Education

  • School bans on phones is a hot potato

    The ban of anything for younger people is an exercise that even school heads don’t want to engage in. It becomes difficult because the reasons are not always obvious and this leads to confusion in school behaviour. It’s also the case that bitterness sets in against school guidelines and this may create subcultures of rule breaking that cannot immediately be seen.

    If it appears to be specific to location, it’s also a problem beyond the limited confines of that place. Many children point out the hypocrisy of being able to swear at home and not being able to clear their mind on a school property. It’s also the contradiction of having to see older teenagers being able to do something that slightly younger teenagers cannot therefore do.

    There are those that want lawmakers and school influencers to see that their investment of time and funding into finding better models of education regarding discipline is more important in the long-term than a prohibition on things. It strikes some as being paternalistic or even blankly moralist to remove a device without addressing a provocation of its misuse.

    A blanket ban (as it’s called) is in need of being replaced by an ongoing adaptive approach to be more effective with the individual. Even if the reason is using a phone in a classroom, a meeting in isolation enables an instructor to help the student to understand their reason to the maturity level of the student in the school.

    It’s becoming a main point in UK schooling contexts that people of any age or proximity to the classroom have an awareness of the reasons why things are happening that change protocols. It’s also a belief that such ‘rules’ are conditional on the context of the school population itself. This is how schools develop character, reputation, and their own discipline.

  • Caught: “Process, Delete” head

    In an exclusive for Conservative News Site, a head of “Process, Delete” – an Antisocial Behaviour gang at the centre of adult-led attacks against schools in the UK – has been spotted loitering in Reading, Berkshire.

    A suspect alleged of plotting AsB-related misdemeanours against school teachers in the UK.

    He’s alleged of masterminding sabotage rates against teachers in secondary schools. This means he plots random attacks on staff members to disrupt their teaching and to disturb their careers. It’s said to be inspired by former teachers sacked for misconduct.

  • Putin says gay is ok

    Russian President Vladimir Putin is reported to have said gay relationships are not anti-Russian.

    According to RIA Novosti news agency, Putin meant “non-traditional” relationships cannot be taught to children.

    His comment is clear. Yet it ignores state involvement in political organisation.

    Putin says he protects Russia by stopping children being taught it in schools, yet gay movements often organise to protect their own existence.

    The balance of contradictions is a strained act by a war-minded President.

  • Prime Minister’s Questions

  • Westminster Week: Young blood

    Tuesday

    The failures Labour have said existed with fourteen years of the Tories in government are now coming to bear on their narrative in the House of Commons. It’s clear the case of Axel Rudakubana, known to the security services under the previous Conservative government, could be the smoking gun they needed while in power.

    Wednesday

    Education, education … and education. It used to be said not enough was said about education but it was before Tony Blair talked about it. It’s now a staple of debate as statistics, struggles, and reminders of standards as the system drives out more and more content.

  • Onsite: Museum of Natural History, Oxford

    In a museum these days, it’s expected there are interactive elements such as sights and sounds, as well as the usual educational input. The excitement some children show is found in the ability to use or manipulate the objects on display.

    In a museum of natural history, we know the context is going to be different, but here it doesn’t matter. The awe is still in seeing a dinosaur skeleton, and curiosity in admiring examples of taxidermy, but there’s much more on display.

    The concept of evolutionary theory is shown for all to see in a walk-about way, helping visitors to see the novelties and factual points of the study of it in its full light. As I pace in a large atrium, and up flights of stairs, I can see it in colour.

    A statue of Charles Darwin is fitting, taking a casual glance over proceedings as his work is still perused today. However, the many objects available to see tell a story more of who we are, not necessarily how we are here, in my view.

    The Pitt Rivers Museum is a large room off the main focus of the museum, and is a delightful selection of curios from overseas. Obviously, they were collected and transported back a long time ago, but they still have a relevance here.

    The charm is the primitive culture, tribes, and spiritual communities represented here in such a broad display. There’s no let up in showing the varieties of what artistry and belief means to other people. There’s something of us all in it.