theguardianuk--2019-04-02--School music report reveals cuts inequality and demoralised teachers

School music report reveals cuts, inequality and demoralised teachers

When the children at Barlby primary in west London got up to perform at the Royal Albert Hall last month it was, according to their headteacher, an overwhelming and aspirational event.  The school, which is part of the local community around Grenfell Tower, is among the most diverse and disadvantaged in the country, with more than 25 languages spoken and high levels of pupil premium entitlement.  Its pupils are still talking about the opportunity they had to perform a specially written composition commissioned by three London councils, the historic venue and the Royal College of Music.  Even though their school is in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea many of the children may not even have known the venue existed, says Anthony Mannix, their headteacher. “They all came back and asked if they could sing in school assembly. It was such a prestigious venue; a huge undertaking and they were in awe of the live instruments. They are still talking about it.”  But, according to research published today, the experience of Barlby’s pupils may be increasingly rare. Authors of The State of Play, a report by the Musicians’ Union and supported by UK Music and the Music Industries Association, describe music education as being in “a perilous state”.  Eight years after ministers published a national plan for music with the aim of ensuring every child had the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, and the establishment of government-funded music hubs – partnerships between schools and arts organisations in their areas – confidence in the government’s handling of music education appears to have collapsed in many places.  A poll of more than 1,000 heads, teachers, music service managers and instrumental teachers suggests that while music education has improved in some areas, there is patchy provision nationwide. Some 97% of classroom music teachers lacked confidence in the government’s handling of it.  The report paints a picture of creeping cuts to music education, a demoralised workforce with poor employment conditions and huge inequality in instrumental provision, with children from families earning under £28,000 a year half as likely to learn a musical instrument as those with a family income above £48,000. And 89% of parents are making a financial contribution towards instrumental lessons.  Curriculum changes and freedoms introduced through widespread academisation, aligned to new accountability measures such as the Ebacc suite of subjects (which do not include music) and an increase in GCSE courses starting in year 9, mean that music is being squeezed out of the curriculum, while the number of postgraduate students choosing to train as music teachers has shrunk by over two-thirds in the past decade.  Of those surveyed, 60% said the Ebacc introduction had directly affected music provision in their schools, which confirms recent findings from the Education Policy Institute that arts entries at GCSE were declining, with a marked north-south and gender divide.  Jonathan Savage, one of the report’s authors and a reader in education at Manchester Metropolitan University, acknowledges that many schools have fantastic music provision. “But for every one that is fantastic, you will find another school in which next to nothing is going on,” he says.  “One of the reasons is that autonomy has taken priority over so much else and headteacher decisions about a subject that is part of the national curriculum are not being challenged robustly enough by the government.”  The report includes examples from practitioners around the country about the pressure they are under from accountability measures, funding and school leaders’ commitment to music education.  One respondent quoted a letter written by a head to parents, which stated: “Music is a hobby, it is not a career. It will not be supported by the school. I will not allow children to leave school to take graded exams. We are only supporting children’s learning.”  Savage, who is also chair of a music hub in the north-west of England, says the hubs can do exceptional work – in some areas developing a local primary music curriculum, for example – but believes without a refocus on music as an entitlement for all children at school, they may only benefit a minority of children.  Stuart Whatmore helped to organise the Royal Albert Hall event and leads the Tri-Borough Music Hub comprised of the three London boroughs of Westminster, Hammersmith and Fulham and Kensington and Chelsea. He agrees that headteacher buy-in is critical.  “Each year we work with around 90% of our schools in some capacity. That work, advocating and demonstrating how we can support schools, heads and governors in the delivery of their own music curriculum, is at the heart of what we do,” he says. We also offer a wide range of musical learning opportunities that are open to all children who live or go to school in the boroughs, and we intend to continue to evolve to ensure that we are delivering inclusive, life-enhancing and progressive opportunities for all. But schools need to have the vision and understanding. If a school doesn’t want to be involved there is nothing we can do about it.”  Mannix admits that heads are under a lot of competing pressures. “I do have sympathy with heads in other areas. The national context is difficult. Schools have to resist temptations to narrow the curriculum because of the inevitable focus on data and Sats results, which don’t demonstrate the full breadth of what children have enjoyed. But we believe that music has an impact on other subjects, supports learning and builds confidence. We need to think about sending our pupils to secondary with broader knowledge and understanding behind them as well as high academic standards. And we are very well supported by the work of the local music hub in developing staff, sharing knowledge and expertise,” he adds.  The report argues that the government needs to provide an urgent and coherent response to rectify the impact of what it describes as chaotic education policies. It makes more than 30 recommendations, including strengthening music hubs, developing music in teacher training and professional development and, above all, holding schools to account more rigorously for the delivery of music as a universal entitlement during the school day as part of the national curriculum.  Savage says: “The idea of comprehensive music education being replaced by giving pupils the chance to play an instrument for a short time, maybe a term, is not the model of music education that many of us feel is right for a national curriculum subject in school.”  “It needs to be taken much more seriously, be properly resourced with investment in staff and supported by heads, otherwise the experience of each child will depend on where they are educated and the competence of staff. Our recommendations are built around music being a core subject and the best way to reach every child is through the provision of each school,” Savage adds.  The Department for Education is devising a model music curriculum. A spokesperson said: “We want all pupils to have the opportunity to study music – that’s why it is compulsory in the national curriculum from the age of 5 to 14. Analysis from last year shows that through our music hubs programme, more than 700,000 children learnt to play instruments in class together in 2016/17. We are putting more money into arts education programmes than any subject other than PE.”


theindependent--2019-09-10--UK teachers are younger and paid less than in any other developed country report finds

UK teachers are younger and paid less than in any other developed country, report finds

The UK has more than twice the proportion of teachers aged under 30 than other developed countries, and pay is below the international average at all comparable levels of education, according to a new study.  The average age of the teaching workforce in Britain has fallen since 2005 and nearly one in three primary school teachers (31 per cent) are aged 30 or under, the report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) finds.  This is compared with 13 per cent on average in other OECD countries and economies analysed.  The report also found that statutory salaries for teachers in England and Scotland – with 15 years of experience and the most common qualification – have not recovered to “pre-Great Recession highs”.  In 2018, salaries in England were 10 per cent lower than in 2005. In Scotland, the equivalent deficiency was 3 per cent.  It also found that the UK is one of the few countries that have seen class sizes rise since 2005.  Speaking at the launch of the report, Andreas Schleicher, director for education and skills at the OECD, said: “There have been clear cuts and when you make cuts you have to make choices. You cut your teacher salaries, you increase your class sizes.”  He added: “Teachers have moved backwards on pay and on class size so the UK is in the risk quadrant where class sizes have become bigger and teachers are paid less.”  On the UK having the youngest teaching force in primary schools, Mr Schleicher said: “You can look at that as a positive sign in the sense of lots of people who want to move, who are motivated and who are freshly educated with the latest technology.  “But it also signals that a lot of people leave the profession. That’s the downside of it. That actually there is a lot of churn and turnover in this which I think puts the population at risk.”  Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the average age of teachers is low because the nation is “losing far too many teachers from the profession”.  He said: “One of the reasons for this high rate of churn is because the real value of teachers’ pay has declined since 2011 as a result of government-imposed pay austerity.”  The report also revealed that England has the second highest university tuition fees in the developed world – and yet the OECD found the salary premium for UK graduates has declined.  The share of recent graduates who studied engineering, manufacturing and construction has also fallen compared to previous generations.  Speaking on Tuesday, Mr Schleicher said: “I rather think that the expansion of higher education has come at the expense of quality at the margins.  “There’s a lot of variability in the quality of degrees that employers pick up in the wage signals. That’s something to be careful about.”  He questioned whether universities in the UK are not being “incentivised to tell people the truth”.  “It’s much more convenient to provide a humanities or social sciences course. You make a lot of money with actually very little work [compared to] engineering and construction,” he added.  A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We want the brightest and the best young talent to be drawn to the teaching profession, and the quality of entrants remains at an all-time high, with 19 per cent of the 2018-19 cohort holding a first-class degree, the highest in any of the last five years.  “These young teachers bring vibrancy, new ideas and energy to the classroom, creating an inspiring learning environment for young people.”  They added that this school year, teachers and school leaders are due to get an above-inflation pay rise, with a 2.75 per cent increase to the top and bottom of all pay ranges.  The government has also announced plans to raise teacher starting salaries in England to £30,000 by 2022.


theirishtimes--2019-01-30--Stricter entry demands for primary teaching course delayed for a year

Stricter entry requirements for applicants to a postgraduate course in primary teaching have been delayed for a year.  Minister for Education Joe McHugh said higher requirements in relation to Leaving Certificate grades in Irish, English and Maths, which were due to apply for entry in 2019, would now be introduced in 2020 for the Professional Master of Education (PME) programme.  There are 200 places available on the primary PME across four primary teacher training colleges - Dublin City University, Maynooth University, Marino Institute of Education and Mary Immaculate College.  Mr McHugh said the the original timing of introduction of the requirements may have caused difficulties for some students planning for a PME as a way of entering the primary teaching profession.  The Master’s programme is designed for students who have already studied an undergraduate degree other than a Bachelor of Education (BEd) degree - the traditional route into the profession.  Mr McHugh said the higher entry requirements would apply from September 2019 for students entering the BEd programme.  “Having relatively high minimum entry requirements in core subject areas of Irish, English and Mathematics is key to ensuring quality teaching and learning in primary schools,”the Minister said.  “We are giving those students time and clarity on the new requirements. It is the right thing to do. The deferral means we are allowing students the opportunity to make arrangements to ensure they have the necessary entry requirements.” he said.


