A couple of articles that have grabbed my attention this week.
I have deliberately selected sections to pique your interest and drive you to the article.
1. A piece of research that suggest that girls play down their intelligence so as not to intimidate boys. Link
“Girls feel they must downplay their own abilities, pretending to be less intelligent than they actually are, not speaking out against harassment, and withdrawing from hobbies, sports and activities that might seem ‘unfeminine’.
2. A great insight by @huntingenglish into whether or not success is result of deliberate practice or genetic. Link
“A recent meta-analysis of the impact of ‘deliberate practice’ has brought into question its supposedly transformative powers. For a teacher seeking to get better, to hear that ‘deliberate practice’ has about a 1% impact on professionals is damning and disheartening.
3. The need to tackle elitism in order to help poorer children. Link
“Far from breaking down social divisions, the vast majority of schools confirm them…I cannot recall a single example of Gove or his allies publicly conceding that poverty has a significant impact on educational outcomes, or admitting the brazen elitism of our school system.”
4. Nicky Morgan, the new Education Secretary, suggests toddlers must be taught british values. With consequences for those schools that don’t. Link
“One of the most important roles of the education system is that it should prepare young people for life in modern Britain. I am clear that public money should not be used to support any school or early years provider that does not support this aim because it seeks to promote ideas and teachings than run counter to fundamental British values,”
5. Sir Ken Robinson is taken to task by @tombennett for suggesting that dance should be given the same attention as maths. Link
“Since the 1960s onwards (and earlier, in many pockets of education) progressive ideas such as those Sir Ken champions have become part of the DNA of everyday schooling. Which isn’t to say that it predominates everywhere, but merely that it certainly has enjoyed popular status. See: what Sir Ken evangelises as revolution has been the establishment orthodoxy for several decades. He isn’t Moses. He’s Pharaoh.”
Tall. Black. One Sugar 