Schools have traditionally been responsible for imparting knowledge and skills necessary for a good education and a prosperous life to children and young people. Not long ago, schools were the primary places where youngsters acquired the knowledge required to succeed in the future. During that era, parents played a crucial role in their children's overall education, including instilling values, shaping behaviour, promoting health,…
read more"If we don't fix inequities in our schools soon, we'll pay a high price for that later." This is what I heard from a primary school principal during my recent visit to her regional school. "But schools alone can't do that. It takes the whole village," she said. She is right. Family background is far more important in explaining what students learn at school than people think. This has remained a solid empirical-research finding for…
read moreDear Minister, As a frequent visitor to your country and an admirer of its cultural richness, I was delighted to read of your recent appointment as minister of education. In your previous job, you often voiced your concerns about the state of education in your country. I have also read your writings where you call into question old ways of thinking about education and are highly critical of how education policy has been put into…
read moreA decade ago paediatricians noticed a worrying trend: children's mental health was beginning to decline. Anxiety disorders, depression and loneliness had suddenly become more common among teenagers around the world. Health experts and researchers didn't know exactly why that happened. Some said that these were simply statistical variations without any particular cause. Others believed there must be something new in children's…
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