theirishtimes--2019-05-21--Funding awarded for online Irish adult teaching course

The Centre for Irish Language Research, Teaching and Testing (Lárionad na Gaeilge) at Maynooth University has been awarded funding to develop an online course which will qualify graduates to teach Irish to adults.  Minister of State for the Irish Language Seán Kyne announced a grant of €270,000 which will fund the delivery of the course during a visit to the campus on Tuesday afternoon.  The online course, which is an iteration of the existing level 7 Diploma in Teaching Irish to Adult Learners run by Lárionad na Gaeilge since 2012, is being funded until 2021 and it will provide students with a foundation in teaching Irish to adult learners.  The year-long, part-time course is structured across three academic semesters and it is expected to have its first intake of students in 2020.  The course, which is the first of its kind in Ireland, was developed with the intention of reaching students who could not travel to participate in the programme.  A number of workshops were held around the country to assess interest and it was determined that an online model should be developed.  The programme was inspired by a course offered at the University of Texas in Austin which features short videos focusing on grammar and other core skills related to foreign-language learning.  “The benefit of this is that those who are studying the teaching of Irish in America and elsewhere abroad can easily access the course material,” said Anna Ní Ghallachair, head of the school of Celtic studies at Maynooth University.  “It is similar to Tefl but there is nothing similar available for the Irish language,” she said.  Announcing the grant, Mr Kyne said the course would benefit the teachers of Irish and adult learners in Ireland. He said it will also provide support the Irish diaspora and those teaching Irish abroad.  “This will provide more flexibility to those who do not have the opportunity to attend courses on a regular basis and it will also provide training and qualification online in the teaching of Irish to people worldwide who are teaching Irish to adult learners,” Mr Kyne said.  “Here at home, increased access to broadband and the establishment of the Gteiceanna [digital hubs] in the Gaeltacht will mean that access to courses like this is no longer limited to towns and cities,” he added.  The teaching of Irish abroad has become increasingly popular in recent years.  “This year, we have 65 people learning Irish in the Irish College in Paris,” said Ní Ghallachair.  “More than half are not Irish. Some wish to learn Irish as a fourth or fifth language as they apply for roles with European institutions.”  Referring to Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge, a proficiency qualification for adult learners of Irish, Ms Ní Ghallachair said examinations will be held in Los Angeles this year for the first time.  “This is in addition to Paris, Prague, Ottawa, New York and Washington,” she added.


theirishtimes--2019-06-19--Parents settle action over lack of access to July teaching scheme

Separate legal actions over the Minister for Education’s refusal to allow two young children with complex educational needs attend school during the summer holidays have been settled.  The High Court actions were taken on behalf of two primary school children with various educational and social needs.  As a result of an agreement between the parties, the children will receive additional schooling under a special scheme operated by the Minister known as the July Provision Scheme (JPS).  The children have been attending mainstream schools and, to ensure they did not regress over the summer holidays, their families attempted to enrol them in the JPS.  The Minister provides funding for children accepted into the scheme for tuition during July, delivered either at their homes or at certain recognised schools.  The children’s applications were refused on grounds neither had a specific diagnosis of an Autism Spectrum Disorder or a severe or profound general learning disability. According to the scheme’s guidelines, only children with those diagnoses are eligible for inclusion in the scheme.  The families claimed the decisions not to include the children was irrational, unreasonable and breached the children’s rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. They also claimed the refusals, given the children’s needs, were contrary to the 1998 Education Act.  At the High Court on Wednesday, Nuala Butler SC, instructed by the Free Legal Advice Centres (FLAC), for the parents, said both cases had been settled with an agreed order for costs.  Counsel said the department had agreed to make payment equivalent to the sum paid to families who qualify for home-based July Provision under the current scheme.  Funds could be used for home tuition or to access some other suitable scheme and the families would receive the payment before July of each year until the children reached the age of 18, she said.  Payment, she added, would continue as long as the JPS does. If that scheme was abolished, the families would have the right to apply under any new scheme.  Mr Justice Seamus Noonan, who previously granted permission to bring the challenges, said he was delighted there was a settlement as it would have been difficult for the case to have been dealt with before July. He told the parents involved it would have been a shame if the children had lost out on another year of the course.  Their lawyers had done a very good job for them and the Minister had also, in fairness, met the case very well in terms of the settlement, the judge added.


theirishtimes--2019-09-16--Im drawn to teaching but some say its not lucrative Can you offer any advice

I’m drawn to teaching, but some say it’s not lucrative. Can you offer any advice?

I’m a sixth-year student and thinking of becoming a second-level teacher. Some of my friends and family believe other career options are more financially lucrative, but I still feel drawn to teaching. Can you offer any advice?  In my final weeks of a 43-year teaching career, I can state categorically that this profession has deeply enriched my life. It has challenged me and, hopefully, brought out the best in me. If the idea of making a difference in the lives of others and help them become the best they can be appeals to you, then a career in teaching may well be for you.  Think of the times when you really enjoyed a class in school: how did that feel? Imagine being the teacher that creates that experience throughout your working life.  If you are one of the thousands of students who will be attending Higher Options in the RDS later this week, be sure to go to the ‘Pathways to Teaching’ stand.  Love of learning and of sharing learning are essential elements to a healthy and sustainable career in teaching.  At post-primary level, where Ireland will have the greatest demand for teachers over the next few years, this includes a love of specific subjects taught in our schools.  Choosing a CAO course in specific subjects for post-primary teaching is a delicate balancing act.  On the one hand, you should familiarise yourself with the subjects most in demand as identified by the Department of Education in its Teacher Supply Action Plan. These include home economics, Irish, Stem subjects and European languages.  On the other hand, as with all course choices at third-level, you must be interested in what you choose to study.  And in teaching, you must love what you study – because you will be teaching it and learning about it for the rest of your teaching life.  There is little point in choosing a subject solely because it is in demand if you do not like it.  Try the advanced search facility on Qualifax (qualifax.ie) to identify all of the teaching-degree programmes on offer by third-level colleges. Select the ones which offer subjects you are interested in.  At Higher Options, seek out the colleges offering these programmes and ask any questions which you may have. Those courses which really interest you should be on your college “open day” list. The Teaching Council will also have a stand where any questions relating to the profession in general can be answered.  As for salaries in teaching, research by the Higher Education Authority indicates that education graduates are well-paid in the years following college, though graduates from many other sectors tend to do better in the long-run.  We have been fortunate in this country to have attracted some of the most creative and brightest minds into teaching for decades. We will always need good teachers to help us shape and create our best version of ourselves as a community and society.


thesun--2019-01-11--Young Brits say they feel pushed to go to university by parents and teachers

YOUNG Brits feel they are being pushed down the route of going to university, according to research.  A survey of 1,500 recent school leavers found two thirds were urged to go into higher education by teachers, while almost six out of ten said their parents wanted them to pick that option.  For the most part however, teens said their parents were supportive of whichever path they decided to follow.  But one in five did say their parents pushed 'too hard' to pick further education.  The study, carried out ahead of the deadline for UCAS applications on Tuesday 15 January, also found seven in 10 kids asked their parents for advice on what to do with their lives.  But only around one in eight followed the advice given to them by mum and dad when deciding on the next step.  Thirty per cent said they asked their friends for advice, 24 per cent asked their favourite teacher, and 22 per cent asked a careers advisor.  Rob Alder, head of business development for AAT, who commissioned the research, said: “For many school leavers university remains entirely the correct option.  “However, it’s not the only one available and many may not realise that there are alternatives available, including high-quality apprenticeships and trainee schemes which can unlock the door to a long and successful career.  “In the accounting industry, for example, we see thousands of people each year who left school at 18, got a job and qualified a year earlier without the student debt that graduates built up.  “In addition, it did not harm their long term career prospects.”  Of the school leavers who took part, 51 per cent went to university after finishing further education, and 11 per cent took part in an apprentice or trainee scheme.  Fifteen per cent went straight into the world of work without doing any further training.  When asked to consider what they thought was most important to them when deciding what to do after secondary school, 42 per cent said they wanted to pursue a route which they were passionate about.  One in four prioritised making money above all else, and 21 per cent wanted to do their best to follow a path which would provide them with a stable future.  One in five wished their parents had given them more in-depth advice and guidance about what to do after secondary school, but 10 per cent wish they had let them make up their own mind more.  The study also surveyed 500 parents of school leavers to uncover how they assessed their own involvement in their child’s decision.  Ryehan Amir left full time education in 2016, having completed his first year in sixth form college studying A-Levels. Instead, he took up an apprenticeship in the finance team at water treatment firm ESC Global Ltd, based in Doncaster, Yorkshire, studying AAT Accountancy Qualifications. He gets time off to study and his course fees are fully funded by his employer. “Taking the AAT route meant that I could gain valuable experience from professional people in accountancy,” said Ryehan, now 20. “The apprenticeship offered me a debt-free way to get qualified, as well as earning a salary whilst learning. “At the end of my studies I will have a highly respected qualification behind me, teaching me all the qualities needed to be a successful accountant.” While Ryehan, who lives in Scunthorpe, was at sixth form he was on the lookout for an apprenticeship position, but found that not everyone was so keen. “My college weren’t able to offer me much support when it came to me searching and applying for an apprenticeship. “I felt that, in some quarters, there was a belief that to succeed, you need to go to university.” Tyler Bowers, 22, travels into London each day from his Essex home to Moore Stephens’ office near Barbican (soon to merge with fellow accountancy firm BDO), where he works as a trainee accountant in their outsourcing department. “I always liked the idea of learning and earning,” says Tyler, who is studying AAT’s Advanced and Professional Diplomas in Accounting as part of his apprenticeship programme. “When I was 14 years old, I attended a careers fair, and an advisor there suggested accountancy. I knew I wanted to avoid the possibility of getting into debt by going into University, and realised I could instead train while being employed by a finance firm.” “I enjoy the studying and the accessibility of my tutors, who are available whenever I need them,” Tyler adds. “As an apprentice, I like the opportunity to work in different departments, and I feel like a valuable asset as I can apply my studies directly into my work.”  Sixty two per cent of parents said their kids had come to them for advice on what they should do when they leave school.  Fifty six per cent of parents recommended that their kids continue on to university, and one in seven thought they would benefit from taking part in an apprenticeship.  And one in eight parents thought their child would be served best by entering directly into the world of work.  Seven per cent of parents had a firm view on what they thought their child should do next after leaving school, while six per cent took a backseat and let their kids make up their own minds.  And 58 per cent thought university might cost more than it was worth to their child, and one in four didn’t think a university degree would ultimately help them to get into the career they wanted to.  Seventy two per cent of parents believe apprenticeship schemes and further training courses have become a more viable choice for school leavers in recent years, according to the survey conducted by OnePoll.  One in 10 parents wish they had given their child better guidance with regards to their future, though seven in 10 are happy with their level of involvement in the decision.  Forty per cent said their main priority when advising their child on their future was that they did something which made them happy, and 29 per cent said it was that their child followed their passion.  Rob Alder added: “Many young people are about to submit their UCAS forms to apply for university; and that route will get a lot of attention.  “Even with rising university fees adding a pressure on household finances, there is still only a minority of parents who are suggesting university alternatives to their children.  “It’s essential that each young person is given the right advice for their individual strengths, to give them the best chance of having a successful career, even if that means advising them that university might not be the best option for them.  “There are other options to explore, including apprenticeships and traineeships, advertised by sources such as the National Apprenticeship Service and Get My First Job.”  David Allison, CEO and Founder of GetMyFirstJob.co.uk said: “In recent years we’ve seen more and more young people and parents question the value they get from a traditional degree.  “The fees and associated debt quickly rack up with a full time degree, and owing £50,000 before you get your first job should really encourage all young people to look at the options open to them.  “The good news is that there are now more alternatives than ever before to the ‘traditional’ university route with Accountancy and Professional Services leading the way.  “We managed over 25,000 applications for accountancy and finance related apprenticeship roles last year, many of them with very attractive starting salaries. These young people will end up with a great qualification, no debt and relevant experience – the one thing that money really can’t buy.”  We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368. You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.


