Bernie Sanders introduces Senate bill protecting employees fired for union organizing

May 9, 2018, 8:41 am

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The Workplace Democracy Act would increase penalties for employers that fire workers illegally due to union organizing

Former presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders is hoping the recent wave of teacher strikes will help him pass a new law that will protect workers fired for union organizing.

Sanders introduced the Workplace Democracy Act in the Senate on Wednesday. The bill has already gained the support of potential 2020 presidential candidates such as Senators Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren and Kirsten Gillibrand.

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Postwar generations shut out of economic mobility, finds report

May 9, 2018, 12:00 pm

≫ Next: Does music really help you concentrate?

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US ranks poorly for providing opportunities to join top 25% of earners, says World Bank

Children around the world have failed to get a better education than their parents and improve their economic circumstances, so generations of poor people in developing countries are becoming “trapped in a cycle of poverty determined by their circumstance at birth”, says a World Bank report.

According to the report, Fair Progress? Economic Mobility across Generations Around the World , successive generations in the postwar era, far from enjoying a better life than their parents, have been “unable to ascend the economic ladder due to inequality of opportunity”, or they have seen their progress stall in recent years.

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Does music really help you concentrate?

August 19, 2016, 11:30 pm

≫ Next: Suicide is a sector-wide issue, says Bristol university vice-chancellor

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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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Suicide is a sector-wide issue, says Bristol university vice-chancellor

February 21, 2018, 11:50 am

≫ Next: The way you're revising may let you down in exams – and here's why

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Speaking for first time since seven student suicides in 18 months, Hugh Brady says social media is part of the problem

The vice-chancellor of Bristol University, where seven students have killed themselves in less than 18 months, has blamed social media and the cult of perfectionism for contributing to a global crisis in mental health among young people.

Speaking for the first time since the cluster of student suicides, Hugh Brady said Bristol was no different from any other institution in the higher education sector, which is grappling across the board with record referral rates to student counselling services.

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The way you're revising may let you down in exams – and here's why

May 7, 2016, 1:00 am

≫ Next: Seventh Bristol university student takes his own life

≪ Previous: Suicide is a sector-wide issue, says Bristol university vice-chancellor

Most people practise the wrong tasks, reveals a psychologist. Take your head out of those textbooks for a few minutes and read his advice

Even the most dedicated study plan can be undone by a failure to understand how human memory works. Only when you’re aware of the trap set for us by overconfidence, can you most effectively deploy the study skills you already know about.

As a psychologist who studies learning and memory, I know quite a few scientifically informed revision tips: space your practice out rather than cram it all together, practise retrieving information rather than recognising it, reorganise what you’re trying to learn. Probably you’ve heard these before, maybe even from me.

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Seventh Bristol university student takes his own life

January 22, 2018, 2:27 am

≫ Next: Course and curriculum design: award winner and runners up

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Death of Justin Cheng, third-year law student, adds to toll over past 18 months

A third-year student at Bristol university is believed to have killed himself – the seventh to have taken his own life in less than 18 months.

Justin Cheng, a law student from Canada, was found dead on the evening of 12 January, the university confirmed.

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Course and curriculum design: award winner and runners up

April 24, 2018, 1:30 pm

≫ Next: White working-class boys in England 'need more help' to go to university

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An intensive two-week programme helps new students settle in at the University of Huddersfield

Winner: University of Huddersfield
Project: The flying start initiative

Flying Start is an introduction to undergraduate study that helps raise aspirations and encourages new students to build connections with friends and tutors. The first programme ran in September 2017, when 900 students attended an intensive 9-5 fortnight-long timetable.

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White working-class boys in England 'need more help' to go to university

May 9, 2018, 4:01 pm

≫ Next: How are you finding the new GCSEs? Share your experiences

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Thinktank calls for changes to help widen participation of ‘most under-represented group in higher education’

Helping white, working-class boys in England to go on to higher education should be a top priority for policymakers, according to a manifesto to widen access to universities that identifies more than 30 gaps and weaknesses in policy.

