A feast of food for thought this summer

A round-up of Education Forum podcasts and articles from the past academic year.

Not long now! Nobody working in education needs reminding that there are scant few days left until the end of the academic year.

A sports day, a tidy up of the classroom and a few leaving speeches are almost all that stand between teachers and what is set to be a long, hot summer.

All of us at the Education Forum would like to wish you ‘happy holidays’ and thank you for the support you’ve shown through the year. This year’s debates have proved to be some of our most popular and lively ones, and that’s as much down to your thoughtful, challenging and insightful questions and comments as it is to the fascinating thinkers who have kindly given up their time to talk to us.

Of course, nobody in education ever really shuts off completely over the summer. It’s the traditional time to do the thinking stuff – mulling over new ideas, looking at old problems from a fresh perspective, and finally having some time to do some proper reading.

So with that in mind, we present below the Education Forum’s summer feast of food for thought. Here’s a smorgasbord of intellectual treats from our activities across the year to keep your brain refreshed on that sun lounger. Just click on the links to enjoy.

Have a great summer and keep a lookout for our next email at the end of the holidays, with news of our programme at this year’s Research Ed annual conference.

We look forward to seeing you again in the autumn!

Kevin Rooney
Convenor, Education Forum

Re-visit our debates with podcasts of each speaker’s address, plus blogs posted on Teachwire:

NOVEMBER
Podcast: No excuses discipline: does sparing the rod spoil the classroom?
Blog: Does ‘No Excuses’ Discipline Actually Work?

JANUARY
Podcast: Boy trouble: is gender important in education?
Blog: “Dads – Boys Won’t Read Dickens, So Can You Pretend You Liked It When You Had To Read It?”

MARCH
Podcast: Recruitment crisis: why do great teachers quit?

MAY
Podcast: Nothing to lose? Putting teacher judgement to the test

If you couldn’t make it to our special Study Day on the History and Meaning of Liberal Education in June, then you can watch Harley Richardson’s introduction and delve deeper with the specially prepared reading list here
 
Catch up with the Education Forum column in Teach Secondary magazine:

If You Want To Help Disadvantaged Young People Get Jobs, Fix The Economy
Kevin Rooney, Jan 2017

Yes, There’s A Retention Crisis, Says Gareth Sturdy, And It’s Up To Us To Do Something About It
Gareth Sturdy, Feb 2017

Endless Discussion About Education Theory Won’t Make Us Better Teachers
Dave Perks, Apr 2017

Not Everything We Teach Children Will Have An Obvious Application, But So What?
Harley Richardson, May 2017

Statutory RSE And PSHE Isn’t All Positive
Louise Burton, June/July 2017

 
Read other articles by Forum members:

Which Is Better – Textbooks or Technology?
Harley Richardson, October 2016
It’s Not Just Physics, Virtually All Subjects Owe A Huge Debt To Isaac Newton
Gareth Sturdy, Dec 2016
Why elite universities are so illiberal
Joanna Williams, March 2017
Why the term time holidays case shouldn’t have come to court
Gareth Sturdy, April 2017
Rigour In English GCSE Is Not A Question Of Pumping Up The Pass Level
Alka Sehgal Cuthbert, June 2017
The fees debate is degrading education
Joanna Williams, July 2017
 
Finally, the Academy of Ideas will be back with the Battle of Ideas, the annual festival of debate at the Barbican in London, in October. The Education Forum hosts a strand of discussions every year and while we are putting together the packed programme for this year’s festival, why not check out these films from the 2016 Battle:

Teaching to the text: textbooks or technology?

Are schools producing Generation Snowflake?