Why we should bulldoze the business school

April 26, 2018, 10:00 pm

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There are 13,000 business schools on Earth. That’s 13,000 too many. And I should know – I’ve taught in them for 20 years. By Martin Parker

Visit the average university campus and it is likely that the newest and most ostentatious building will be occupied by the business school. The business school has the best building because it makes the biggest profits (or, euphemistically, “contribution” or “surplus”) – as you might expect, from a form of knowledge that teaches people how to make profits.

Business schools have huge influence, yet they are also widely regarded to be intellectually fraudulent places, fostering a culture of short-termism and greed. (There is a whole genre of jokes about what MBA – Master of Business Administration – really stands for: “Mediocre But Arrogant”, “Management by Accident”, “More Bad Advice”, “Master Bullshit Artist” and so on.) Critics of business schools come in many shapes and sizes: employers complain that graduates lack practical skills, conservative voices scorn the arriviste MBA, Europeans moan about Americanisation, radicals wail about the concentration of power in the hands of the running dogs of capital. Since 2008, many commentators have also suggested that business schools were complicit in producing the crash.

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School may cut hours to stop teacher 'burnout'

April 26, 2018, 10:00 pm

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Scrapping of Friday afternoon lessons proposed by Daventry primary school to address teachers’ workload

A primary school is considering closing to pupils on Friday afternoons to help prevent teacher “burnout”.

Moving to a four-and-a-half day week would give staff more time to develop an “exciting curriculum” for pupils, according to Ashby Fields primary school in Daventry, Northamptonshire. It is running a consultation with parents on the timetable change, which would start in September if agreed.

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I thought US universities were marketised – till I came to the UK | Anonymous academic

April 26, 2018, 11:30 pm

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I expected a culture shock when I crossed the Atlantic, but I didn’t anticipate how corporatised British universities would be

Last July my family sold our home, loaded what remained into storage and moved to the UK. As an American academic, I was driven to take this step by a state that I felt was undermining humanities subjects, and which was repeatedly threatening to allow firearms on campus.

While I expected culture shock in my transition to a new country, I was not as aware of the trade-offs I would be making by crossing the Atlantic. Humanities departments in American universities have become precarious as the core liberal arts curriculum has been downgraded and enrolment numbers have plummeted. Yet the corporatisation of British academia is far more advanced than in the US.

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Catholic archbishop: grammars and free schools now on the hymn sheet

May 1, 2017, 11:15 pm

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Malcolm McMahon, archbishop of Liverpool, on segregation, sex education and why he has no problem with the taxpayer funding Catholic schools

I am talking to Malcolm McMahon, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Liverpool, in his grand house in Cressington Park, a private estate built for wealthy Liverpool merchants in the 19th century. The archbishop chairs the Catholic Education Service (CES), which oversees the church’s 2,230 schools in England and Wales, of which 2,101, educating 811,917 pupils, are financed by the taxpayer.

I want to discuss the schools’ admissions policies because the church insists, and Theresa May’s government has agreed, that its schools must be free to admit only children from Catholic families. Critics argue this increases the risks of both social and racial segregation.

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Students: 10 ways to beat stress

November 6, 2013, 8:20 am

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If you're feeling stressed you're not alone. Here a student blogger shares her tips for reducing stress

Read more: my child is unhappy at university, what should I do?

Young people should have everything to be happy about, but as the generation with the least responsibility we actually experience the most stress. A 2013 survey by the Nightline Association found that 65% of students feel stressed.

Students juggle part time jobs with university, worry about assignments and stress about the future and how to make the next step. Trying to manage all these things at once can leave you feeling overwhelmed.

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Advice to revise 7 hours a day for GCSEs over Easter 'unbelievable'

March 30, 2018, 2:50 am

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Ex-Harrow head Barnaby Lenon says 100 hours over fortnight ideal for GCSE and A-levels

An expert recommendation that GCSE and A-level students should study for seven hours a day throughout the Easter holidays has been greeted with a variety of scepticism, concern and mild horror by psychologists, teachers and pupils.

Barnaby Lenon, a former headteacher of Harrow, the prestigious independent boarding school that educated the likes of Winston Churchill, Benedict Cumberbatch, the singer James Blunt and the rugby player Billy Vunipola, suggests in a much discussed list of revision tips, a total of 100 hours study over the fortnight long holiday.