thesun--2019-02-02--School minister urges teachers to ban mobile phones in classrooms

KIDS should be banned from having mobile phones in school to help them concentrate on learning, the schools minister said last night.  Nick Gibb also warned that too many young students are wearing themselves out by using the gadgets late at night.  The Tory MP said the government will bring in lessons for children to learn how to limit their screen time.  Mr Gibb told The Times: “Schools obviously are free to set their own behaviour policies but my own view is that schools should ban mobile telephones and smartphones inside school, and particularly inside classrooms.”  He added: “Every hour spent online and on a smartphone is an hour less talking to family, and it’s an hour less exercise and it’s an hour less sleep.  “And of course it is a lack of sleep that research is showing can have a damaging effect on a child’s mental health.”  Lessons to curb mobile phone use will become compulsory from September 2020, though schools will be encouraged to adopt them from this autumn.  The classes will warn primary school kids that some people adopt false identities online.  Secondary school pupils will be told about the dangers of pornography and of sharing compromising photos or information.  Some schools already ban phones, while others restrict their use in lessons and during playtime. A recent London School of Economics study found that banning them resulted in exams scores rising by more than 6 per cent.


birminghammail--2019-02-09--Birmingham schools see teacher numbers drop as pupils class sizes skyrocket

A third of schools in Birmingham have seen teacher numbers drop as ratios of pupils to staff rise.  Analysis of the school workforce census since 2010 shows there are 130 schools in Birmingham where the number of teachers have dropped.  These schools - which make up 34% of the 379 schools in the area - are also seeing the ratio of pupils to teachers increase.  This suggests falling teacher headcounts are leading to bigger class sizes.  There are 49 schools in Birmingham where the teacher headcount is at its lowest levels since records began (for most schools in 2010), while the pupil/teacher ratio is at its highest.  Overall, three in 10 schools in Birmingham (31%) saw their highest or joint highest pupil/teacher ratio in 2017.  Prince Albert Junior and Infant School has seen the number of teachers, both classroom and leadership group, shrink from 50 in November 2010 to 30 in November 2017.  Over the same period, the pupil/teacher ratio has risen from 15.3 pupils per teacher to 25.7 per teacher.  King Edward VI Five Ways School has seen the teacher headcount drop from 77 in 2010 to 65 in 2017, while the pupil/teacher ratio has increased from 17.4 to 20.2, while Heartlands Academy has seen teacher numbers drop from 85 to 66, while pupil/teacher ratios rose from 8.9 to 13.6.  Schools across Birmingham have seen per pupil funding shrink in real terms in recent years.  The planned average spend per pupil for this school year is £5,017 in Birmingham, according to the latest Department for Education figures.  That’s already a smaller per-pupil spend than in 2011/12, when the average was £5,205 - and that’s not even adjusting for inflation.  In today’s money, the 2011/12 budget would be worth £5,910, meaning schools in the area are actually missing out on an average of £893 per pupil.  The figures come after governors at a Derbyshire secondary school wrote to parents to warn that falling funding and rising costs had led to fewer teachers and larger classes.  Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary, National Education Union, said: “It is shocking that in one of the richest countries in the world we have many headteachers who cannot afford to recruit the teachers and support staff needed for their school.  “ A chronic shortage of funding is also leading to bigger class sizes, parents regularly being asked for money, subjects being dropped from the curriculum, books and resources not being replaced and school trips cancelled.  “This unacceptable running down of our education system has to stop. Government must ensure our school have the funding and resources to ensure every child has the education they deserve.”  Across England, 24% of schools have seen the number of teachers fall, as pupil/teacher ratios rise - a total of 4,891 schools.  There were also 2,639 schools where teacher numbers are at their lowest on record, and pupil/teacher ratios are at their highest - the equivalent of one in eight schools (13% ).  Angela Rayner MP, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, said: “The Tories have slashed school budgets for the first time in a generation and their policies have seen teachers’ pay cut by thousands of pounds, and now a generation of children are paying the price for Tory failure in our schools.  “The fact that so many schools are seeing teacher numbers fall is a direct result of the failure of this government to give our schools and teachers the resources and support they need.  “Labour will end Tory cuts to schools, increase per pupil funding in real terms, and provide ring-fenced funding to give teachers the pay rise they deserve.”  The Department for Education was approached for a comment, but did not respond.


birminghammail--2019-08-03--The written off dyslexic pupil who went on to become inspirational teacher

