Education
I think my amazing dad has found the secret of a happy life
This week I wanted to tell you about my amazing dad. He hasn’t died or anything. I just thought I’d…
Facts aren’t created equal
I first locked horns with Michael Rosen, the former children’s laureate, on Sky News about four years ago. We were…
Lab test
I believe in animal research. But is there really a justification for using animals in biology lessons?
Born to be famous
The old paths to the top for working-class children – sport, music, acting, writing – are now closed by nepotism
If the Tories win the election, the Gove gamble will have paid off
‘There’s no shame in a cabinet to win the next election,’ declared an exasperated senior No. 10 figure on Tuesday…
Cameron was right to move Gove
I tried to reach Michael Gove on Tuesday shortly after the news broke that he’d been moved to the Whips’…
The betrayal of Wales
Devolution has left my country with catastrophic misgovernment
Let’s face it – Ray Honeyford got it right on Islam and education
The Bradford head teacher was dismissed for emphasising nationality over religion. He should have been applauded
Barometer
The not-so-great charter David Cameron wants every child to be taught about Magna Carta. Some bits he might want to…
This ‘Islamist conspiracy’ is WMD all over again
I can remember where I was when Colin Powell presented to the United Nations his evidence for the existence of…
Tory wars, contd
Modern Conservatives seem to be allergic to success. Every time things are going right, the party spasms. Sir John Major’s…
Letters
We need religion Sir: Roger Scruton (‘Sacred hunger’, 31 May) describes a reason, dare I say a ‘purpose’, for religion in…
A lesson in humility
I went to a meeting at Penguin earlier this week to discuss ‘publicity opportunities’ for my forthcoming book. Chance would…
Letters
Why girls do better Sir: Isabel Hardman notes that girls now outperform boys at every level in education (‘The descent…
The wisdom of clouds
Children can teach each other, believes Sugata Mitra — if you give them the internet, a big screen and a helpful granny on Skype
How the Delingpoles triumphed over the Vikings
Have you managed to book tickets to the Viking exhibition at the British Museum yet? If you haven’t, my advice…
The need to know
It’s scarcely possible to open a newspaper or magazine these days without reading an article about how the latest technological…
A dying language
Why I won’t let my children be taught French
Good teachers
Last week in The Spectator, Daisy Christodoulou argued that, contrary to current educational theory, children learned best via direct instruction…
Gove’s friends are out to get him
From the moment he took his job, Michael Gove knew that he would make energetic and determined enemies. The teachers’…
Meeting the monster
Michael Gove inspires irrational hatred among my fellow children’s authors. After interviewing him, I can finally see why
Teaching’s war on science
There’s an increasing amount of evidence about how we learn. But you won’t hear about it at teacher training college
Lessons in freedom
How politicians wreck education
Diary
São Paolo It was back in 2001 that my good friend Jim O’Neill of Goldman Sachs coined the acronym ‘Bric’,…
How to deal with the Blob
Michael Gove has been under fire this week for ‘sacking’ Sally Morgan as chair of Ofsted. You’d think he’d be…