The document, published by the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi), includes proposals to appoint a national commissioner for student mental health, to change the timing of university applications so they take place after A-level results have been published, and even to open new Oxbridge colleges to boost the numbers of students from under-represented groups.

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How are you finding the new GCSEs? Share your experiences

May 10, 2018, 1:01 am

≫ Next: The Ancient Brit with Bags of Grit? How anglicised Asterix came to UK

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After the introduction of new GCSEs in English and maths last year, we’d like to hear from teachers, parents and pupils

A new grading scale running from nine to one was introduced last August as part of reforms to GCSEs. With new syllabuses and all exams taking place at the end of the year parents, pupils and teachers have been concerned about the amount of pressure they are under. As more reforms are rolled out this summer, we’d like to hear how you’ve been affected by the changes.

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The Ancient Brit with Bags of Grit? How anglicised Asterix came to UK

May 10, 2018, 7:23 am

≫ Next: Brexit could cost UK research sector billions, says Oxford boss

≪ Previous: How are you finding the new GCSEs? Share your experiences

Exhibition reveals early translations of Asterix the Gaul and highlights Jewish heritage of writer René Goscinny

Before British readers could properly enjoy Asterix the Gaul and his sweet-natured friend Obelix they had to make do with Little Fred, the Ancient Brit with Bags of Grit, and his sidekick, Big Ed.

The crude and little-known anglicisation of a French national hero is shown in an exhibition opening in London on Thursday, exploring the life and work of the writer René Goscinny.

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Brexit could cost UK research sector billions, says Oxford boss

May 10, 2018, 9:18 am

≫ Next: University of Bristol confirms sudden death of first-year student Ben Murray

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Louise Richardson says proposals on post-Brexit research funding represent ‘enormous loss’

The vice-chancellor of Oxford University has said the UK stands to miss out on billions in EU research funding under current Brexit proposals.

Louise Richardson said the government’s “pay-as-you-go” proposals – under which the UK would receive grants only up to the value of what it pays in to EU funding programmes – represented an “enormous loss” and warned that the research sector was in trouble because of the severing of ties with the bloc.

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University of Bristol confirms sudden death of first-year student Ben Murray

May 10, 2018, 9:42 am

≫ Next: Top 10 podcasts to help you learn a language

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Ben Murray is third student to die at the university in three weeks and 10th since 2016

The University of Bristol has confirmed the “sudden and unexpected” death of a first-year English student – the third student to die at the prestigious Russell Group institution in three weeks.

A university spokesperson said the student, Ben Murray, died on Saturday. There were no suspicious circumstances and an inquest will be held by the coroner in due course.

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Top 10 podcasts to help you learn a language

February 9, 2015, 4:45 am

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

≪ Previous: University of Bristol confirms sudden death of first-year student Ben Murray

From videos in Japanese to news in German, language blogger Lindsay Dow recommends her favourite podcasts to keep you motivated and inspired while improving your skills

I became a language addict way back in the early noughties thanks to Shakira. Since then I’ve gone on to pursue a degree in French and Spanish with the Open University, and I’ve also studied Mandarin, Italian, German and various other languages along the way. With formal studying never quite being enough, I’m always looking for other methods to engage my language learning brain, podcasts being one of them. Here’s a few of my favourites:

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How anxiety scrambles your brain and makes it hard to learn

November 21, 2015, 1:00 am

≫ Next: You are not alone: student stories of mental health

≪ Previous: Top 10 podcasts to help you learn a language

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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You are not alone: student stories of mental health

April 4, 2014, 4:39 am

≫ Next: Dear Sir, I'm sorry: letters of apology to former teachers

≪ Previous: How anxiety scrambles your brain and makes it hard to learn

Students share their experiences of mental health issues and reveal a common and worrying problem

Read more: where to get help for your mental health

When I asked students to share their experiences of mental health at university, I had no idea of the reaction it would receive. Over five days we received over 200 stories. Many entries we weren't able to include, for legal reasons or because the experiences described were too harrowing to publish.

