Eleven Plus Roles

I wonder what happened to Tiedemann’s descendants.  Tiedemann (1787) studied his son’s development for the first thirty months of the child’s life. He was interested in his son’s language and cognitive development.

Tiedemann noted when his son sat up, when he talked and how his child responded to speech and gestures. Tiedemann would possibly have loved Facebook where he could have documented his child’s development to the world.

Naturally other philosopher-psychologists followed his work. There was a theory, for example, that children enjoying playing with water could be connected with their fishy ancestors’ joys of the sea.

Cut to Scene Two.

A mother and her child are sitting at the kitchen table. The  mother offers her child a choice.)

Mother: Would you like to work through an eleven plus paper or go for a swim?

Child: Mum I have taken to eleven plus work like a duck takes to water. I think I need to explore my ancestral side.

Mother: Come on. Let’s go for a swim. You can work later.

Scene Two

A mother and her child are exploring an early theory that a love for climbing trees shows vestiges of life as a monkey.

Mother: Look dear, a lovely tree for you to climb.

Daughter: Thanks Mum. Can I go over thirty feet today? It is an old oak and should support my weight.

Mother: Naturally, but do not, on any account, try to climb into the branches of the next door tree.

Scene Three

A mother and her child are discussing whether the acts of riding bicycles and using a mobile phone can be attributed to early skill developments.

Mother: No dear, you can-not use your phone while you are riding your bike.

Son: I have seen you using your phone while riding a bike.

Mother: If you are going to get smart with me we will return to work through your eleven plus papers.

Son: Did ancient civilisations have the eleven plus?