In the spring of 2018, thousands of public school teachers walked out of their classrooms in a half-dozen states, protesting low salaries, rising class sizes and cuts to school budgets that have prompted most teachers to buy their own classroom supplies. Additional strikes followed in 2019 in Los Angeles, Denver and Oakland. While these walkouts, which enjoyed much public support, were about more than teacher pay, stagnant teacher […] … learn more→
Blog Archives
Are America’s teachers really underpaid?
Testing literacy today requires more than a pencil and paper
Large-scale testing, or what many know as standardized testing, often carries important consequences for students. The results of large-scale tests may be used by schools or policy-makers to make important decisions such as grouping students by ability or assessing how well schools are doing. Yet when it comes to literacy testing, while the competencies of literacy have […] … learn more→
Do you know the critical pedagogies?
It is fashionable now to talk in France of alternative pedagogies in the continuity of the new education which, at the beginning of XX th century meant put the child’s needs at the heart of the system, and encourage more active posture students. The historical authors often cited are Steiner, Freinet, Montessori … In a […] … learn more→
Being seen
Looking for another role be an exciting and/or daunting state. It could mean that you’re finishing your PhD, coming to the end of your contract (still waiting to hear if your contract is renewed…), or wanting to move on from where you are. There is work to do, however, before you actually are on that […] … learn more→
Casual academics aren’t going anywhere, so what can universities do to ensure learning isn’t affected?
More Australian universities are relying on casual academics to teach their students. It’s difficult to estimate the exact proportion of academic staff on casual contracts, but reports suggest up to 80% of undergraduate courses in some Australian universities have been taught by a casual academic. By mid-2018, an estimated 94,500 people were employed at Australian universities on […] … learn more→
Initiation to entrepreneurship is not just about aspiring startups
“To offer all students a greater openness to entrepreneurship” is one of the wishesexpressed by Minister Frédérique Vidal to the higher education community in January 2019. Would it be a matter of further stimulating more activity creation and systematically spot potential Bill Gates? The flowering of start-ups is certainly crucial for the French economy. But it turns […] … learn more→
There is no age to learn to speak fluently a foreign language
In 2018, the publication of a new study on learning a second language made a big splash in the British press. From the BBC to the Daily Mail , via the Guardian , a whole series of headlines have conveyed this depressing message: it would be impossible to be able to speak fluently a foreign language by beginning his apprenticeship after the age of […] … learn more→
Dogs in the classroom – coming to a school near you soon?
When you think about your own school days, you might have had a furry friend to keep you company in the classroom – maybe a school hamster, rabbit or guinea pig. But what about a school dog? That’s what’s being suggested by the vice chancellor of the University of Buckingham, Sir Anthony Seldon, who made […] … learn more→
Study shows how school textbooks in Germany and England present Europe in entirely different ways
When it comes to views about Europe, it’s well known that Germany and England differ sharply. Research after the Brexit vote shows that 68% of Germans are in favour of the European Union and only 11% would support withdrawal. Compare this with 54% of UK respondents who are favourable to the EU. Similarly, during the 2017 general […] … learn more→
The explosion of the visual: illustrated albums triumph in bookstores
Anyone who goes to a library will see that the children’s section is increasingly populated by large format books, full of illustrations and with little text. We enter a bookstore and from the window we already see the presence of works for children in hard cover and with impressive images. There is no Early Childhood classroom that […] … learn more→
