On March 15 2019 thousands of students across Australia will skip school and join the global strike for climate action. This is the second time students have taken to the streets to demand more government action on climate change. Last time they did so, in November 2018, the federal resources minister, Matt Canavan, told them: The best thing you’ll […] … learn more→
Blog Archives
Students striking for climate action are showing the exact skills employers look for
Why learning another language is still a sign of privilege
There is a class divide in language education in England. Young people from working-class backgrounds in socially deprived areas are far less likely to choose, or have the opportunity, to study languages at secondary school, than their more affluent peers. Foreign language learning is at its lowest level in UK secondary schools since the turn […] … learn more→
Higher education: teachers reinvent themselves with digital
On the Internet forums, social networks or WIKI, the knowledge flows today with the speed V, without the intermediary of the teachers . But if they must admit to no longer being the sole depositories of knowledge, their role as smugglers is only transformed. In the wealth of information conveyed on the web, you have to know how to […] … learn more→
University of California’s break with the biggest academic publisher could shake up scholarly publishing for good
The University of California recently made international headlines when it canceled its subscription with scientific journal publisher Elsevier. The twittersphere lit up. And Elsevier’s parent company, RELX, saw its stock drop 7 percent in response to the announcement. A library canceling a subscription seems like a simple, everyday business decision, so what’s the big deal? It was not just the clash-of-the-titans […] … learn more→
Majority of university students report poor quality sleep, putting them at higher risk of mental health problems
If you went to university – or are still there – think about your sleep while there. Would you say you ticked all the boxes for healthy sleep – going to bed at a reasonable hour and waking up at the same time every day, sleeping for around eight hours, and avoiding sleeping in or […] … learn more→
Once captives of Boko Haram, these students are finding new meaning in their lives in Pennsylvania
Of all the challenges faced by people who’ve been displaced, perhaps none is more important than to find new meaning in their lives. And so it is with the four young women who are students in a college prep class that I teach at Dickinson College. All four students were among the more than 200 Chibok […] … learn more→
Debate: How to make good use of school assessments?
What can be done when evaluations do not stop falling, be they international ( Pisa , Pirls or Timss ), or national ( CP, CE1 ), and that they are not very good? Should we deplore, with Stanislas Dehaene, the absence of a reaction of the “Pisa shock” type ? The disappointing performances of French students in recent surveys have most often had the effect of indignant […] … learn more→
Teacher unions say they’re fighting for students and schools – what they really want is more members
When schoolteachers in Los Angeles went on a weeklong strike in January, the head of the local teachers union described it as a “battle for the soul of public education.” When Denver public school teachers went on a three-day strike in February, they did it in the name of “schools Denver students deserve.” When teachers began their […] … learn more→
Why Congress needs to make child care more affordable – 5 questions answered
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., recently reintroduced their Child Care for Working Families Act – a bill they say will “ensure affordable, high-quality child care for working middle class families and those living paycheck to paycheck.” Taryn Morrissey, author of “Cradle to Kindergarten: A New Plan to Combat Inequality,” and […] … learn more→
It’s time to rethink how foreign languages are taught at universities
Many people underestimate the difficulty involved in learning a language. This is because language acquisition goes beyond comprehension. It also involves socialisation and emotion. The high level of personal engagement this requires is even more challenging at South African universities, where students are struggling to meet the demands of academic life. This situation has compelled […] … learn more→
