You wrote to me once, listing the four chief virtues: Wisdom, justice, fortitude and temperance. As I read the list, I knew I had none of them. But I have other virtues, father. Ambition. That can be a virtue when…
Why every school needs both Holmes and Watson. By Mike Grenier.
“Really, Watson, you excel yourself,” said Holmes, pushing back his chair and lighting a cigarette. “I am bound to say that in all the accounts which you have been so good as to give of my own small achievements you…
Thoughts on Slow Education at St Silas Primary. By Amy Johnston.
Arriving at St. Silas Primary in Blackburn (for the Slow Education Network Event last week) feels more like approaching an art gallery than a school. Huge glass windows display a line of woollen and collaged habitats and an intriguing glimpse…
Holmes & Watson discuss current debates in education. By Mike Grenier.
The following extract comes from the opening pages of ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’. What in it is relevant to the current debates about education? Please give your answer in the Comments section below. And then I will post my…
Some thoughts on character education. By Mike Grenier.
Character education, like the Olympics, comes about every four years in debate either formally or by pundits in an attempt to deal with the latest crisis of morality that afflicts the UK. I remember watching the horrors of Heysel and…
Why I loved Greek but hated Latin. By St. Augustine (AD 397-8) (with thanks to Mike Grenier)
IN St Augustine’s Confessions, written in AD 397-8, the saint tries to understand why, as a boy, he loved Latin but hated Greek, and concludes that teaching through fear does not work. Instead, he writes, free curiosity should be encouraged.…
Why I’m happier searching than researching. By Mike Grenier.
When Marlow sits on the deck of the ‘Nellie’ at the start of ‘Heart of Darkness’ and begins his complex and convoluted tale, we can either side with the number crunchers and bean counters who have dressed up as sailors…