On Jan. 3, the American Dialect Society held its 30th annual “Word of the Year” vote, which this year also included a vote for “Word of the Decade.” It was the year – and the decade – of the pronoun. In a nod to shifting attitudes about gender identities that are nonbinary – meaning they don’t neatly […] … learn more→

The 2019 general election is already being remembered as the one where misinformation went mainstream. It was, of course, already on the political agenda after the 2016 referendum and US election, with growing numbers of academics and parliament sounding the alarm over foreign actors using so-called “fake news” to disrupt the democratic processes. But what was seen over the election […] … learn more→

Teachers are among the professions peak in the current protest against pension reform. Will the movement gain momentum ? The demonstrations of the coming days will tell. The fact remains that teacher mobilization falls within a specific historical framework. Their pension scheme does not date from the Liberation, like the general scheme, but from the two Empires. Can such an old system […] … learn more→

One new year’s resolution that most academics would doubtless endorse is to overcome their impostor syndrome. That this condition was discovered by an academic should not be a surprise: monkey see, monkey do, after all. Academics are famously vulnerable to feeling like they aren’t up to the job. So much so that Times Higher Education not so long ago ran a […] … learn more→

The school year is over and holidays are upon us. But that doesn’t mean your children’s learning experiences can’t continue. If you’re planning an overseas trip with your family, you’re in for many benefits. Research shows travel has a positive impact on mental and physical health, and family relationships. Travel is also an educational opportunity. It’s a rich […] … learn more→

The ideological takeover of our campuses has been devastating to our education. Departments like mathematics and science focusing on academics have been de-emphasized, while politically themed departments like Education and African Studies. This is simply a consequence of the political environment. Any person attempting to curtail the growth of, say, African Studies is labeled RACIST; […] … learn more→

Student performance matters. Students who perform well have better health, earn a larger income and contribute more to society than those who perform poorly. As a consequence, psychologists, teachers and even parents have spent a great deal of time and effort trying to understand what makes or breaks success. Personality factors that explain how people differ may […] … learn more→

Weaving and hoarding There’s a striking moment in George Eliot’s 1861 novel, Silas Marner, when the miserly weaver is described as being so entirely reduced to the “functions of weaving and hoarding” that his face and figure shrink and bend themselves into “a constant mechanical relation to the objects of his life”. Marner works his loom […] … learn more→

From the choice of books in original formats to the sharing of stories or playful workshops around writing, parents and educators compete to help the young generations to forge strong links with books. Promoting reading as a pleasure is the leitmotif that drives libraries, book fairs and Ministry of Culture campaigns . How does the school support this relationship to the […] … learn more→

Democratic presidential candidates are proposing bold new approaches to the federal government’s role in public education. Former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Cory Booker want to triple the US$15 billion spent annually on Title I, a program that sends federal dollars to high-poverty school districts. Sen. Elizabeth Warren wants to go further and quadruple funding for that same program. She also wants to make quality child care […] … learn more→