Toby Young Toby Young

Why schools can’t teach character

What isn't genetic you pick up from your peers. Teachers – and parents – have irritatingly little to do with it

issue 08 November 2014

I participated in a lively discussion about character education at Policy Exchange earlier this week. For those of you who don’t follow every twist of the education debate, the idea that ‘character’ should be taught in schools has gained a lot of traction in recent years. And support for it doesn’t divide along party lines: both Tristram Hunt and Nicky Morgan are advocates of character education.

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