Reading for Battle
Battle Readings is a regularly updated compilation of articles, essays, and opinion pieces relevant to the themes of the Battle of Ideas.
Choose a theme from the listing on the left to narrow your search, or view all readings.
Education
The Wal-Mart ethos attracts few buyers among US lecturers
Staff chafe but administrators press on with efforts to instil consumer focus.
Jon Marcus, Times Higher Education, 27 January 2011
Staff chafe but administrators press on with efforts to instil consumer focus.
Jon Marcus, Times Higher Education, 27 January 2011
Aristotle on modern ethical dilemmas
Getting on in the world is a priority for many. But is social mobility good? As the BBC researches the class system, philosopher Mark Vernon says thinkers like Kant have mulled over such questions for centuries.
Mark Vernon, BBC News, 26 January 2011
Getting on in the world is a priority for many. But is social mobility good? As the BBC researches the class system, philosopher Mark Vernon says thinkers like Kant have mulled over such questions for centuries.
Mark Vernon, BBC News, 26 January 2011
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother
A lot of people wonder how Chinese parents raise such stereotypically successful kids. They wonder what Chinese parents do to produce so many math whizzes and music prodigies, what it's like inside the family, and whether they could do it too. Well, I can tell them, because I've done it...
Amy Chua, Bloomsbury, 11 January 2011
In China, Not All Practice Tough Love
The current best-selling parenting book, "A Good Mom Is Better Than a Good Teacher," by former Beijing public school teacher Yin Jianli, has sold more than two million copies since it was published in January 2009. Ms. Yin advocates listening to kids and developing their potential without forcing them to obey authority
Victoria Ruan, Wall Street Journal, 8 January 2011
The current best-selling parenting book, "A Good Mom Is Better Than a Good Teacher," by former Beijing public school teacher Yin Jianli, has sold more than two million copies since it was published in January 2009. Ms. Yin advocates listening to kids and developing their potential without forcing them to obey authority
Victoria Ruan, Wall Street Journal, 8 January 2011
Thousands of boys start secondary school 'barely able to read'
Nearly one in 10 boys reading well below expected standard, although data show overall improvement
Jessica Shepherd, Guardian, 17 December 2010
Nearly one in 10 boys reading well below expected standard, although data show overall improvement
Jessica Shepherd, Guardian, 17 December 2010
The Simpsons or Shakespeare?
Earlier in the year Joseph Reynolds, the father of a pupil at Kingsmead Community School in Somerset, suffered the wrath of the educational establishment, the media and much of the blogging public when he petitioned the school to move on from teaching his daughter The Simpsons to something like Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Ciaran Guilfoyle, Freedom in a Puritan Age, 9 December 2010
Earlier in the year Joseph Reynolds, the father of a pupil at Kingsmead Community School in Somerset, suffered the wrath of the educational establishment, the media and much of the blogging public when he petitioned the school to move on from teaching his daughter The Simpsons to something like Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Ciaran Guilfoyle, Freedom in a Puritan Age, 9 December 2010
Napoleon Gove can dictate its terms but the school curriculum is bogus
Like his predecessors, the education secretary must fiddle. Yet his list will mean just as little for life beyond the school gate
Simon Jenkins, Guardian, 25 November 2010
Like his predecessors, the education secretary must fiddle. Yet his list will mean just as little for life beyond the school gate
Simon Jenkins, Guardian, 25 November 2010
My vision for history in schools
In these economically and politically tricky times we need history's long look more than ever, says historian and government adviser Simon Schama, as he sets out six of the key events no child should miss out on
Simon Schama, Guardian, 9 November 2010
In these economically and politically tricky times we need history's long look more than ever, says historian and government adviser Simon Schama, as he sets out six of the key events no child should miss out on
Simon Schama, Guardian, 9 November 2010
The student-customer is not always right
Lord Browne’s idea that student feedback surveys should shape education is a bigger shock than the proposed hike in fees.
Joanna Williams, spiked, 3 November 2010
Lord Browne’s idea that student feedback surveys should shape education is a bigger shock than the proposed hike in fees.
Joanna Williams, spiked, 3 November 2010
Our screwed up relationship with genius
Genius is not about being very, very good at something but about changing things fundamentally.
Shirley Dent, Prospect, 15 October 2010
Genius is not about being very, very good at something but about changing things fundamentally.
Shirley Dent, Prospect, 15 October 2010
Remaking citizens for the ‘Big Society’
"A truly original battle with a great deal at stake as opposed to a reassuring renactment of old arguments. I felt refreshed rather than entrenched afterwards."
Damian Barr, columnist, writer, playwright, salonierre
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