Stories + Views: Learning

Page 6 of 8« First...45678
Avatar Image

Francis Gilbert: A mother praises a comprehensive in Alnwick, Northumberland

A mother who lives near Alnwick, Northumberland, told me this heartening story about her local comprehensive: I attended the Duchess Community High School in the late 1980s, and I didn’t do very well there. My attendance was poor, I frequently skived off and no teacher seemed to notice. I managed to scrape five GCSEs at the end of my time there. ... read more and comment →

One comment

Latest comment by Melissa Benn: "Great to read of this Francis. I think there are hundreds of schools around the country who have made these kinds of changes in recent years and are providing a good standard of education to their pupils, who are also ......"

Comment + Debate
Avatar Image

Alan Gurbutt: Do IQ tests really reveal a child’s intelligence?

Professor Peter Saunders wants to have a serious debate about social mobility. He states, on average, the lower socio-economic population have a lower intelligence. Apparently, evidence from IQ testing underscores this fact: “...in America, accountants and lawyers have average IQ scores of 128, compared with 122 for teachers, 109 for electricians, 96 for truck drivers and 91 for miners and ... read more and comment →

3 comments

Latest comment by Jonathan Isworth: "I think IQ is measuring something indirectly here. The correlation between high IQ and jobs could be measuring the 'intelligences' required to do those jobs. If we say the people in these jobs are there on merit, or in other ......"

Comment + Debate
Avatar Image

Janet Downs: Hong Kong rejects content-based curriculum

The Hong Kong education Minister told the Times Educational Supplement that the territory's success is down to explicit teaching of the learning and thinking skills rejected by Mr Gove. The Hong Kong under-secretary for education says theirs is "not a content based curriculum... We are not asking students to memorise a whole set of facts and be able to ... read more and comment →

One comment

Latest comment by Francis Gilbert: "I couldn't agree more with the central point here: developing "skills" -- transferable skills -- needs to be at the heart of our National Curriculum. The most forward-thinking countries realise this. Sadly, this is not the case here...."

Comment + Debate
Avatar Image

Janet Downs: ENGLAND TOP EUROPEAN COUNTRY IN MATHS AND SCIENCE

According to the Government, English students have plummeted down international league tables. However, the Trends in International Maths and Science Study (TIMSS), summarised by the NFER shows that in 2007 England was one of the top scoring countries globally, and the top scoring European country. The summary states: “Grade 4 science (year 5) • England’s score, 542, was one of the highest, ... read more and comment →

One comment

Latest comment by Melissa Benn: "Excellent post, Janet. The TIMMS figures are never referred to by the doom and gloom merchants of the new educational right. Instead, they are desperate to prove that our system is failing in order to justify their new, increasingly ......"

Comment + Debate
Avatar Image

Janet Downs: Gove: Libertarian or Stalinist?

Mr Gove was asked on Radio 4 Today programme, 20 January, whether he was a libertarian or Stalinist? His answer: give autonomy to school on an operational level BUT ensure they adhere to a fact-based curriculum. The interviewer asked Mr Gove if he had succumbed to "I know what's best". Mr Gove diverted the discussion by describing ... read more and comment →

5 comments

Latest comment by wendy smith: "As Mr Gove extols the virtues of his perceived education "tigers" in countries around the world, I wonder what he thinks of their political, social and health care systems? Surely they are a product of the education systems that ......"

Comment + Debate
Avatar Image

Nigel Ford: Secondary Modern school produces exam results to match those of nearby public schools

A recent remark made by Fiona where she said some schools are penalised by working “in fully selective areas with highly skewed intakes, yet they are being expected to compete on a level playing field with schools that either have grammar or more comprehensive intakes” got me thinking. I would like to flag up the Secondary Modern school, Hillview For Girls, ... read more and comment →

2 comments

Latest comment by Nigel Ford: "There were at least 7 mainstream public schools where Hillview had a better rating on either the 5 or more GCSE passes, the e bacc, 2 or more sciences or on the average A'level entry score. What was just as remarkable ......"

Comment + Debate
Avatar Image

Janet Downs: The case for 21st century learning – inspiration words from OECD Directorate

Open letter to Secretary of State for Education: Please read the article by Andreas Schleicher of OECD in which he describes the type of learning that will be essential for the 21st century. In particular, the warning that education can be stuck in "beliefs that learning can only occur in a particular way". In a rapidly changing world "producing ... read more and comment →

5 comments

Latest comment by Tony Sherborne: "It is certainly true what Andreas Schleicher says about educating people to be leaders and innovators not just followers and imitators. And that does require specifying all the various skills, qualities, habits of mind, facets of thinking - whatever you ......"

Comment + Debate
Avatar Image

Francis Gilbert: How best do we give children a quality education?

I'm appearing at the BETT conference tomorrow and have been asked to address the following points and questions. What do other people think? Joe Wilcox who is organising the event writes: One of this event’s speaker, Toby Young, observed last month that British schoolchildren are now ranked 16th in the world for science, 25th for reading and 28th for maths, according to ... read more and comment →

4 comments

Latest comment by Janet Downs: "I went to Nick Seaton's website to discover what his organisation had to say about failing schools. Under the heading "Standards" there were three articles, two dated 2004 and the other 2006. A little out-of-date, I think. ......"

Comment + Debate
Avatar Image

Francis Gilbert: Most people think secondary schools are good and favour practical subjects

The year has ended on a high note for local schools. Despite the bashing that they have received at the hands of this Coalition government and a hysterical press, the British people have other thoughts. The recently published British Attitude Survey reveals that 73% of people thought secondary schools were doing a good job of teaching the basics of reading and ... read more and comment →

11 comments

Latest comment by Laura McInerney: "I am surprised that everyone seems to think this is an 'either/or' debate. Is it beyond possibility that children could memorise information, learn traditional subjects and also develop valuable functional skills all in the same lesson? I've just written a Citizenship ......"

Comment + Debate
Avatar Image

Nigel Ford: Three out of ten public school pupils do not get 5 good GCSEs

The latest research form the Sutton Trust shows that those pupils entitled to free school meals (FSM) perform badly on educational criteria, particularly when compared to their public school counterparts. Headlines from papers like the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph are gleefully telling us that "private pupils are 55 times more likely to go to Oxbridge". I don't think too ... read more and comment →

14 comments

Latest comment by Nick Cowen: "Once again, I don't see any contradiction between cooperation and competition. Both operate together in a voluntary system. In fact, as Herbert Spencer pointed out, a 'competitor' is usually just a market participatant who you decided not to cooperate with ......"

Comment + Debate
Page 6 of 8« First...45678