The Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, captured the headlines recently when she spoke about ‘white working-class children’. She warned that four-fifths of children from white working-class backgrounds were falling short in the English and maths skills required to get on in life. However, this headline-grabbing warning is slightly misleading because she is referring only to white…
Summer ‘reading lists’ are an annual conversation piece amongst politicos and thinkers. Self-appointed authorities set these lists to show what direction they think policy should be taking. I don’t have a list to publish – I have just one book to recommend. And I am hoping that our Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson will have it…
A report from parliament’s Communications and Digital Committee has addressed the issue of ‘media literacy’. It describes what an important issue it is and how social cohesion and democracy itself is threatened by ‘inadequate media literacy’. The phrase is an import from the US and means ‘having the skills to think critically about the content…
I have spent a lifetime in the classroom engaging with children aged between 16 and 18 – and the vast majority are not politically aware. Giving them the vote is a cynical move by the government because they naively assume youngsters will put a ‘X’ by their candidates’ names. It goes against the trend of…
I agree with Bridget Phillipson. There, I’ve said it. And no, I haven’t gone mad. But let me clarify. I agree with her on one thing. And it is this, an announcement from the government: The Education Secretary is calling on parents to lead by example and make reading a daily habit to help reverse…