Anthony Seldon

Liberal arts education has been under attack – we need to rediscover its profound wisdom

England did so deplorably in the Ashes in part because of an obsession with data, including minutely detailed plans on diet and exercise. Excessive bureaucracy can squeeze the lifeblood out of sport, the arts, and indeed education. Bureaucracy gone mad. Michael Gove, aided by Michael Wilshaw, has massively improved the standards of schooling in Britain. Their insistence on top quality teaching for all, and a will to smash the mediocre, lies at the heart of all they have achieved. They will go down in history as great education secretaries and chief inspectors respectively. But for all that, they do not sit comfortably in the same railway carriage as the principle of a liberal education. They are on a crusade, relentlessly driving our schools forward.

Sixth-formers are now questioning whether university is right for them

The traditional edifice of sixth form, university in Britain, and a job for life is still the norm for many, but major cracks are beginning to appear in the infrastructure. As the father of three children, two of whom have been through university and one who is still there, as well as headmaster of a school which sends more than 200 young -people to university each year, I have to say that I am neither surprised, nor indeed sorry, that the traditional model is beginning to implode. Increasing numbers are beginning to question whether higher education is right for them at all. Too few ask themselves the question, ‘Why am I going to university?’ Too many sleepwalk their way through the experience, without making the most of it as a result.

Anthony Seldon

Those who can, teach

This book shouldn’t work. A memoir written by a 40-year-old, who has never written a book before, hardly sounds promising. The topic, education, moreover is death to good literature: barely has a book been written about the subject that is not dull beyond belief. Yet, against all the odds, this book turns out to be an enthralling read. Teach First is one of the most inspiring ideas around in 21st-century Britain. The book tells the story of its first decade, from 2002-12. Rising from nowhere, it has become one of the top graduate employers in Britain and is slowly achieving its mission of transforming opportunities for socially disadvantaged young people. The idea is simple: inspire top graduates with the challenge of spending a minimum of two years teaching in Britain’s most socially disadvantaged schools, motivating their students to transform their lives through educational achievement.

Training does not make the best teachers

None of us would accept being treated by a doctor or by a nurse who hadn’t had extensive training, nor would we want legal advice from someone who hadn’t been through law school. Nor would we be comfortable with our company accounts being managed or audited by anyone not trained to a high level in accountancy. So why should we accept teachers coming into our schools who haven’t been properly professionally taught how to teach in a college or university? Schooling is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and poor teachers, as research shows, destroy life chances. How can we play dice with our children’s lives? Well, as someone who has been head of a school for over 15 years, I can comfortably say I am not remotely troubled by employing someone who doesn’t have a teaching qualification.

More exams, less education

At this time of year, like every head in the country, I watch over my school with a mixture of pride and concern: pride that so many of our pupils have obviously prepared well for their exams (and have turned up!), and anxiety for those who are finding the ordeal difficult or who will be failing to do themselves justice. But I have a wider concern, too. I have been progressively losing faith in the examination system to inspire stimulating and exciting lessons, and to assess pupils in ways that challenge and that properly differentiate between them. The cry every August, when the exam results come out, is that they are becoming easier, that standards are being ‘dumbed down’, and that there is ‘grade inflation’.

Thursday

Liberal arts education has been under attack – we need to rediscover its profound wisdom

Liberal arts education has been under attack – we need to rediscover its profound wisdom

Thursday

Sixth-formers are now questioning whether university is right for them

Sixth-formers are now questioning whether university is right for them

Wednesday

Those who can, teach

Those who can, teach

Thursday

Training does not make the best teachers

Training does not make the best teachers

Saturday

More exams, less education

More exams, less education