The 'written off' dyslexic pupil who went on to become inspirational teacher

David C. Hall was diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of just three.  And throughout his time at primary and secondary school he was told by teachers that he would never amount to anything.  Yet determined David proved the doubters wrong by eventually thriving in the classroom - passing 11 GCSEs.  Incredibly, he went on to become a teacher himself before opening a private tutoring business in his home city of Birmingham - helping other struggling pupils, like his younger self.  Potential Unlocked Tuition Centre, based in Aberdeen Street, was launched in 2017 offering individual teaching, coaching and support to students aged up to 18.  It was the kind of specialised educational service that was sadly missing from David's own childhood.  He had attended Chandos Primary School in Highgate, where he initially struggled.  He said: “When I was three I was diagnosed with being dyslexic, I had a speech therapist and was statemented.  "My peers were a lot more advanced compared to how I was.  "I was spelling three letter words because I found literacy, reading, writing, and math really challenging.  "I did my SATS. I got a level 2B, which means that I was two years behind my peers.  "In secondary school they told my parents that I was hard working but I wouldn't amount to anything, because of my prior attainments.  His mum Vivienne Hall, 64, did not take too kindly to the teacher's remarks about her son.  “When we went to the parent’s evening and they told us that your son will not get very far I thought to myself, 'who are you to tell me that?"  "As we were coming out there was this picture of children doing well. I looked to David and told him one day you will be up there as well."  Recalling the incident David said: "The display board was full of over-achievers.  "My mom believed in me. I could do it."  And it was David's sheer self-determination and hard work that saw him turn his education and life around.  "I just thought if I put the work in now I can turn it around," he said.  "I had a very regimented routine. I would go to the library once a week. I would do my homework from 7pm to 10pm every day from Sunday to Thursday. Same routine.  "When I was preparing for my exams I would revise from 7am to midday. I was very motivated to succeed.  "My mom and dad taught me to believe in myself and the importance of education."  After years of pushing himself, David began seeing changes in his attainment in Years Eight and Year Nine.  At Year 11 he managed to achieve 11 GCSE’s.  He said: “From somebody who got a level 2B in their SATS I should [have] been getting around an F or E at GCSE. To get 11... that’s good progress.  “Looking back, I didn't know how to learn. I didn't know how to revise. Then I did my A-Levels."  David didn't get the grades that he had hoped for to become a phramacist.  Yet he was determined to eventually become a qualified teacher after taking an access course and then a chemistry degree.  He eventually became a qualified chemistry teacher at various schools in north Birmingham, teaching Chemistry at A-Level and science up to GCSE.  Yet he still felt he could give back more.  “I wanted to have more of a hands-on approach to maximise my potential," David said.  He progressed from teaching into tuition with the launch of Potential Unlocked. The centre offers individual private tuition - a service positively impacting the lives of many children across Birmingham.  One parent who has seen their child benefit is Sajad Hamin, whose daughter Jasmine has global developmental delay (GDD), dyslexia and epilepsy.  “She is two years behind her age, it's much harder for her to pick up things in education," said Sajad, 35.  "Since she has been at Potential Unlocked, she has really pushed along.  "When she first started she was really like fussy. She wasn’t sitting down in one place and didn't really want to be educated. Now that she’s been here [the first] thing she says is tuition, she looks forward to coming.”  “She’s enjoying her education, she's always got a pen in her hand. At home, she is always writing and drawing like a normal child would do.  "Hopefully, going forward, she will be more educated.”  Wesley Matmatma, 11, has being going to Potential Unlocked for seven years - often accompanying his older brother.  "He started coming here when he was little," says mother Furthermore Matmatma, 36.  "To be honest before coming here, he was not that good. Coming here it changes them. Even the way they think to the way they spell.  "Here you don't only get academics but behaviour. Changing who you are. They are taught how to behave, to be humble, to listen.  "They come here to be mentored as well. How to communicate with others [and] how to behave."  Bryanna Hesson, 15, is another schoolchild at the tuition centre.  “I was talking to a friend when I saw something on Facebook and inboxed David straight away," said her mum Faye.  “I don't think her school was catering for her needs. She is a child who likes to ask a lot of questions.  "I believe she needed an extra push. She comes here two days a week on a Tuesday and a Saturday.  "Her progression has been fantastic.  "She is getting higher marks. Teachers [are saying] all of a sudden she has improved."  "Since starting at Potential Unlocked [I am] doing better at school and getting on with work better at school and making some very positive decisions," says Bryanna.  And David's biggest fan is his wife Natalie Hall, who had also struggled academically as a child.  "I am very, very, proud," says Natalie, 39.  "I struggled at school but I thought this is why he was so determined.  "Out of the pain there was purpose.  "Now he is helping others. He is doing something about it instead of dwelling on the past."  "I know what it is like to under-achieve. I know how it feels to turn it around," David recalled.  "I have had a lot of setbacks in my life. But I have always understood about how to work to turn it around.  "I say to the children. 'if you dare to believe then you will achieve.'"


france24--2019-06-01--Ghanaian becomes social media star by teaching pupils through dance

Sackey Percy, a creative arts teacher in Ghana, has risen to social media fame after posting videos of himself dancing with his pupils -- a teaching method he says makes learning easier and helps tackle truancy.  He says that this is an innovative technique that makes learning easier and more fun for his pupils: “Dance builds up great companionship between the teachers and the kids, and helps to build up their self-confidence. It makes [school] attractive to the kids as well – so that they won’t miss school."  Sackey teaches in a farming community, and found that family members would often take children out of class to go and work in the fields. To encourage children to stay in school, he says that pupils must feel welcome and entertained.  Click on the video player above to watch FRANCE 24's report.


eveningstandard--2019-06-18--EdTechX The role of AI and deep learning in the classrooms of the future

EdTechX: The role of AI and deep learning in the classrooms of the future

Students in the future will be able to personalise their learning while teachers can monitor their engagement and behaviour, according to ed-tech experts.  Opening the EdTechX conference in London today, Benjamin Vedrenne-Cloquet said the future of education lies with artificial intelligence and deep learning, citing the movement towards data and "deep tech" in new ed-tech companies, away from the "lighter tech" of digitisation of content seen at the beginning of the decade.  He said this would be "significant in building smart learning plans" in schools.  In a panel discussion on AI's role in education, Conor O'Sullivan from Adaptemy, which uses technology to help educational publishers, pushed the case for more explainable AI in the classroom as he expressed concern that "AI now suggests something for your class and you don't know why," and added: "We are not going to risk the education of children on something untested."  It comes as the Department for International Development announced the creation of the EdTech Hub today, which will benefit from £20 million of UK aid.  Joining with universities and education experts from around the world, it aims to create the largest ever education and technology research and innovation project.  Richard Clark, Director General at DFID, made the announcement at EdTechX this morning, emphasising the role of ed-tech in "mitigating the global learning crisis,” through “evidence based, data driven policy making.”  Today, figures indicate that more than 380 million children worldwide will finish primary schools without being able to read or do basic maths. And whilst education technology in parts of Africa and Asia has previously focussed on hardware such as laptops and tablets, there are still not many opportunities for teachers to learn how to use the technology to support children’s learning, or ways of maintaining it.  By partnering with the World Bank, DFID will commission research that looks at how education technology is being used, and how it can be improved.


liberaldemocratvoice--2019-09-27--The speeches that got away Investing in further education and learning throughout life

The speeches that got away: Investing in further education and learning throughout life

The Education motion at conference stated  “The UK faces a serious skills deficit”.  That is an understatement. Take for example what happens when young people fail GCSE Maths and English and move on to sixth form or college.  When I taught at a general FE College, I remember a group of 17year old girls, who aspired to be nurses. I had to spend time, for example, teaching them quadratic equations when they really needed much more time improving their understanding and application of decimals, percentages, and ratio relevant to their career.  Force-feeding young people to resit GCSE Maths and English which they have just failed and hated is bad education. Statistically, results show it does not work. On average 25% pass; in Maths this year only 20% passed and can we claim that even these have sufficiently improved, with a pass mark around 20 out of 100, so was it relevant to their career?  This approach can even be dangerous; on more than one occasion in my lifetime a baby has died because the decimal point in a drug prescription was in the wrong place.  Our party motion makes clear that young people need to develop their Maths and English in a free course that is suited to their needs.  Functional skills qualifications have this year been improved, so there is no excuse. Colleges at the moment are constrained by strict funding rules. We will give colleges the freedom and resources to judge the best way to improve basic skills for everyone at age 16+.  In this country skills and ‘vocational’ learning have  not been given the attention they need for decades. Note these points.  First, the department for Education Skills Index, shows since 2012 the contribution of skills to the nation’s productivity declined by 27%. Second, we have now the lowest on record of adults pursuing any form of education. Third, the new T-level courses due to start in September 2020 look like being under-resourced.  Fourth, the new apprenticeships while welcome are failing at the lower levels; companies who pay the levy have reduced their other training provision.  So, with all these recent failures to deal with the skills deficit, what does Boris Johnson do ?  He removes the post of Skills Minister.  This follows a period when Michael Gove distorted the whole Education curriculum by his obsession with academic learning and theoretical testing. Under the veneer of improved exam results, many feel the harmful consequences of that and those at the lower end are not catching up.  So we have yet another reason for booting out Boris and Michael.  This government has little understanding of the FE and Skills sector and even when it tries (like Sajid Javid has done) to entice people with a temporary hand-out for 16-19 yr olds, it has given absolutely nothing for Adult Education and Life-Long Learning.  Our policy provides for each of these three.  The Personal Education and Skills Accounts (PESAs) not only provide financial help for people aged 25 to 55, but does it in the right way; it puts the person who needs the learning at the centre. That’s a typical Liberal Democrat approach.  * Nigel Jones is Chair of Newcastle-under-Lyme Lib Dems, Chair of Liberal Democrat Education Association, Boro' Councillor (2002 to '15) and Parliamentary Candidate (Newcastle under Lyme '10 & '17, Walsall North'15).


thedailyrecord--2019-05-21--The Scottish Learning Disability Awards 2019 - meet the talented winners who are inspiring others

