Primary schools in the UK have gone grammar mad. Essentially, although a kid may be dynamite in other areas, they can be labelled “below age related expectations”. What does that even mean?
In actual fact, we are natural grammarians. Kids sponge-brains can soak up new languages amazingly quickly, without any formal learning. It seems we are built to communicate. However, we are not natural statisticians. The brain has all sorts of clever short cuts (or biases) when it comes to making decisions. One of these biases is known as “post hoc ergo propter hoc“, (after this, therefore because of this). Essentially it’s the brain linking cause and effect between unrelated events, and the reason why the personal experience of a politician’s education gets turned into education policy.
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