Having been around the education scene for more years than I care to remember, it takes a bit to surprise me, but I was stunned on hearing two thirds of schools in the UK have banned winning.

Yes, you have read correctly, a ban has been placed on winning! What is the world coming to? Apparently schools were having trouble getting children to participate in races because they didn’t want to lose.

In my mind a ban doesn’t solve the problem in any way. With no winners it is more a case of everyone loses, no-one wins, and all go home feeling a little dissatisfied and without any sense of achievement. Sure, it is great to give children a participation ribbon, but rewarding those who excel is also important, in sport, as it is in any field.

Where will this end? Could it be that in the future, for fear of damaging self-esteem, competitive sport will be banned? Imagine one of our great sporting events without winners.

After an epic battle in the AFL Grand Final we may see the players warmly shake hands and line up to receive their participation medallions. No Premiership Cup, no Norm Smith medal for the best player on the ground, no award for the ultimate achievement in a sporting endeavour.

Of course this is tongue in cheek, such a scenario could never possibly happen.

Regardless, we are entering dangerous waters here. Children who do not learn that winning and losing are part of life whilst in their formative years will have a rude awakening when they eventually leave school and enter the competitive world of the workforce.

Schools are by nature competitive places. Students are graded academically, in terms of their attitude to learning, rewarded for pleasing results, and sometimes punished for less than satisfactory efforts. In a simplistic sense, the final result after 13 or so years of schooling is a number which ranks students from first to last! Taken further, teachers compete for promotions and positions of responsibility. Again, there are winners and losers.

Valuable life lessons are learnt from competition, winning and losing teach important truths and aid the development of coping skills and resilience. In fact, losing should not be seen as a negative experience, rather as an opportunity for growth and improvement. Losing can be motivating and provide the impetus to do better next time.

Acknowledge participation, reward achievement, and encourage improvement so that all can taste success. Let’s make sure that in Australia, where we value competition and all that it brings that we do not deprive our children of the benefits of losing (and winning).

Over recent times I have enjoyed a role which has allowed me to make contact with children in the early years of their education. After a number of years working in secondary settings, with students heading towards the end of their school life, what has really struck me has been the excitement and energy young children exude. It is actually quite refreshing to experience the creativity, enthusiasm, simple joy, passion, and openness of young children. They are excited about life, about school, and able to experience happiness from even the very simplest of things. On the other hand, it makes me wonder what happens to so many of our students as they near the end of their education, with much of the enthusiasm of their early years lost.

It is actually quite sad in many ways. I have observed for many years students in their late secondary years, some devoid of enthusiasm, some rebellious, some unmotivated, some apathetic, some unable to seemingly experience joy, others simply over being at school.

What happens in between? Why do so many of our young people finish their schooling in this way? How has the excitement and joy of the early years been lost in the process of education?

At least part of the answer may lie in the narrow focus of our education system as students progress through school. The breadth of curriculum and experiences offered in the early years narrows dramatically as students head towards their last two years. In fact, the focus becomes a final score, a magical number which determines post-education choices for many students. Every effort is made to reach the desired score, students are tired, pressured, and in many ways can come to feel that their score defines who they are.

The focus of the final years on exams, assessment tasks, homework, and ultimately a numerical ranking which in many ways summarises a student’s whole school journey, takes its toll. It is little wonder that students can become devoid of enthusiasm and joy as they strive to reach this goal.

Another issue is the focus on bringing as many students as possible to completion of year 12. This is something I struggle with as I come across many students who simply need to be working. Twenty years ago they would have been in the workforce as apprentices by 16.

As teachers we need to focus on educating the whole child, regardless of age, and help them rediscover the joy of learning. Equip them to feel the excitement they felt when they were just starting out. How good would it be if students finished the way they started?

The NAPLAN test issue has taken an interesting turn with the Australian Education Union (AEU) voting to impose a moratorium on the implementation of the tests. The AEU has indicated that teachers cannot hand out NAPLAN tests unless the government addresses concerns regarding the misuse of data to create league tables comparing schools. Fair enough!

Indeed, the issue is not the tests themselves, but rather the manner in which the data has been used to compare schools via the infamous My Schools website. To add fuel to the fire, we have the threat of league tables, inappropriately ranking schools, based on arbitrary, one-dimensional measures.

From my perspective at least, the AEU stance is encouraging. Regardless of whether it is an over-reaction or not, the numerous questions which have not been adequately addressed by Julia Gillard and her department, have forced the union’s hand.

In reality, I wonder why it has taken the union so long to act. When I began my teaching career, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, and the words ‘district inspector’ invoked fear and trembling, the union was a powerful force to be reckoned with. Advocating strongly for the rights of teachers the government had to respond when the voice of the union spoke. Strike action was commonplace, branch meetings were vigorous and often, and there was a sense of strong representation.

Over recent years though, it seems that teacher unionism has lost its bite. A little bit of bark on the odd occasion, but not enough bite. The mongrel was missing. Government initiatives, directives, requirements, instructions, the latest and best idea which would revolutionise the education field have come and gone, and the union has been comparatively silent.

But now, finally, and maybe it’s a case of the straw that broke the camel’s back, the AEU has woken and swung into action. Regardless of the outcome, it is surely encouraging for teachers to see that their representative body has taken such a strong stance on this contentious issue.

It is, without doubt, an issue that requires a stand; too many inequities, too many discrepancies to simply allow it to pass. Those schools whose students perform strongly on NAPLAN tests may not be too worried, but struggling schools surely see things a different way.

The advent of league tables will be damaging, and if not stopped where will it end? Will we then see teacher league tables where individual teachers are ranked according to the performance of their students? We can only hope that common sense will prevail.

Recent media coverage has connected increasing teenage violence with a decline in the number of male teachers. Data indicates a drop in the number of male teachers from 44% some ten years ago, to fewer than 39% currently.

In primary schools the figure is even more startling, with male teachers comprising only 25%. In fact, I know of some primary schools with no male teachers on staff! Across both sectors only 28% of teachers are male.

This raises two significant questions. Why is the percentage of male teachers so low? And, why is it declining? One possibility is that teaching is not perceived by young men as masculine work. Coupled with this is the notion that male teachers may be reluctant to work in schools with a mainly female staff.

A further deterrent is the risk of accusation of inappropriate behaviour. In particular, it is very difficult being a male teacher in a primary school setting. Primary age children, particularly infants, are very tactile.

By way of illustration, I recall teaching a Prep class some years back. Sharing a story was an interesting experience, with children attempting to climb onto my knee (that’s probably what they did when their parents read to them), grab my leg, and generally invade my personal space. Yard duty would see youngsters running from miles around to hold my hand, or attempt a hug. As a young male teacher this whole scenario made me very nervous, and I would shy away for fear of accusation.

Further, the teaching profession is a fairly narrow career path. The funnel tightens as teachers near the top. This may be seen as limiting by some men. Let’s add another statistic into the mix. Over the last 10 years youth crime has risen dramatically, linked by a well-credentialed psychologist to the decline in male teachers.

Whilst there may be some connection, attributing rising teen crime to declining male teacher numbers smacks of placing yet another problem in the wrong court. Indeed, many factors are implicit in rising youth crime. The breakdown of the family unit is certainly linked to problem behaviour. Whilst there are declining numbers of male role models in schools, the same can be said for the home front. Absent fathers, critical fathers, and even just disengaged fathers impact youth behaviour. The rise of the party culture and increasing alcohol consumption among teens is also relevant.

Another issue of concern is that young people are not taught a healthy level of respect for authority. With this in mind let’s be careful not to add yet another burden on schools by implying that a lack of male teachers is directly related to increasing youth crime.