“Whitehall may think it’s playing the right music, [but] too few people are hitting the dance floor,” wrote CBI chief, John Cridland, in the Guardian. Cridland said the education system should not be a barrier to great teaching but must support it. He acknowledges that the system being proposed from Government is not playing well with schools leaders. Those who heckled ... read more and comment →
With less than two years before the next General Election, there is understandably a lot of attention being given to what a different government might do. The one thing we do need to learn from Michael Gove and the Tories is the need to be ready for government, ready to hit the ground running to make the changes that will ... read more and comment →
Latest comment by Roger Titcombe: "John - Just saw Balls on TV tonight. His only thought on education post 2015 was not to build quite so many Free Schools. Hopeless - utterly hopeless from the pre-2010 academymeister. Twigg is no better. You have a very long way ......"
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This is the title of the 2011 book by the Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman. Kahneman is a cognitive psychologist at Princeton University and Emeritus Professor of Public Affairs at Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2002. He appears to have no background in learning theory or pedagogy and his ... read more and comment →
Latest comment by Roger Titcombe: "Thank you John and for John White's blog. You cut to the core of the problem brilliantly. How can educationalists' consensus be transformed into bringing about the necessary permanent changes in our education system? Why is there so little of ......"
Comment + Debate It is ‘common sense’ that grouping children of similar ability will result in better teaching and learning. Similarly, that boys will learn better without the distraction of girls, and that girls will also benefit from single sex groups because this will free them from competition for the esteem of boys and allow them to learn without the disruption caused by ... read more and comment →
Latest comment by Tubby Isaacs: "Dear O Lord, just read that Oldham Chronicle article. Burkard should not be allowed anywhere near a school. Quote: he is confident that the school promising discipline — all “teachers” will be armed-forces veterans — and grammar-school standards will get the go-ahead ......"
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Working with local schools and communities in disadvantaged areas for many years brought home the fundamental importance of parents/carers as the most important and enduring teachers in children's lives, for good or ill, and families are our most important places of learning. Since then I've discovered that there is a lot of research evidence to support it. Parents get very ... read more and comment →
“Before he rushes to judgment about young people, Michael Gove should make sure he has researched the evidence thoroughly. Otherwise he risks coming across as Mr Sloppy," said Tristram Hunt, Labour education spokesman and historian. Hunt was commented on the news, which first appeared here, that all but one of Gove’s surveys which supposedly proved teenagers’ ignorance of history were unreliable. But ... read more and comment →
Latest comment by Edssential » Why I Blog Anonymously: "[...] of teachers disagree with their political views. In fact. it’s not even the worst recent example. This comment recently appeared on the website of the Local Schools Network, who are known for their sane and [...]..."
Comment + Debate When Middlemarch was filmed in Stamford, the local book shop filled its window with copies of the book. Many people bought it. A local dentist (whose surgery was turned into a Middlemarch dress shop) told me he hadn't found any of his patients* who'd actually finished it. Shortly afterwards I read that a well-known journalist (sorry, can't remember the name) ... read more and comment →
Latest comment by agov: "You should Janet. It's wonderful. It's on my list of thing to re-read soon-ish...."
Comment + Debate Today’s young people are uninformed about history – that’s what Education Secretary, Michael Gove, says. In a Mail article, he cited “survey after survey” which displayed “disturbing historical ignorance” among teenagers. But the Department of Education (DfE) could only find one survey when asked*. That survey, by TV Gold, turned out to be targeting all ages not just teenagers. And ... read more and comment →
Latest comment by When A Government Minister’s Data Laundry is Hung Out to Dry… | School of Data - Evidence is Power: "[...] well targeted Freedom of Information request to the UK Department for Education and its consequent report hit the news here recently. It turns out that a claim by Minister for Education, Michael Gove, that [...]..."
Comment + Debate (Words in brackets are the author’s own) Concentrating on a “limited range of accountability measures skews what is taught” wrote Joan Sjøvoll, Head of Framellgate School, Durham*. Joan Sjøvoll concentrated particularly on science education but the points apply more widely. Some aspects of science (and all subjects by extension) are hard to measure, she said. These include: fostering curiosity, independence and innovation ... read more and comment →
Latest comment by Janet Downs: "Masha - a new report by Demos cited Sahlberg and a Finnish survey which "found that half of Finland’s teachers would consider changing jobs if they had to submit to the diktats of a centrally mandated inspection system such as ......"
Comment + Debate Here are 6 questions about the period 1939 -1969. Answer from memory: 1 Who said, “Ich bin ein Berliner”? (a) Adolf Hitler (b) John F Kennedy (c) A character in the musical “Cabaret” 2 What was the date of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour? 3 Who said, “We are more popular than Jesus”? (a) The Manson family (b) The Tory party after its 1959 ... read more and comment →
Latest comment by Adrian Elliott: "The most authoritative recent review of school history appeared in "The Right Kind of History" by David Cannadine, Jenny Keating and Nicola Sheldon (Palgrave MacMillan, 2011) This was a major undertaking, led by one of our foremost historians, which examined ......"
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