If anyone still doubts whether British society is broken, they should read the reports of the Centre for Social Justice. When we consider family breakdown, educational failure, economic dependence, indebtedness and addictions, the human and financial cost of decades of top-down bureaucratic control becomes heart-breaking. And let’s not forget that, […]
Read MorePost Tagged with: "Education"
Ofsted’s new mission – to get rid of boring teachers
This is ridiculous. It should not need saying: Ofsted is to launch a crackdown on “boring” teaching in response to concerns that children’s behaviour is deteriorating because they are not being stimulated enough in class. … The inspectorate’s latest annual report, published in November, warned of “pedestrian” teaching in primary […]
Read MoreGordon Brown dealt fresh blow as Bishop of London criticises ‘false financial hopes’
The Church of England sustains its stand for morality: They were joined by the bishops of Winchester and Carlisle, who claimed ministers had squandered their opportunity to transform society and run out of steam, sacrificing principled politics and long-term solutions for policies designed to win votes. Right now, I am […]
Read MoreRecommended reading: “Freedom for Public Services”
The latest publication from the Centre for Policy Studies arrived today: “Freedom for Public Services” by William Mason and Jonathan McMahon. Better services at lower cost, and more fulfilling jobs for public servants, are quite possible. As ever, this CPS report is intelligent, brief, clear and insightful. The sheer scale […]
Read MoreTories plan exam standards checks
From the BBC: The Conservative Party is promising to link exams in England to an international benchmark to ensure standards are maintained. Shadow schools secretary Michael Gove says the move would “reverse the devaluation of exams”. More here. read more | digg story
Read MoreThis Blog’s reading level
Doh! Time to dumb down?
Read More“If men were like ants”
From Rothbard’s “Freedom, Inequality, Primitivism, and the Division of Labor”: If men were like ants, there would be no interest in human freedom. If individual men, like ants, were uniform, interchangeable, devoid of specific personality traits of their own, then who would care whether they were free or not? Who, […]
Read More“A-levels to be made harder as pass rate hits record high”
The Telegraph reports on efforts to make A-levels “harder”. My concern is that hard-working students and teachers too often have their work and achievements undermined by speculation about the quality of the system. Is the problem more fundamental? According to the QCA, grading swapped from “norm referencing” – where, say, […]
Read MoreMichael Gove – campaigning for the best in state education
Michael Gove is one of the most inspiring men I have met, for his intellect, for his courtesy and for the sheer decency he brings to politics. Here he talks about education.
Read MoreThe MacA-level, leading to the McJob or setting the mind free?
According to the BBC: Fast-food giant McDonald’s has become one of the first firms to offer its own nationally recognised qualifications. It will offer a “basic shift manager” course, training staff in skills such as human resources and marketing. The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority said the company had been approved […]
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