It was a night to remember, filled with tears and laughter.  The audience rose to their feet to cheer the inspiring finalists and winners at this year’s Scottish Learning Disability Awards, with many moved to tears by their stories.  The awards shine a spotlight on the rarely celebrated achievements of people with learning disabilities and those who work with and for them.  Minister for Mental Health Clare Haughey attended the glittering ceremony, organised by the Scottish Commission for Learning Disability (SCLD) and held at the Sheraton Grand, Edinburgh, as part of Scotland’s Learning Disability Week.  She told the finalists: “You are role models and have the capacity to lead others to achieve, too.  “Your efforts inspire others to aspire, to dream and strive to reach their full potential.  “You make our communities better places in which to live. That’s a wonderful achievement.”  The awards were in eight categories: Sport Achievement, Creative Communities, Support in Work, Community Enterprise, Skills and Learning, Family Carer, Volunteering in your Community, and Community Champion.  SCLD chief executive Charlie McMillan said: “Our finalists highlight the contribution that people with learning disabilities can make to their community when they are given the right opportunities and support to realise their hopes and ambitions.”  We spoke to each of the winners, discovering how the Scottish Learning Disability Awards have helped to celebrate the talent and dedication of people with learning disabilities across the country.  Sport transformed Lewis McDermid’s life after he had been bullied at school when he was younger.  Through the encouragement of a teacher at primary school, he became involved in athletics and has gone on to great success, with 24 gold, 16 silver and 13 bronze medals in disciplines ranging from the Javelin to the 100 metres.  He is his school’s Ambassador for Additional Support Needs.  “Sport has really helped my confidence,” said Lewis, 17.  His mum, Tracey McDermid, said: “I’m so proud of him – he’s fantastic.  “He’s come on leaps and bounds. He used to never speak to anyone but last year he ran for head boy and spoke in front of the whole school.”  ShowDowns! Drama Group has 20 young people and adults with Down’s syndrome who work alongside volunteers to develop performances they share with audiences.  The group started in 2011 and their creative ambition has grown along with their confidence as they work together in a safe environment where everyone’s contribution is valued and appreciated.  They are currently working towards their most ambitious project, Shakespeare’s Macbeth.  Artistic Director Clare Hume said: “I’m so proud of them all.  “They’ve been absolutely amazing. They have their own interpretations of the plays and parts and I’m continually amazed and delighted with what they come up with.  “They are all friends and the drama group is very sociable. They are devoted to each other and so excited to have their achievements recognised this way.”  Leeann Jenkinson has hugely improved the lives and prospects of young people with learning disabilities, helping them into jobs in her role as adviser at West College Scotland.  She also makes a positive difference to their lives by helping them become more confident and outgoing.  Highly esteemed by the people she supports, Leeann is an exceptional job coach who is also appreciated by employers for the support and advice she provides.  She said: “I was overwhelmed to be nominated and shell-shocked to have won. I love my job.”  She accepted the award with one of the young people she has helped, Sean Devlin, 24, who is now a facilities management apprentice at Inverkip Community Hub, after being taken on as an intern.  “People with learning disabilities make wonderful employees as they have great commitment, time keeping and work ethics,” said Leeann.  The Sunshine Kitchen, based in Cupar, Fife, is a project for adults with additional support needs.  They make delicious food from locally sourced produce in a supportive work environment.  The Sunshine Kitchen sells food products at local farmers’ markets and also has a catering service.  Director Brenda Steffens said: “We are very excited and extremely pleased to have won this award, and I’m so proud of the team who have worked so hard.  “It’s lovely to see them get the chance to shine.”  Chloe Hutchison, 19, said: “I’m so happy, I'm crying with happiness.”  And Julia Stednit, 22, said: “I like getting together with my friends to cook.”  David Mitchell was recognised for the care he gives his son, also called David, who has complex needs.  He has cared for his son for all his 22 years, providing intense, round-the-clock care, while remaining a positive and enthusiastic person.  “My son has cerebral palsy, epilepsy and other conditions that mean he is in a wheelchair and can’t look after himself,” said David, 53, from Ladybank, Fife, who has been a single parent for the last five years and has another son, Scott, 17.  “I was gobsmacked to win the award and so pleased. I’m not doing anything that any other parent wouldn’t do – he’s my bairn and you just have to get on with it as there’s no option.  Dean Stewart, 31, is a volunteer making a huge difference to the lives of young people with special needs through his work at Special Needs Action Project (SNAP) in Inverness.  Jenni Campbell, of SNAP, said: “Dean overcame his own challenges to become a regular volunteer, making connections with young people and helping to create a fun and positive atmosphere.  “Dean is a mentor for new volunteers and a great role model for young people.  “I couldn’t be more proud of him. He lights up everyone’s day.”  Dean said: “I’m really pleased to have won the award.  “I enjoy working and I like to share my sense of humour.”  Greg Brands, 26, makes a difference to the lives of people with learning disabilities in Aberdeen through his support, enthusiasm, friendship and hard work.  He volunteers at Create Aberdeen, setting up rooms and equipment for arts and performance activities, and is a DJ.  Alex Constantinides, of Create Aberdeen, said: “Greg has repeatedly shown an instinct for when people need additional attention and support.”  His mum, Corinne Brands, 56, said: “I’m so proud of him – I couldn't ask for a better son.”  Greg said: “I’m pleased and excited to have won this award.  “I love volunteering and helping other people through my music.”  Kyle Garden, 32, has shown remarkable growth since he moved from his family home in the village of Buckie to his new home in the town of Elgin.  Kyle cycles to his day services and travels independently around his local area.  He does all his own washing and ironing, is learning to cook and takes on duties in his shared accommodation, such as making sure the house is secure.  Gemma Taylor, of Cornerstone, who support Kyle, said: “We are so proud of him – he’s so much more confident and independent now.  “He’s shown that having a learning disability doesn’t stop you doing what you want to do in life.”  Kyle said: “I’m pleased and proud to win this award.”  For more information on the Scottish Learning Disability Awards 2019, and the Scottish Commission for Learning Disability, visit scld.org.uk or follow @SCLDNews on Twitter.


thedenverpost--2019-07-30--A helicopter a Porsche and a cafe boost students real-world learning on the new Cherry Creek Innov

A helicopter, a Porsche and a cafe boost students’ real-world learning on the new Cherry Creek Innovation Campus

Most high schools don’t have an airplane hangar. But Cherry Creek Innovation Campus is anything but an ordinary school.  The helicopter and single-engine airplanes inside one of the campus’ large classrooms are part of the aircraft maintenance track, one of seven tracks that give students experience in different trades. Student orientation began Monday, and things will really get going when school starts on Aug. 12.  “It’s a dream to be able to offer this to our students,” Principal Mark Morgan said. “It is a good day to be in the Cherry Creek School District.”  The programs are grouped into seven “pathways,” and include hospitality and tourism, transportation, manufacturing, occupational therapy and health and wellness. Each program will provide students a taste of what a specific career field involves and allows them to work toward an industry certification.  Students will be enrolled in their previous high schools but will split time between campuses during the week. The pathways are designed so that students can enter an industry right after graduation or go on to college.  The innovation campus was designed in response to the rising costs of college and the student debt crisis, Morgan said. Students who repeatedly change majors or who start college and realize it isn’t for them rack up debt they don’t need. Morgan hopes the programs will help students figure out what they want to do after high school.  Originally, administrators were expecting 800 students for the first year, but the district accepted 1,100 students, who applied for the first year.  During Monday’s orientation, students congregated excitedly at their pathways.  At the automotive program, students ran an engine test on a Porsche, donated by an industry partner, and debated the merits of foreign versus domestic cars.  Jawad Ahmad, a junior at Grandview High School, has loved cars since he was a kid. He applied for the automotive program and wants to study engineering at the Colorado School of Mines after high school. He hopes the program will give him the skills to work on his car and while providing a leg up in the college admissions process.  Students in the hospitality and tourism pathway gathered around a table in white chef coats in the school kitchen. Victoria Lujan, 17, chose the pathway because she wants to go to culinary school and open a pastry shop.  The students will be in charge of cooking and creating a menu for the school’s cafe. They hope to eventually cater outside events. Money they earn will go back into programs for students.  Jocelyn Nguyen-Reed is the teacher for the school’s IT and STEAM pathway. A graduate of Overland High School in Aurora, Nguyen-Reed said that getting create a new school is an exciting experience.  “Not many teachers get an opportunity to help build a school from the ground up,” she said.  The idea for the innovation campus began in spring 2015, and the campus, which cost around $43 million, was built after voters approved a 2016 bond measure.  For a long time, high schools have been focused on getting students ready for a four-year degree, Morgan said. Schools need to expand so they are not just preparing students for a degree but for a career.  “The world is changing, and as a school district we need to change,” Morgan said.


theindependent--2019-05-14--Virtual Reality has the potential to transform teaching and improve learning

You’ve probably heard how Virtual Reality (VR) is going to change everything: the way we work, the way we live, the way we play. Still, for every truly transformative technology, there are landfills of hoverboards, 3D televisions, Segways, and MiniDiscs – the technological scrap it turns out we didn’t need.  It’s reasonable to approach VR with a degree of scepticism, but allow me to explain three ways in which VR can transform the way we learn, and why we, as psychologists, are so excited about it.  VR has great potential as a classroom aid. We know learning is more effective when learners are actively engaged. Practical lessons that encourage interaction are more successful than those where content is passively absorbed. However, certain topics are difficult to ground in meaningful tasks that learners relate to.  From the enormity of the universe to the cellular complexity of living organisms, our egocentric senses haven’t evolved to comprehend anything beyond the scale of ourselves. Through stereoscopic trickery and motion tracking, VR grounds counter-factual worlds in the plausible. For the first time, learners can step inside these environments and explore for themselves.  Researchers are currently developing Virtual Plant Cell, the first interactive VR experience that’s designed for use in the classroom. Learners explore the alien landscape of – well – a plant cell. Wading through swampy cytosol, ducking and weaving around cytoskeletal fibres, and uncovering the secrets of the plant’s subcellular treasures: emerald green chloroplasts, where photosynthesis takes place, curious blobs of mitochondria, or a glimpse of DNA through a psychedelic nuclear pore.  The inner workings of the cell are grounded, allowing students to actively engage with the lesson’s content through meaningful tasks. They may work in pairs to give each other tours, or create a photosynthetic production line. Using intuitive gestures, students grab carbon dioxide and water molecules from around the cell, feeding them to chloroplasts to produce glucose and oxygen. With all the ingredients for active learning, the Virtual Plant Cell should be a particularly effective teaching aid. Indeed, preliminary data suggests it may improve learning over traditional methods by 30%.  VR for everyone and everything  It’s not just the learning of “what” something is that VR can assist with, but also the learning of “how” to do something. In psychology, we make the distinction between declarative (what) and procedural (how) knowledge, precisely because the latter is formed by doing and can be applied directly to a given task. Put simply: the best way to learn a skill is by doing it.  Every learner’s goal is to cultivate a large enough range of experience that individual elements can be drawn upon to meet the demands of novel problems. To this end, a great deal has been invested into training simulators for high-risk skills such as flying and surgery. But there are many lower-risk skills which would benefit from simulation, there’s just been little reason to justify investment. That is, until now.  Advancements in mobile technology have led to high-definition VR sets for the price of a mid-range TV. Without the financial barrier, consumer-grade VR opens the door to improve skills training in settings where the real thing isn’t readily available.  One such example would be the Virtual Landscapes programme we’ve developed at the University of Leeds. A vital part of any geologist’s training is to learn how to conduct geological surveys. Armed with a compass, GPS and a map, geologists must navigate unfamiliar terrain to make observations, ensuring they make the most of their time. VR simulation can provide this in real time, with all the tools they’d expect to have out in the field.  The advantages are twofold. Student absences from field trips become less of a hindrance with access to an accurate simulation. The challenges of surveying a mountainous region differ from those in a tropical rainforest. It may be easier to see where you’re going, but your choice of path will be more constrained. VR can present these different biomes without students having to visit all corners of the Earth. The learner’s experience is expanded, and they’re better equipped to tackle novel problems in the field.  VR may also hold the key to driving positive behavioural changes. One way we know we can achieve this is by eliciting empathy. VR uniquely allows people to experience alternative perspectives, even being dubbed the ultimate “empathy machine”. It’s a lofty claim, but early applications have shown promise.  A recent Stanford study showed that participants who experienced becoming homeless in VR displayed more positive behaviour towards homeless people – in this case, through signing a petition demanding solutions to the housing crisis – than those who engaged with the same materials on a traditional desktop computer. This effect persisted long after the study ended. Perhaps by experiencing firsthand the challenges faced by vulnerable groups, we can share a common understanding.  The power of VR to elicit empathy might be used to tackle an even wider range of social issues. We’ve been running VR outreach projects in schools to improve awareness around climate change. Through VR, young people have witnessed the melting of the icecaps, swam in the Great Barrier Reef to see the effects of receding coral on the ecosystem and rubbed shoulders with great primates whose habitats are being cleared by deforestation. Using VR, we hope to cultivate environmentally responsible behaviour before attitudes and habits become more fixed.  So there you have it. By bringing previously inaccessible experiences into the classroom, VR may accelerate the learning of abstract concepts, augment the acquisition of skills, and perhaps even be a force for social change. For now, the technological scrap heap can wait.  John Pickavance is a PhD researcher in cognitive science at the University of Leeds


