If academia was a Disney film and I was a street rat (early career researcher) living on the sandy backstreets of Agrabah, who happened to summon a genie, my three top-of-my-head wishes would be: publications, grant money, and a pipeline of non-traditional research outputs. But after the wishes were granted and I was flying away on […] … learn more→
Residential writing retreats: three wishes for academic output
Are there only four kinds of writers?
Self-help books are my secret shame. I can’t resist them, especially if I find myself in an airport bookstore. The siren call of the self-help section means I inevitably board the plane clutching two more paperbacks (which I have no room for at home). My latest secret shame is Gretchen Rubin’s ‘The four tendencies: the indispensable […] … learn more→
Universities creating “Democratic Socialists”
I’ve been slow to accept that our higher education system is turning into, or already is, a mass indoctrination system. Focusing more on the falling standards and mass academic fraud, I’ve perhaps missed that these were simply side effects of the political goal of indoctrination (and thus education is of no importance) rather than the […] … learn more→
Want to solve the world’s problems? Try working together across disciplines
Labor Day is our New Year’s Eve. Rather than vowing to lose weight or spend less time on our phones, as college professors we head into the new school year with a different kind of resolution: to inspire and prepare our students to become agents of positive change. The world’s problems certainly didn’t take a […] … learn more→
Teachers and school leaders: a positive relationship, but one that is weakening
rfp-459 While teachers generally take a good look at the role played by their school leaders, this report also suffers from more marked tensions, as shown by the results of the Militens survey (conducted by CERAPS of the Université de Montréal). Lille and the DEPP, department of statistics of the ministry, with the relay of […] … learn more→
Digitising the historical fight for women’s equality at Cambridge
Two small boxes in the department of archives and modern manuscripts at Cambridge University Library contain a few pieces of detritus from an extraordinary afternoon in Cambridge in 1897. That day, crowds of undergraduates gathered to protest against a change in ordinances that would allow women to be granted degrees and membership of the university. […] … learn more→
Air quality and brightness: what are the challenges for the class of the future?
In France, it is still quite rare to consider school spaces according to their environmental qualities. This is a critical issue, with potential implications for educational success, such as children’s health. As early as 2005, several European studies presented at the symposium of the Réseau Recherche santé environnement intérieur (RSEIN) converged on the following observation: […] … learn more→
‘Farm-to-school’ movement takes root in Canada
A “farm-to-school” movement is growing fast across Canada. More than 40,000 students were eating local fruits and vegetables at 150 Ontario schools during 2017-18, via the Tasty Ontario Tuesdays program. Led by the southwest branch of the Ontario Student Nutrition Program (OSNP), supported by the Greenbelt Foundation and Foodland Ontario, this program has purchased and delivered over $55,000 of local […] … learn more→
Poo-Bah overrules vote, removes statue of Jefferson’s grandson
We’re trained as a people to respect the sanctity of the vote. If the people vote a certain way, then that’s the way it should go. I can’t quite break that conditioning, as it does strike me as a decent way to make decisions, at least up to a point (hi Bill of Rights!). Trouble […] … learn more→
When AI meets your shopping experience it knows what you buy – and what you ought to buy
Whether you do your shopping online or in store, your retail experience is the latest battleground for the artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning revolution. Major Australian retailers have begun to realise that they have a lot to gain from getting their AI strategy right, with one currently recruiting for a Head of AI and Machine […] … learn more→