc.co.uk

This study was widely reported on Friday and it left me a little confused. Predictably the right wing press (who apparently want us to go back to sitting in rows and writing on slates - best pupil getting to warm their hands at the range for 30 seconds at breaktime) jumped on it as another example of political correctness gone overboard. While I am loathed to show any sort of support for this approach, after reading the report I am left wondering whether it was actually needed.According to Secretary of State for Education and Skills Alan Johnson,

This practical report takes hands-on learning from the classroom about strategies that work, and gives that knowledge back to the frontline... I want to remove the barriers which prevent any individual child from reaching their full potential... These reports will help all teachers to personalise their classroom teaching to the needs of specific groups. DfES

I have to get this man to help me prepare my job applications. He knows all the right words. I still get the impression that, sometimes, these reports are written for the sake of writing reports.Of course teachers have to be aware of th"invisible" pupil. Of course teachers have to ensure that each individual pupil is taking something from the lesson and is hitting the learning objectives. Of course we need to encourage pupils to step out of their comfort zone and push themselves to achieve their potential. None of this is new. I was able to spout all of this during my teacher training - I knew it then and I knew it before I read this report. The report makes suggestions for classroom strategies that, quite frankly, if teachers didn't already know they need to go back to training. The report provides guidelines for identifying "invisible pupils" that are as common sense as not driving at night with broken headlights,

Invisible children• are quiet and undemanding; the description of them as ‘invisible children’ comes from teachers• don’t mind if they don’t receive immediate attention and will sit for long periods waiting for it• are uncomfortable with open-ended questions• many have strategies to avoid the teacher’s gaze in the classroom

The words "Um, duh" spring to mind. I'm all for DfES taking an interest in improving the education of our youngsters - I just wish they could do so without patronising those of us who do it every day.