Parents and Responsibility The ease and reliability of the pill accelerated the uncoupling of sex from reproduction and therefore detached it to a great extent from responsibility. This was Libby Purves on December 6th, 2021 in The Times. We were all been horrified at the fate of six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes’ death at the hands of his father and […]
Parents and Responsibility Read More »
In a comment piece in the Times in September Clare Foges overlooked the need to consider an audience, something that was not addressed by subsequent correspondents. Consideration of an audience is a crucial matter in both spoken and written communication which I always sought to explain to my students. The need for clear, unambiguous expression in writing is
Expressing ourselves clearly Read More »
What, How and Why: a manual of better English Massive Support for Peter Inson’s What, How and Why: a manual of better English Massive Support for Peter Inson’s What, How and Why: a manual of better English “You have led me back to the classroom, prepared to learn this time.” James, 18 MORE INFORMATION BUY
What, How and Why: a manual of better English Read More »
In The Times last Saturday (Sep 4th 2021) Rachel Sylvester presents two dichotomies: spoon-fed pupils facing a high-tech future and questions about the purpose of schools. Should they provide knowledge or skills? Resolution of these dichotomies might be easier were we to acknowledge our confused approach to young people.Since I began teaching in the nineteen-seventies the
Confused about young people – spoon-fed and ill-prepared for the world of work Read More »
A long article in today’s Times deals with a dramatic rise in the divorce rate. It considers the age at which people marry, and the age at which they get divorced. It considers where they live and in what sort of accommodation; apparently outside lavatories are now a thing of the past. There is one
At Barking Station in East London, in the late seventies, we were returning from an afternoon trip to the theatre, a group of my fifteen year-olds from Barking Abbey School. There we were greeted by members of the National Front, one at each of the staircases leading up from the platforms, handing out leaflets telling
Could Marcus Rashford learn from this lad or should he simply go home? Read More »
We were reminded recently (By Libby Purves in The Times 10 May 2021) of the importance of young people finding the confidence to speak out in public. I once sent a reluctant reader to stand away from his classmates on the chancel steps in the school chapel, knowing that he would be expected to read out aloud.
Confidence to speak out in public Read More »
At grammar school I spent Latin lessons reading the Farmer’s Weekly; aged forty-two I passed the subject at GCSE level and, by way of contrition for my adolescent shortcomings, I started a Latin club in two comprehensive schools.The Scottish Classics Group’s “Ecce Romani” is to be recommended. A former pupil of mine was asked at Sheffield University
Latin for the underprivileged Read More »
A recent report spoke of the need to protect younger pupils in secondary schools and talked about “behaviour management,” “educational technology training” and “controlled environments,” more appropriate for prisons rather than schools.Schools invite the trust of parents and with this trust goes the expectation that schools will keep children safe and make good use of their time in school. There is of
Protecting Pupils in School Read More »
In her Times comment piece on April, 13th Melanie Phillips wrote, “Correct English, it appears, is a tool of cultural oppression,” and reported one lecturer who saw notions of accuracy as based on unequal relations between teacher and taught. Perhaps we should ask whether those advocating the abandoning of elitist academic accuracy would happily undergo surgery
Correct English – cultural oppression? Read More »
