Thesis 91 – Teachers, Professionals or Parrots?

“I had a teacher once… no oil painting he, with sagging stomach, Roman nose and Hapsburg chin.  He taught us both ‘A’ level history and English, but he was equally passionate about cricket, medieval art and music.  We never knew what would happen in each lesson, he simply fascinated us and sent us scampering away […]

Thesis 6 – Burning with Curiosity

[Please scroll down to listen to an audio version of this thesis] It is inquisitiveness that best defines what we humans are all about.  We ask endless questions, the answers to which often beg still further questions.  From the darting, curious, eyes of a baby only a few weeks old, to the growing child’s persistent […]

Get More, Want More or how to think our way out of a bad end.

A review of Spencer Wells, ‘Pandora’s Seed: The Unforeseen Cost of Civilisation’

It’s Really Very Simple … The Solution to England’s Education Problem

The solution to England’s education problem will be very simple once the country comes to appreciate the damage still being done by two Victorian myths that haunt everyday thinking.

Learning to Go with the Grain of the Brain

If young people are to be equipped effectively to meet the challenges of the 21st century it is surely prudent to seek out the very best understandings from current scientific research into the nature of how humans learn before considering further reform of the current system.

This article by John Abbott and Terence Ryan appeared in the Spring, 1999 issue of Education Canada.