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Revealed: Secret rightwing strategy to discredit teacher strikes

April 12, 2018, 9:39 am

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Manual provides ‘dos and don’ts’ for how to smear the strikes
Top of the list: ‘teacher strikes hurt kids and low-income families’

A nationwide network of rightwing thinktanks is launching a PR counteroffensive against the teachers’ strikes that are sweeping the country, circulating a “messaging guide” for anti-union activists that portrays the walkouts as harmful to low-income parents and their children.

The new rightwing strategy to discredit the strikes that have erupted in protest against cuts in education funding and poor teacher pay is contained in a three-page document obtained by the Guardian. Titled “How to talk about teacher strikes”, it provides a “dos and don’ts” manual for how to smear the strikers.

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'Colourful socks or kinky boots': what not to wear to get ahead in law

April 27, 2018, 2:53 am

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The legal profession’s dress code is a minefield of dos and don’ts – but does clothing etiquette really matter for law students?

When Cambridge law graduate Keir Baker arrived for the first day of a vacation scheme in chinos and a shirt, he felt like he’d gone to a costume party in a chicken suit only to discover no one else had bothered to dress up. While all that was missing was a blazer, it turned out that the 22-year-old had made a fashion faux pas.

“I got told on the first day that what I was wearing was inappropriate,” he says. “I was told it was smart casual but I didn’t have a clue what that actually meant.”

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Why I’m joining the class-action lawsuit over our lecturers striking | Milan Vaskovic

April 27, 2018, 3:03 am

≫ Next: Make the royal baby a true people’s prince – send him to a comprehensive | Robert Verkaik

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I invested a small fortune to come to the University of Leicester from Canada, but cancelled classes left us students in limbo

• Students take court action over hours lost during strike

Not many people know that there is a sizeable Canadian student minority living in Leicester. Around a quarter of the University of Leicester’s student population is Canadian and that number has been steadily growing since 2007. The majority of us are here studying law in a two-year condensed LLB course. We have made a significant investment to come and study in the UK. My first year in Leicester left me with a profoundly good impression of the university, the city and the UK as a whole. I was impressed with the level of professionalism, organisation and quality of teaching that was provided. I felt like I had gotten my money’s worth by coming here. I went home to Canada in the summer of my first year, 2017, hoping that my second, and final, year would exceed my expectations.

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Make the royal baby a true people’s prince – send him to a comprehensive | Robert Verkaik

April 27, 2018, 4:44 am

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Instead of a Kensington nursery, prep school and Eton, William and Kate should give Prince Louis a state education – to show we are all in it together

What joy that Kate and William have their third child. Pictures of them waving and smiling at well-wishers outside St Mary’s hospital in Paddington, west London, remind us that they are the royal couple with the common touch. But how much more joyous it would be if Louis were to nail down his own commoner credentials by breaking with tradition to become the first member of the royal family to attend a comprehensive school.

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Secret Teacher: I fear for the wellbeing of students under pressure to perform

April 27, 2018, 11:30 pm

≫ Next: How anxiety scrambles your brain and makes it hard to learn

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My school is working young people into the ground, and failing to give them the support they need to deal with mental health issues

Read more from the Secret Teacher

As exam season looms into sight, the stress is ramping up. This is nothing new, of course, but the way students are being treated at my school is a cause for concern. We’re showing a complete disregard for their mental health and wellbeing.

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How anxiety scrambles your brain and makes it hard to learn

November 21, 2015, 1:00 am

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Levels of stress and anxiety are on the rise among students. Juliet Rix has tips to control the panic and thrive academically

Olivia admits she’s always been a worrier – but when she started university, her anxiety steadily began to build. One day she was simply too frightened to leave the house. For two weeks she was stuck indoors, before she was diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder and began to get the help she needed.

With support from her GP and university wellbeing service, and courses of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), she was able to stick with her university course and to start enjoying life again.

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Should mobile phones be banned in schools?

November 27, 2012, 12:00 pm

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A headteacher says pupil behaviour is better and bullying is down since he barred mobiles in his school. So should others follow suit? Teachers argue for and against

"You'll have someone's eye out with that" used to be the refrain of teachers in my day. In malevolent hands, a pencil, a rubber, even a piece of paper could become a lethal weapon in class, and that's before we got on to compasses and Bunsen burners.

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Does music really help you concentrate?

August 19, 2016, 11:30 pm

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‘I won’t be able to focus if you turn that off,’ a gazillion teenagers have whined at their parents. Is it possible that they’re right?

Many people listen to music while they’re carrying out a task, whether they’re studying for an exam, driving a vehicle or even reading a book. Many of these people argue that background music helps them focus.

Why, though? When you think about it, that doesn’t make much sense. Why would having two things to concentrate on make you more focused, not less? Some people even go so far as to say that not having music on is more distracting. So what’s going on there?

