Category: English

Video violence can harm school children

Video violence can harm school children

An education expert and former government adviser has blasted a video that has been shown to primary school children. The short, animated CGI 3D film made available by ‘teachers resource’ company The Literacy Shed depicts a frightening, post-apocalyptic world with violent scenes. Dr Stephen Curran said the 8min 30sec film called ‘Ruin’ was inappropriate for…

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Why are businesses having to teach youngsters English and Maths?

Why are businesses having to teach youngsters English and Maths?

For decades, universities and businesses have complained that many coming through the school system have sub-standard literacy and numeracy skills. While the 2014 National Curriculum changes were a move in the right direction, the problem remains. The boss of John Lewis, Dame Sharon White, has recently disclosed that the business is giving basic English and…

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Where tutoring should be targeted

Where tutoring should be targeted

The Prime Minister has been criticised for saying that wealthier parents can buy private tuition because they ‘work hard’. It is true that many people who work hard can afford tutors for their children. Many parents also make sacrifices and forego other things to be able to afford the tuition. And it is also true…

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Why universities are wrong to downgrade the importance of grammar

Why universities are wrong to downgrade the importance of grammar

Standards at universities should be high and academic excellence ought to be the aim. However, in order to ‘decolonise’ the curriculum and ensure ‘equity of opportunity’, the theory of ‘inclusive assessment’ has infected our once-great institutions of learning. This phrase is a euphemism for the further erosion of standards – the opposite of what universities…

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