theirishtimes--2019-11-26--How simple classroom design changes can boost children’s learning

Parents and students alike are often very vocal about the impact of individual teachers on children’s learning – for better or for worse.  But do we ever consider the impact of classroom design and, more specifically, school chairs and desks have on our children’s ability to learn and participate in class?  “Well-designed classrooms can boost learning progress in reading, writing and maths by up to 16 per cent in a single year,” says Prof Peter Barrett, emeritus professor of management in property and construction at Salford University.  Prof Barrett spoke about his research into the aspects of the physical school environment that impact on the learning progress of primary school children at a conference in NUI Galway last month .  “We looked at the impact of school infrastructure on learning with the assumption that major issues such as water, heating, sanitation and things like damp have already been addressed,” he explains.  The subsequent study of more than 150 classrooms with over 3,750 students in primary schools across the United Kingdom found seven main factors in classrooms which impacted on student learning.  Light (such as glare from south-facing windows), temperature (18-21 degrees Celsius is the ideal), air quality (significantly poor after pupils are in the same classroom for 30 minutes) were found to contribute almost 50 per cent to the impact on learning.  But there were other less obvious influences on pupils’ learning.  Prof Barrett’s research found that if children felt ownership of the classroom (such as names on coat hooks/lockers, their work on the walls) and had a variety of clustered/rows of desks and break-out spaces (depending on the subject being taught), they learned better.  Even overly-strong colours on the walls and too many posters and project work displayed in the classroom had a negative impact on their learning.  “We didn’t find any overall effect of the school itself because the classroom is the children’s world, so our advice now is to start with good classrooms and then create a good school rather that the other way round,” says Prof Barrett.  He adds that he doesn’t believe in “open and flexible” as a design concept for classrooms.  “If a space is too flexible and open and everyone owns everywhere, then no one owns anywhere,” he says.  Michelle Bergin, occupational therapist with Community Healthcare West who organised the conference – entitled 21st Century Schools: Inclusive, Flexible & Dynamic Learning Environments – says it’s important to look at the whole school and classroom rather than just focus on the needs of individual children.  “The model at the moment is that I see a child with specific needs and recommend changes for that child in the classroom but if we put in universal design guidelines – and looked at things like movement breaks or exposure to fresh air and the natural environment throughout the day, all the students will benefit,” she says.  The negative impact of school chairs and desks – particularly if the chair is too big or too small for a particular student – is also a key issue.  Bergin says that children move dynamically when they are sitting down.  “We stop them doing that in class. And many children aren’t sitting in chairs that are the right height for them,” says Bergin.  Simon Dennehy, furniture designer and researcher into school furniture, says children as young as eight are experiencing pain in their backs and their legs from poor posture from sitting at ill-fitting desks and chairs.  “When children are working on a flat table, they pull their heads down towards the desk and their whole body slouches forwards,” says Dennehy.  “The biggest problem is the angle of interface on the table and the chair sloping backwards. School chairs are designed for lumber support but we think pelvis support is better.”  Observing primary school children in class, Dennehy says he felt “children were fighting with the furniture quite a lot of the time”.  He says that the vast majority of chairs in Irish schools follow a 1983 Department of Education design brief which no longer meets current EU standards.  The EU design standard specifically states that school furniture should be designed to encourage good posture.  Galway-based Alexander Technique teacher Richard Brenna says school chairs are doing much more damage to children than heavy school bags.  “The child bends his/her spine instead of the hip joint on a typical school chair and it’s the backward sloping chairs that are causing harm,” he says.  “Even adding a wedge-shaped cushion to the chair and a writing slope to the desk are effective measures to enhance breathing and avoid bending of the spine,” says Brennan.  A small study in which wedge-shaped cushions were introduced to 4th class students at Claddagh National School in Galway City found that the pupils improved their posture.  The class teacher also said that the students were more settled and able to focus. But what do pupils think?  Ailish O’Halloran, a pupil at Claddagh National School, says she loved the forward-slanted seat. “It was really comfortable and it stopped us leaning back on our chairs,” she said.  Brandon Brown, a pupil at the same school, says that he would like more movement breaks during the school day.  At Scoil Cholmáin Tuairíní, they have put hollowed-out tennis balls on the feet of school chairs to make their classroom quieter.  “We’d like rounded tables in our classrooms and carpet on the floor to make it quieter,” says pupil Stephanie Walsh.  “The chairs are really hard and when students swing on them and are fidgety, it makes it hard to concentrate,” adds Clodagh O’Donnell.  Gwen Cantwell, occupational therapist with West Galway Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, says studies have shown that mismatched chairs and desks are causing poor posture and even pain for some children.  “About 80 per cent of children are sitting at the wrong size of chair and table and they are spending 90 per cent of their time in school sitting.  “And 10-36 per cent of these children have pain from using a mismatched chair size,” says Cantwell.  “Schools are making decisions about classroom chairs on the basis of cost but we know flexible chairs and desks will improve posture and comfort and reduce pain. We tell children to sit straight, sit down, sit up and sit still but we have to ask is it time to change our instructions.”  See cleverclassroomsdesign.co.uk for the top 10 ways to improve the primary school classroom  1. Poor air quality: Studies have found that the indoor air is of a poor quality after pupils have been in a classroom for 30 minutes. Some classrooms have windows that can’t be opened when blinds are down which make it impossible to improve the air quality and reduce temperature.  2. Over-cluttered walls and windows: While it can be great for children to see their work displayed, research has found leaving 20-50 per cent of wall space clear works best.  3. Wrong school chairs and desks: Most children sit at tables and chairs which are mismatched to children’s size and height.Recent research points to how forward-slanting seats (even those with a wedge cushion) and a forward-slanting writing slope on desks improve children’s posture while working.  4. Overuse of primary colours: Their use on walls, floors and furniture can result in an over-stimulating learning environment, especially for younger children. Latest official universal design guidelines for early learning and care settings (aim.gov.ie) recommend neutral and calm colours for walls and floors with brighter colours confined to displays – and use of natural light as much as possible.


themanchestereveningnews--2019-10-01--The school learning sign language in every class to help a deaf pupil feel included

A primary school is hoping sign language will become 'second nature' to pupils after introducing it in every classroom.  Lyndhurst Primary School in Oldham celebrated International Deaf Week by signing songs in assembly last week.  But it's the steps they are taking every day - introducing British sign language (BSL) into general school life - that is making such a huge difference to the lives of deaf pupil Mohammed Daud and two other children with hearing impairments.  Five-year-old Daud has two cochlear implants and needs BSL and sign supported English (SSE) to access education.  Staff at the school, including educational communicator Amy Scoltock and deputy head Rob Hollingsworth, want him to have just as many opportunities as the other pupils.  "As a school we feel very strongly about equality," said Amy. "Our school has three hard of hearing children and we work very hard to make sure that all children are included.  "We are teaching the children in school about effective communication and how to overcome barriers and become more successful communicators to one another.  "Sign language is a tool that can be used for all children to support their education. As it's a visual aid it can work alongside speech as another resource."  The school is now be teaching BSL weekly and using its website to encourage 'parents to get involved with the growth of deaf awareness'.  Amy, who has signed for 10 years working with hearing impaired children, said it's already making a huge difference at the school.  "Since introducing sign to the whole school I have seen children involve and accept Daud more as they can now communicate with him," she said.  "I have seen children sign to each other 'good morning' and 'good afternoon'. We want to ensure that just like speech, in our school sign language is second nature to us all.  "My passion is to ensure all the hearing impaired children are involved and can access everything in a school environment. Rob is an amazing deputy head and allows us to explore our passion and pass our knowledge and experience on freely in the school."