Originally planned to stay open for two weeks, we decided to close the project early because there wasn't the capacity to moderate the influx of entries. Each morning we were met with more stories – from students who opened up about their anxieties and struggles.

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Dear Sir, I'm sorry: letters of apology to former teachers

October 23, 2012, 12:00 pm

≫ Next: Do US laws that punish parents for truancy keep their kids in school?

≪ Previous: You are not alone: student stories of mental health

Education secretary Michael Gove has written a letter to an old teacher, expressing regret for his behaviour at school. We asked some writers who they would apologise to and why

Brien McMahon High School, Norwalk, Connecticut

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Do US laws that punish parents for truancy keep their kids in school?

June 23, 2014, 8:59 am

≫ Next: 10 things teachers want to say to parents, but can't

≪ Previous: Dear Sir, I'm sorry: letters of apology to former teachers

After a woman died serving time in jail for her children's truancy fines, the Guardian investigated US truancy data and how states try to enforce laws for keeping kids in class

Earlier this month, a Berks County, Pennsylvania, mother died in jail while serving a 48-hour sentence, handed down because she couldn’t pay her children’s truancy fines. She owed about $2,000 in fines and other court costs, which had piled up over more than a decade, according to the AP.

But while the woman’s story took a particularly tragic turn, many more parents across the US face fines or jail time over their children’s unexcused school absences. Just how many is hard to quantify nationally or even at state-levels, but the Berks County school district alone has imprisoned over 1,600 people – mostly women – for failing to pay truancy fines between 2000-2013, according to a local paper, The Reading Eagle.

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10 things teachers want to say to parents, but can't

June 9, 2014, 11:20 pm

≫ Next: What you already know is the key to learning new things

≪ Previous: Do US laws that punish parents for truancy keep their kids in school?

The long school year is coming to an end and one primary teacher has a few things to share

• 10 things parents want to say to teachers

1 Your kids are not your mates

Something I'm starting to hear with worrying frequency within the primary school setting is "my daughter's my best friend". Often, this rings alarm bells. Your kids aren't your mates. You're their parent, and your responsibility is to provide them with guidance and boundaries, not to drag them into your own disputes. Your nine-year-old doesn't need to know about your bitter feud with his friend's mother, or which dad you've got the hots for at the school gate. In the years to come he or she may realise that some of their own problems (social alienation, in its various forms, being a prime example) might have something to do with exposure to that sort of talk at an early age. Continue at your own risk.

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What you already know is the key to learning new things

January 9, 2016, 12:00 am

≫ Next: Ministers criticised by NAO over recruitment of student loan boss

≪ Previous: 10 things teachers want to say to parents, but can't

The facts piled up in your brain can turn into fertile soil. But you have to plough through them so the new ideas you’re planting have a chance to take root

Imagine how much you already know. Just contemplate everything you have learned and experienced during all the years that you have been alive. Everything. Seems pretty vast, doesn’t it?

Your brain is full of knowledge gathered throughout your lifetime. Storing all this knowledge is beneficial because it can be used to predict future occurrences. For example, you have seen so many chairs that you instantly recognise a new one for what it is, even when it has a slightly different appearance.

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Ministers criticised by NAO over recruitment of student loan boss

May 10, 2018, 4:01 pm

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Steve Lamey was appointed despite concerns raised by civil servants, watchdog says

Ministers appointed a head of the Student Loans Company, who was later sacked, despite concerns raised by civil servants during recruitment, Whitehall’s spending watchdog has disclosed.

Politicians, including Jo Johnson, the then universities minister, were advised that the contest for the post to lead the SLC should be re-run after examining Steve Lamey’s references, the National Audit Office said.

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