Anecdotal Evidence

Dr. David L Mollet's first teaching post was in the dock area of the East End of London. His class was large consisting of forty-four eight year olds; many of the children showed an independence of spirit and an enthusiasm for anything but learning. Teaching them was difficult with each day becoming more and more of a battle.

David decided to try something different. He decided that the starting point for his teaching should be the childrens' mindset. What did the children love to be involved in? They loved stories, coloring and drawing, music and most things creative and artistic. The majority of the children also loved physical exercise and sport.

David put aside the textbooks and started to prepare his lessons based on the above. No, the classroom did not suddenly became Utopia but the children did respond positively and his teaching process became a lot easier. It became far more of a cooperative venture and far less competitive and confrontational. From that time onwards he used this type of approach wherever possible. For example, he even used stories to introduce mathematical concepts.

Attention of his approach became known to some of his educational advisers and he was offered Acting Head of Department in a high school in the London Borough of Newham. The school's intake consisted of students who had been refused admittance to other schools or who had been suspended, expelled or who were on probation. Most of the students had behavioral problems. David met with considerable success using his approach.

He then obtained the post of Head of Economics and Social Studies in a high school in the industrial north of England. He took the senior years but also took the bottom classes and had great success in both. After 3 years his Principal recommended that he should be seconded on full pay to study for his MA in education so that he could seek a post in teacher training.

On completing his MA David obtained a post as a Senior Lecturer of Education in teacher training. He started his Ph.D. and had articles published in some of the most prestigious learned journals in education. Later, and on completing his Ph.D., he moved to California initially as a Visiting Professor, then as an Associate Professor of Education. The response of his students was extremely positive. However when it became clear that their young children were unhappy in a system which concentrated on testing they moved to New Zealand. David started writing lessons based on the approach and was later joined by his wife in what became a full-time venture for them both. He was invited by people at the Ministry of Education to give a presentation regarding his approach. He not only did this but described how the present educational administrative structure diminished responsibility at a local level.

Some two years later a Commission was set up to examine this structure and David submitted a detailed description of why it was important for schools to be part of the community and that local responsibility should be paramount. In 1988 the Commission issued its report which included most of the points David had described and two years later the changes were implemented. The administrative structure of education in New Zealand can act as a model for the future of education in many developed countries.

When his children were old enough the family moved back to San Diego. His children completed their final high school year in California and David set about establishing his educational consultancy business. He gave many presentations at local, national and international conferences including the CCSS, CLMS. NABSE, IRA, NAESP, NCSS, and NLMS. Perhaps most importantly all the above occurred after he left school at 16 having failed everything. He knows why children fail and what can be done to make their learning more efficient while at the same time making school an enjoyable experience. He believes that what happens in childhood does, to a very great extent, influence and determine a person's future development. If you wish to read about some of his own early childhood experiences and how they affected his development and life-long quest for educational solutions, click here.