thetelegraph--2019-11-06--Learning outside for just one lesson a week boosts learning and behaviour, say researchers

Learning outdoors for just one lesson a week boosts learning and behaviour in primary school children, researchers have said.  The study, commissioned by The Wildlife Trusts and carried out by the Institute of Education at UCL, is one of the largest into the effects of outdoor activities on children’s wellbeing and views about nature.  The research found that children’s wellbeing increased after they had spent time connecting with nature and that they gained educational benefits as well as wider personal and social benefits.  As a result, the Wildlife Trusts are calling on the Government to ensure that at least one hour per school day is spent outdoors learning and playing in wild places.  Researchers at UCL said children have "lost touch" with nature and that the benefits on the group of 450 primary school children from 12 areas in the UK were plain to see.  81 per cent of children reported having better relationships with their teachers after learning outside, 79 per cent said they had better relationships with their classmates and 79 per cent said the experience helped with their school work.  Additionally, teachers and Wildlife Trust educators were also observed by the UCL research team and interviewed about their experiences.  The outdoor activities involved children learning about nature, such as identifying plants and trees, reflecting on their important role in human lives and considering the needs of wildlife habitats.  Professor Michael Reiss, Institute of Education, UCL, said: “Each generation seems to have less contact with the outdoors than the preceding one. We owe it to all young people to reverse this trend – for their sakes, for our sakes and for nature’s sake.”  Nigel Doar, The Wildlife Trusts’ director of strategy added: “This research shows that children experience profound and diverse benefits through regular contact with nature. Contact with the wild improves children’s wellbeing, motivation and confidence. The data also highlights how children’s experiences in and around the natural world led to better relationships with their teachers and class-mates.  “The Wildlife Trusts believe everyone should have the opportunity to experience the joy of wildlife in daily life and we’re calling on government to recognise the multiple benefits of nature for children – and ensure that at least one hour per school day is spent outdoors learning and playing in wild places.”


thinkprogress--2019-01-24--Natural disasters impact childrens longterm learning abilities new study suggests

Natural disasters impact children’s longterm learning abilities, new study suggests

As climate change intensifies natural disasters, researchers want to understand how the tumult impacts children’s mental health and learning abilities. That’s the subject of a new study published in the journal Child Development on Thursday, which found that natural disasters may increase the chance that a child’s learning abilities will be reduced — even years after the event.  Researchers from the University of Melbourne reached that conclusion after examining the academic scores of more than 24,600 primary school children in Victoria, Australia two and four years after major bushfires fueled by a record-breaking heat wave in 2009.  That year, temperatures hit 117°F in rural Victoria on February 7. Temperature records had been breaking across southern Australia for the past month amid an ongoing heat wave, and that day, as winds gusted at over 60 miles per hour, multiple bush fires broke out — among the worst in the country’s history.  Over the next few weeks, 1.1 million acres burned, destroying two townships and killing 173 people, including 35 children and young people. Sixteen children were orphaned, and many others were left injured and traumatized. Three schools and at least three pre-schools were destroyed, leaving many staff and students living in temporary housing for up to two years.  The situation in Victoria is similar to what recently played out in Butte County, California last November. The Camp Fire killed 85 people and destroyed more than 13,000 homes, and the entire town of Paradise was wiped out — it was the worst fire in California’s history.  The Australian researchers found that reading and numeracy skills did not progress as they should have for the students attending school in areas highly affected by the 2009 fires. Test scores in these areas were lower than the scores for children in areas more highly impacted by the bush fires.  In other words, a reduction in learning levels corresponded with higher levels of bushfire impact.  According to Lisa Gibbs, one of the study’s authors from the University of Melbourne, a child’s learning abilities will typically progress each year. But that wasn’t the case for the children in the most affected areas of Victoria. “What we found was that actually, for these kids… they didn’t progress as you would’ve expected,” she told ThinkProgress.  Most studies examining the impact of natural disasters on children’s learning abilities look at a short-term window, up to three years after the event. Thursday’s study is one of the few to study a longer time period, explained Gibbs.  “I think it’s probably self-evident that people will experience distress and that will affect their ability to function — that’s just a normal response to a very abnormal experience,” she said. “What I was interested in was: How does that play out over time?”  Taking a longer-term look is important, the study notes, because some symptoms might not show up immediately. There’s also the potential for these early impacts on children to “affect perceptions of capability, aspirations, and long-term educational and employment pathways.”  According to the study’s researchers, one of the reasons why students’ numeracy and reading abilities were highly affected was likely because these skills require higher levels of concentration. Another reason could be that the underlying cognitive skills required for these subjects are known to be impacted by early trauma experiences.  But there are also outside factors that may attribute to reduced learning. It may be the result of reading at home decreasing due to parents also experiencing mental health impacts from the fires. Or it could be that a significant amount of the educational infrastructure in the area was damaged.  “I think all too often, historically people have had these thoughts that oh, kids are resilient and oh, we can bounce back… And while many kids are able to cope and adapt effectively following disasters, following trauma, a very sizable portion of youth exhibit a range of consequences, ones that affect their mental health, their social and emotional well-being,” said Ryan Kilmer, a professor of psychology at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Kilmer studied mental health in children after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in 2005.  This new study’s general findings, Kilmer told ThinkProgress, appear to be in line with other academic literature that has found disasters — and trauma more generally — impacts “scholastic functioning.”  Trauma can manifest in a variety of ways in children, whether that’s anxiety, sadness, acting out, headaches, stomach aches, or difficulty sleeping. “When we start looking at these different effects, particularly in combination,” said Kilmer, “[they] can contribute to attention and concentration and therefore learning.”  But, as the study’s researchers noted, there’s the chance that the negative impacts of trauma can be mitigated by schools taking a proactive approach to their post-disaster response. For instance, schools in Australia following the bushfires did initiate support programs, such as government-sponsored training programs for teachers, principals, and support staff to address mental health and learning abilities among students.  “What we’re trying to understand is: Can we make a difference here?” said Gibbs.  And as climate change continues to make storms and wildfires more intense, it raises questions about how these type of resilience-building efforts can help children better cope, Gibbs said.  Kilmer agreed. “People really see schools as such a source of continuity, of structure — a way we can reclaim normalcy in the context of what may be a new normal,” he said.  In the years since Hurricane Katrina hit, there have been more evidence-based post-disaster interventions that Kilmer believes can help address social, emotional, and mental health concerns in children. And, more broadly than responding to natural disasters, there’s been a growing acknowledgement of the need for “trauma-informed schools,” he said.  It’s not just about the children, but also about parents and teachers, he emphasized — both in helping them cope with their own trauma and helping them understand the best ways they can help children cope.  After this December’s winter break, more than 2,500 students in Paradise, California returned to school after the deadliest fire in the state’s history. To help, the Butte County Office of Education made addressing childhood trauma a top priority. It established a new position — coordinator of trauma response and recovery — and more than 200 volunteer mental health professionals came to the region to work with staff and students.  Longer-term plans, however, are still being developed. “We’ve pretty much been in crisis mode up until this point,” Scott Lindstrom, the trauma and response coordinator, told EdSource. “We’re just now starting to think about creating a larger vision.”  In post-disaster contexts, responses and decisions often happen quickly. But “we need to recognize when were are responding in the immediate aftermath that there are going to be these longer-term implications,” Kilmer said.  After Hurricane Katrina, for instance, families were still displaced two years later. And they were still struggling, he said, including needing academic support for their children.  These issues are “really salient” in the initial days and months after a disaster, Kilmer said. But the impacts last longer than that — which means, according to Kilmer, “we need to take the long view in our short-term responses.”


thedcclothesline--2019-03-11--The Strange Death of Europe Muslims Never Integrate Into a Host Country