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Should you study something you love or a degree that will get you a job?

August 27, 2014, 2:40 am

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Two students debate whether you should follow your head or your heart when it comes to picking your degree

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Choosing what to study at university is one of the biggest decisions you'll make as a young person. So how do you decide what's right for you? Should you follow your heart and study something you're really passionate about, regardless of where it might lead you, or should you instead opt for a degree with a more secure career route? Here two students argue both sides of the debate.

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Is modafinil safe in the long term?

May 31, 2013, 12:51 am

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The media is full of stories about the amazing properties of smart drugs. But you could be putting your brain at risk, warns David Cox

• One in five students have taken the study drug modafinil
• Smart drugs: would you try them?

Modafinil has emerged as the crown prince of smart drugs, that seductive group of pharmaceutical friends that promise enhanced memory, motivation, and an unrelenting ability to focus, all for hours at a time.

In the absence of long-term data, the media, particularly the student media, has tended to be relaxed about potential side-effects. The Oxford Tab, for example, simply shrugs: Who cares?

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Why girls in India are still missing out on the education they need

March 11, 2013, 1:00 pm

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India is no longer considered a poor country and yet many children do not receive a good education. Rachel Williams reports
• In pictures: education in India

Meena (not her real name) didn't tell her parents when the older boys started harassing her on the hour-long walk to school from her home in Madanpur Khadar, south Delhi – grabbing her hand and shouting "kiss me" – because she knew she would get the blame, as if she had somehow encouraged them. She was right: when her family found out, they banned her from going back to school, worried about the effect on their "honour" if she was sexually assaulted. The plan now is to get her married. She is 16.

Gulafsha is luckier: her mother is determined she will become a doctor. But there are 70 pupils in a class at her school, and the teachers often simply don't turn up. The drinking water tanks are so filthy the pupils bring their own water. "I have never gone to a toilet at school in all these years, they are so bad," the 14-year-old says. She doesn't know how, but somehow her mother saves 900 rupees a month to pay for private tuition in three subjects.

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Graduation – a guide for parents

June 30, 2015, 1:49 am

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From sorting out practical arrangements to avoiding faux pas, follow our guide to graduation day

“At my first graduation I got my boyfriend and best friend to pretend to be my parents,” says doctorate student Lindsay Jordan. “My friend dressed up like Jackie Onassis. It was pretty funny, but I’d rather my real parents had been there.”

Jordan’s parents didn’t attend either her undergraduate or master’s graduation ceremonies, as “they hate travelling and formal occasions”. While they may not be for everyone, graduation ceremonies are a chance for parents to celebrate their child’s achievements – and mark the end of university life. But they can also be expensive, stressful and the cause of family arguments. Here’s how to make your student child’s graduation day a happy one.

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Focus: ecstasy after-effects that could last a lifetime

January 20, 2002, 2:54 am

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Britain's half-million pill-poppers could face after-effects that last a lifetime. Anthony Browne reports

Staring intently in the dim light, the music rocking his body, James snapped the little white tablet in two. Pressed against the wall, his back sheltering them from the dancing crowds, he took half for himself and gave half to his girlfriend. They swallowed, and the weekend's clubbing started.

'It makes you feel so positive about everyone and everything. You feel so open - you can talk to strangers like they are your closest friends. You feel so sensual, so tactile. I want to touch people's skin, stroke their clothes. And I want to dance, dance, dance,' gushed James. 'It's the best, the most positive experience in my life. It's life-enhancing.'

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S Chandrasekhar: the student who took on the world's top astrophysicist

October 19, 2017, 1:31 am

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Arthur I Miller on the young Indian who eventually proved that a star really could collapse and fall into a black hole

In the 1930s the rarefied world of science was ripped apart by a controversy that was to have devastating consequences for the development of astrophysics. It began when an Indian student called Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (Chandra) decided to work out what would happen if Einstein's special theory of relativity was applied to the processes that went on inside stars. This step was important because particles inside stars travel at speeds close to that of light, a situation where Einstein's theory must be used.

Pencil in hand, 19-year-old Chandra did some calculations. At the time, scientists assumed that when a star burned up the last of its fuel, it would turn into a ball of cinders and go cold - become a white dwarf star. Chandra's mathematics showed that a white dwarf much heavier than the sun could not exist, but would undergo an eternal collapse into a tiny point of infinite density, until it slipped though a crevice in space and time, from which nothing could escape, not even light. It was the first irrefutable mathematical proof that black holes - as they were later dubbed - had to exist.

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