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End of civilisation as we know it
In 1973, when I went to university as an undergraduate, there were no open days. You were invited for interview, and maybe someone would show you round. Or not. Certainly, no parents would go, and anyone of my generation would have been mortified to be accompanied by parents on this very adult enterprise. Not so…
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Volleying and thundering
You would think I might get these all right. No, I got 6 / 7. I even got the question on To Kill a Bleeding Mockingbird right. What I got wrong is the question on The Charge of the Light Brigade, where I was invited to declare why Tennyson had used certain verbs. All the…
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Voluntary = Compulsory
In the brave new world of education, a “voluntary” contribution to the cost of a child’s education is actually compulsory. Sample:It read like a letter from a debt-collector. “Our accounts indicate you have not made a contribution,” it stated. “Our records indicate you have not contacted us.” In fact, it was a letter from a…
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Telegraph hack knows nothing about education shock
I was so annoyed about this article by Simon Heffer that I posted a lengthy, and not entirely coherent reply. Gratifying to see that even Telegraph readers can see, for the most part, what nonsense this is. I wrote the following, but it’s worth checking the link to see the comments of others. Somehow, I…
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Really Top Tips
I was sent some publicity material by the academic jobs website jobs.ac.uk. One of the items is a calendar, on which is printed a series of patronising “tips”- sample tip for writing CVs: “Don’t use meaningless introductions”. Doh! THAT’s why I never got that vice-chancellor’s job!My favourites, though have to be the number 1 and…
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Ken Robinson on creativity
This is a really funny, but also profound piece of thinking that makes some crucial points about the nature of education and creativity.
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Schools ‘avoid Holocaust lessons’
BBC NEWS | Education | Schools ‘avoid Holocaust lessons’Who do they think they’d offend? The local Nazi children?
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Taylor Mali on what teachers make
The perfect riposte to the old “those who can, do…” canard.
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We don’t ignore cheating
This annoyed me. I do wonder how you can possibly come up with a figure of 10% of all work being plagiarised if you then say that most of it is undetected. Of course, it’s just “estimated” – but on what basis, we aren’t told. What this means is – someone just made it up.…