The Strange Death of Europe: Muslims Never Integrate Into a Host Country

Part 7.  “Immigrants devoted to their own cultures and religions are not influenced by the secular politically correct façade that dominates academia, news-media, entertainment, education, religious and political thinking today,” said James Walsh, former Associate General Counsel of the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service. “They claim the right not to assimilate, and the day is coming when the question will be how can the United States regulate the defiantly unassimilated cultures, religions and mores of foreign lands?  Such immigrants say their traditions trump the U.S. legal system.  Balkanization of the United States has begun.”  In March 2019, the two new Muslim women in the U.S. House of Representatives, one from the stacked Muslim immigrant crowd from Detroit, and the other in “Somaliland” Minneapolis, Minnesota, move fast to enact five Muslim holidays into Federal Law.  Ihan Omar of Somalia, voted into the House, and her sidekick, Rashida Tlaib, who wrapped herself into a Palestinian flag when she won a House seat, have pressed for eradication of ICE and DHS.  Soon, they will submit bills to increase Muslim immigration and chain-migration numbers.  With their increased numbers, they will introduce bills to enact Sharia Laws in America.  Already in Great Britain, 150 Sharia Law courts operate along with 50 Sharia Law city councils.  We’re already seeing it in cities in Texas. Additionally, we see 30 Sharia Law cop cars now patrolling the streets of Muslim-dominated areas on New York City.  Former Muslim Amil Imani wrote, “In model, Islamic states such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, for instance, women do not dare complain about their Allah-decreed chattel status. If they protest in the least, they are beaten by their husbands.  And if they dare to demonstrate in public for equal family rights with men, they get severe beatings by the police and are hauled to jails for additional indignities and violence.”  Note that the United Nations reported a minimum of 20,000 ‘honor killings’ of women in Islamic-dominated countries, annually.  They can be killed for any reason, such as a husband wants a third wife, but cannot afford her, so, he kills one of his wives, to make space for another wife.  Muslims can kill their wives if they feel she has dishonored him.  Muslim women fear for their lives every day of their lives.  And talk about sexual mistreatment!  In his book, The Strange Death of Europe, Douglas Murray wrote, “Another story related events at an asylum center the day before. On the evening of September 27, 2017, a migrant called police from a Berlin center to say that he had seen another migrant abusing a child in the bushes.  Three policemen arrived to find a 27-year-old Pakistani still in the bushes raping a six-year-old Iraqi girl.”  Imani wrote, “In Islamic societies, freedom of expression, worship, and assembly are taken away.  Women are indeed treated as chattel.  Young girls are subjected to barbaric genital mutilation to make them sex slaves and birth channels.  Minors are executed, adulterers are stoned to death, thieves have their limbs amputated, and much, much more.  Isn’t that everyone’s idea of paradise?”  I can share with you this: reading this book gives you an uneasy understanding and foreboding reality check as to what’s coming into America.  Any fool can see that we commit our own suicide as a culture, language and way of life.  You’ve heard the saying, “The American People”, but today we fail to meet that statement because we are becoming every other country’s people.  Murray wrote, “In Holland, Denmark and other countries across Europe, politicians who oppose mass immigration, exist in a state of permanent police protection, change their sleeping arrangements most nights and sometimes live on army bases.  “The politicians that remain politically correct ensure that Europe is the only place in the world that belongs to the world, not to Europeans. By the middle of this century, China will still look like China and India will look like India as well as Russia like Russia, but not Europe ever again.”  The London think tank asked 10,000 people across ten European countries whether they agreed or disagreed with the statement, ‘All further Muslim immigration should be stopped.’  The vast majority agreed with that statement.  Unfortunately, it’s too late with 50 million plus Muslims already embedded in Europe.  Immigrants maintain that they own their new countries. One said, “We refugees do not want to live in the same country with you. You can, and I think you should, leave Germany. Germany does not fit you anymore. Why do you live here?  Look for a new home.”  As you read the quote at the beginning of this column, you must ask yourself what America will do with, how will we cope with, and what kind of a future will be in store for our kids with the projected 100 million legal immigrants added by 2050?  What do I see?  From my own international experiences in such overpopulated, over-multiculturalized, over-diversified and completely fragmented societies—two outcomes:  one would be a slow boil into becoming a third world country with illiteracy, entrenched poverty, racial strife, ethnic tribalism, enclaves of similar immigrants separating from American society, conflicting languages and tremendous confusion and loss of identity.  Example: India.  And, with more and more illiterate third world people, welfare rolls that break all our systems down.  Additionally, our standard of living and quality of life degrade into the sewer.  Second scenario:  I see tremendous racial and religious conflict. As we add another 100 million third world immigrants with ZERO compatibility with Americans, as well as NO cultural ability to function in a first world country, I see our Republic degrading into whites against Muslims, blacks against Hispanics. And all three ethnic groups against themselves.  I see horrific Sharia Law enclaves that degrade democracy into a standing joke.  Women’s rights?  Gone!  I see total breakdown of American identity. You already hear it: “I am a Muslim-American” or “Pakistani-American”, which is an oxymoron because Muslim cannot and do not possess any affinity to U.S. Constitutional Law.  Why? Because the Quran is a political-religious-economic system totally counter to U.S. capitalism, separation of church and state, and the rule of Constitutional law. In an Islamic country, Muslims can legally kill anyone who chooses another religion other than Islam.  I see our entire environment and quality of life degraded beyond recognition from what we enjoy today.  Our cities will be gridlocked and air-polluted beyond solving. Our water shortages will become acute, irreversible and unsolvable.   When oil exhausts itself, food shortages will drag us under.  We face horrific consequences as to energy and resource depletion.  Over 100 to 500 different languages from all these immigrants will create 100 to 500 different world views that cannot and will not EVER share the same page as to ethos of America.  In other words, we face an unmanageable future with unmanageable ethnic groups and languages bent on having their cultures mandated and ours dissolved.  At some point, we will face a Mt. Everest of problems that cannot be solved.  What can we do to stop this dismal future in America?  Solution: stop all immigration into America for the next 20 years.  Help them in their own countries.  Frosty Wooldridge, math-science teacher, Golden, Colorado, has bicycled across six continents in the past 40 years to see world conditions and countries up close and personal.  He speaks at civic groups, political clubs and colleges around the United States on immigration-population-quality of life issues facing America. He may be reached at www. HowToLiveALifeOfAdventure.com


thehill--2019-01-01--Conservative Supreme Court could reverse decades of First Amendment law

The American Legion and its supporters recently filed initial briefs in The American Legion v. American Humanist Association, a Supreme Court case to be argued in February concerning the constitutionality of a four-foot, 90-year-old memorial cross displayed and maintained by a state agency in Bladensburg, Maryland. Depending on how the court rules, however, much more is at stake.  Now that the court has turned decidedly to the right with the confirmation of President Trump Donald John TrumpWhite House: Pelosi's plan to reopen the government 'a non-starter' Warren pledges to donate salary during shutdown Trump campaign manager hits back at Romney over op-ed slamming president's character  MORE’s nominees, Justices Brett Kavanaugh Brett Michael KavanaughTweets, confirmations and rallies: Trump's year in numbers Conservative Supreme Court could reverse decades of First Amendment law The Top Ten Democrats for 2020 MORE and Neil Gorsuch, the American Legion’s lawyers and supporters are arguing that the court should upend numerous court decisions and rule that government can legally take action to promote or endorse a specific religion. This would effectively turn those who do not believe in that religion into second-class citizens.  Specifically, even though the formal questions presented in the case relate narrowly to whether the Bladensburg cross violates the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause, the first legal argument in the American Legion’s brief proclaims broadly that “coercion, not endorsement, is the proper standard” to judge Establishment Clause claims. Former Reagan Justice Department lawyer Michael Carvin and the conservative First Liberty Institute urge in the brief that the court should “clarify” that “coercive state activity” is required to violate the First Amendment.  This should be “compulsion by law” to “coerce belief in, observance of, or financial support for religion” by government, they claim. It is perfectly legal for government to promote or endorse a religion, they assert, regardless of whether it results in “feelings of offense and exclusion,” since government is free to promote other non-religious messages even if some disagree. Friend-of-the-court briefs by groups such as Liberty Counsel, the Becket Fund, and the American Association of Christian Schools make similar arguments.  The best answers to these claims were provided by Republican-appointed Supreme Court justices years ago in response to efforts by Justice Antonin Scalia and others to adopt the coercion standard. In Lee v. Weisman (1992), Justice David Souter carefully demonstrated that the First Amendment’s history shows the Founders “extended their prohibition” to include government action that endorsed or promoted religion, not just coercion.  Otherwise, he explained, the Establishment Clause would have been duplicative of the Free Exercise Clause, which clearly prohibits government action that coerces religious belief or practice. Government can promote other views in foreign or domestic policy, Souter explained, because there is no constitutional prohibition on such endorsement as the Establishment Clause, which makes religious beliefs “irrelevant to every citizen’s standing in the political community.”  Justice Sandra Day O’Connor explained further in her influential opinion in Lynch v. Donnelly (1984): the Establishment Clause prohibits government action that has “the effect of communicating a message of government endorsement or disparagement of religion,” since such action sends a clear “message to non-adherents that they are outsiders, not full members of the political community.”  In his opinion in Lee v. Weisman, Justice Harry Blackmun traced the court’s precedents against government endorsement back to the first case in which the court made clear that the Establishment Clause applies to the states, Everson v. Board of Education in 1947, and pointedly reminded us that government “cannot be premised on the belief that all persons are created equal when it asserts that God prefers some.”  In fact, precisely such consequences could flow if the court abandons precedent and adopts the coercion standard. Such a ruling would do far more than uphold historic memorial crosses as in Maryland. It would also sanction erection of new public crosses tomorrow on top of public schools, near state courthouses, and next to houses of Congress. Public school teacher-led Protestant prayer would be permitted, so long as students could stand out in the hall if they objected, directly contradicting 50-year-old court decisions.  In some communities, some might push for official Catholic, Islamic or Jewish prayer instead, leading to the “anguish, hardship and bitter strife” predicted by the court in Engel v. Vitale when religious groups struggle for the government’s “stamp of approval.” Official banners proclaiming that “America is a Christian nation” could be posted at the White House and some state capitols, while public government banners in other states could proclaim that “We Believe Americans Should be Secular, Not Religious.” Without the government as a truly neutral party, religious conflict in America can only grow worse.  Of course, none of this needs to, or should, happen as a result of this Bladensburg case. Even the American Legion’s brief acknowledges that the court can uphold the presence of the memorial cross without changing Establishment Clause jurisprudence, and hopefully at least one of the court’s five conservative members, such as Chief Justice Roberts, will see no need to go as far as far-right advocates are pushing.  But if the five Trump- and Bush-appointed justices adopt the coercion test being pushed by the American Legion and its allies, all Americans will suffer the consequences. Such a decision would be only among the first in which the current 5-4 majority overrules precedent and harms our rights and liberties.  Elliot Mincberg is a senior fellow at People For the American Way and a former chief oversight counsel for the House Judiciary Committee.