Teachers Should Not Teach Opinion as Fact

“Nothing has changed,” Theresa May was fond of saying, just as it was clear that things, in fact, had changed. The Dept. For Education in England has felt the need to release new guidance on how to tackle politically sensitive topics in an ‘impartial’ way. Teachers’ Unions are uncomfortable, saying this guidance might impinge on … More Teachers Should Not Teach Opinion as Fact

What is Neo-liberal Education? On Zuckerberg and Personalisation

In a piece for the Guardian the esteemed educationalist Sir Tim Brighouse writes: “Margaret Thatcher’s neoliberalism underpinned Baker’s 1988 reform bill, which meant a prescribed national curriculum and tougher accountability, along with diversity in school provision and autonomy.” This seems to uncover a contradiction at the heart of neoliberalism – on the one hand it … More What is Neo-liberal Education? On Zuckerberg and Personalisation

Dumbing Down the Arts

  The Guardian gushes: At a time when arts are squeezed in some schools, teachers are embracing them as a tool to teach the environment without realising it is this insidious belief that the arts are merely a pedagogical tool that is leading to a paucity of engagement with great art. The tragic figure of the starving … More Dumbing Down the Arts

Drama in Decline

Apparently there are now 1,700 fewer drama teachers teaching in UK schools than there were in 2010. I don’t have any information as to how accurate this figure is and what the figures are in the constituent nations of the United Kingdom nor how it compares to other subjects, suffice to say it adds to … More Drama in Decline

Lenin and Rand: Why the Need to Disrupt Our Schools?

When I was growing up a significant number of people on the left were intent on destroying capitalism. They loathed its focus on the individual and extolled the virtue of the collective. They were suspicious of new technology, worried that it would take away jobs. They were protective of their own and were intent on … More Lenin and Rand: Why the Need to Disrupt Our Schools?