Alka Sehgal Cuthbert

Unlike the University of Bangor, @UniOfBuckingham welcomes Reform politicians to speak. (It also welcomes far leftists to speak like George Galloway and Ash Sarkar) Don’t miss my ‘in conversation’ with Danny Kruger, MP, on 4 March (link follows):

For every 25 court cases listed in the Government's official records, 24 are incomplete or wrong. Yet the Government wants to delete the country's biggest and most accurate court database. What are they scared of? What are they trying to hide?

A few minutes of joy, love and Bach. instagram.com/reel/DUggv3ECJ…

'The C of E is under a sort of Babylonian captivity by the lanyard class.' - spot on! I think we are a lucky exception, our local priest brings the words of Scripture to life, no platitudes for us thankfully. But this should be the norm: spectator.com/article/i-decl…

@WalkerMarcus @ArchbishopSarah Good to hear this, does that mean she'll end Project Spire?

It’s the first Presidential Address of @ArchbishopSarah and it’s really parochial in the absolute best sense of the word. She has pledged to lead “not by developing new programmes and initiatives but by being a shepherd”, she has promised to prioritise the local, she has - and this may sound small but it landed very well - said ‘thank you’ to those keeping our churches going.

Not suspicious at all.

And the Diversity embraced mainly, but not exclusively, by Labour MPs is just code for encroaching conformity which funnily enough, many find irritating to say the least!

@jan_murray 2/2 What I've read on w/c boys' reading tends to focus on things like toxic masculinity or cultural deprivation/maternal education. Not convincing imo. My guess is that they resist the preachiness that often accompanies Diversity schemes? Any reading suggestions on this welcome!

@jan_murray One problem with today's teacher training (as a former teacher) is a lack of scholarly knowledge about literature but too much weak sociological theory; or a pure just 'do what works' approach. 1/2

@jan_murray fyi re. Your post about the dreadful thinking behind Lit in Colour - a much better take imo! thecritic.co.uk/lets-diversify…

@dampierguy I don't think everything can be reduced to demographics. Those who find their raison d'être in delegitimising their country include those from the ethnic majority too.The answer is for better political & educational leadership that understands what education & literature are for.

The reporter doesn't say, but this is run by Penguin Books and the left-wing Runnymede Trust. It helps them to sell more books and politicise the curriculum. As their 2021 launch noted, English Lit set texts are already 25% BAME, in line with demographics. runnymedetrust.org/publications/l…

An alternative for teachers whose instinct tells them choosing books on the basis of skin colour of the authors or characters may not be the best criteria for selection: teachwire.net/news/english-l…

@jan_murray But don't you think practical teaching is underpinned by latent intellectual ideas & moral beliefs as well as experiential & tacit knowledge? As a former Eng. teacher, studying aesthetics for my PhD helped me enormously in my teaching, but not in a tick box, easy to measure way.

Thanks for sharing - although I don’t agree it’s a “better take”. It’s a different one - that it turns a practical, classroom-level issue into an abstract intellectual debate - which, ironically, is also what much of the push to “decolonise” the curriculum does. The crux of their argument, I think, is this: teach the current literary canon better. That’s a fair point - but what does that actually look like in practice?

Just a reminder from @thecriticmag that if you want to make the English curriculum more inclusive and representative, just have more of the traditional canon... thecritic.co.uk/lets-diversify…

Great points @jowilliams293! thetimes.com/comment/column…

'Kids do love reading, if you give them the right stuff': that would be good literature- not ‘diverse’ literature that encourages narcissism rather than imaginative freedom. news.sky.com/story/kids-do-…

Sky interviewed me for this, and l congratulated the assistant for seeking an opposing view to this anti-educational belief that children only learn if they ‘see themselves’ (not narcissistic in the slightest!)Looks like diversity of views was not what was wanted after all.

It was a delight to read and also to write thus review-thank you for the opportunity!

Marie Kawthar Daouda carefully counters the depredation of our moral and cultural traditions, writes @ASCphiled thecritic.co.uk/a-persuasive-c…

@DontDivideUsNow FYI @History_Reclaim

We think you may want to review and improve your offering to school history in Britain.

Dear @bbcbitesize, compare this part of your KS3 content on the abolition of the slave trade . . . #z4y2qfr" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">bbc.co.uk/bitesize/artic… W . .