The Great Gatsby's world is every bit as unequal as Britain under the coalition | Aditya Chakrabortty

The wealthy in America and Britain no longer resemble the prewar elite, but appearances cannot mask how cut off they are from the rest of us"Gatsby was overwhelmingly aware of the youth and mystery that wealth imprisons and preserves, of the freshness of many clothes, and of Daisy, gleaming like silver, safe and proud above the hot struggles of the poor."At its core, The Great Gatsby is th

Academy chains decide where children go to school

What can you do if you are told your child must move to a different school eight miles away? Not a lot, it seems, if the school is part of an academy chainJanet May says she speaks for her entire village as she vents her frustration. "The word I would use to describe my feelings now is desperate. As a group we are incredibly sad and angry, but we also feel powerless in the face of the refusal

Michael Gove suggests Wales and Northern Ireland split off school exams

Education minister says nations' GCSEs and A-levels will diverge from English system as 'consequence of devolution'The education system is set to splinter into national components, with Michael Gove writing to his Welsh and Northern Irish counterparts to kickstart the separation of GCSEs and A-levels as "a natural and legitimate consequence of devolution".The education secretary's decision

Education in brief: Is the DfE trying to rig the teacher-education market?

The education department seems desperate to teach more teachers; Newham local authority refuses to release a report's findings; parents give up on battle against academy chainTrainee teachers: a spot of poaching?Relations between the government and university-based teacher educators have reached a new low amid claims that a Department for Education agency has been attempting to lure would-

Propaganda war: who will win Scottish teenage hearts and minds?

Schools are gearing up to be a key battleground in next year's referendum on Scottish independenceRosie Duthie and Euan MacIntosh, both 15, have made up their minds on how they plan to vote in next year's referendum on Scottish independence. For Euan the answer is a clear "yes" because he believes it will be his best guarantee of a free university education. Rosie is a "no". She says: "We sho

Confused about the national curriculum? Here, have a pre-loaded tablet

Michael Gove has a sense that 'significant innovation' is coming soon to a classroom near you. Could it have anything to do with Rupert Murdoch's education company?Next year schools don't need to follow the national curriculum. The year after, only some of them will. And the year after that, robots will be teaching our children. Don't believe me? Read on.To surprisingly little fanfare, the

Do students get enough contact time with tutors?

A report for consumer watchdog Which? and the Higher Education Policy Institute last week found that nearly one in three first-year students at UK universities felt their courses were not good value. We ask: would you like more contact with your tutors?Bob Hughes graduated recently with a BA in English from York University I had four to eight hours of seminars and lectures a week, with any

Cardinal skips Boston College commencement in abortion protest

Presence of Irish prime minister Enda Kenny, who supports bill to allow abortion, prompts Cardinal Sean O'Malley's withdrawalCardinal Sean O'Malley, the leader of the Boston archdiocese, skipped Boston College's commencement on Monday because of the involvement of the Irish prime minister, Enda Kenny, who supports a bill in his country that would allow abortion.A few dozen protesters, some

How to teach ... spelling

Learning how to spell is a useful lifelong skill. Use the Guardian Teacher Network's resources this week to help your students get to grips with itWhether or not last week's introduction of compulsory spelling tests for all key stage 2 pupils in England will improve literacy standards, there are many reasons to crack spelling. The Guardian Teacher Network has resources to help students spell

Exam nerves

Who is more worried about tests at school – children or their parents?Ros Asquith

Students stay silent about mental health problems, survey shows

One in five suffer psychological ill health, but most shun university counsellingUniversities should do more to encourage students with mental health problems to seek help, a leading charity has warned.More than a quarter (26%) of students who say they experience mental health problems do not get treatment and only one in 10 use counselling services provided by their university, according

University fundraising: what the UK can learn from Canada

Major donors are motivated both by the excitement of giving and the satisfaction that their money has been put to good use, finds Andrew Derrington on a recent fundraising study tripCanada is a good place to learn about university fundraising because the giving culture is fairly similar to the UK, but its practice tends to be about 20 years ahead. So it was that I recently found myself on the

Creationism and revisionist history threaten to invade our classrooms | Zack Kopplin

We have to stop state legislators from sneaking creationist and revisionist textbooks into public schoolsLouisiana's legislators are continuing their legislative jihad to keep the theory of evolution out of the state's public school science classrooms. On 1 May, legislators killed a bill to repeal Louisiana's creationism law, the misnamed Louisiana Science Education Act (LSEA).The law allo

What is researcher wellbeing and how can we manage and nurture it?

Staying a productive, sane and sociable researcher is no mean feat, says Charlotte Morris, but you don't have to go it aloneIf wellbeing is the state of being relatively healthy, happy and sane, it's no surprise that early career researchers find it hard to maintain. Pressure to achieve can be immense and it's all too easy to lock yourself away when working on a thesis or other research proje

Scientific research and the European Union | Jon Butterworth | Life & Physics

What effect does European Union membership have on science and research? And what would it mean if the UK left?A recent edition of the BBC Radio 4 science programme "Material World" fulfilled current BBC policy by including a member of UKIP. Roger Helmer MEP was in discussion with Professor Ed Hinds, from Imperial, about the effects of EU membership, or lack of it, on research. I was also the

Exam warrior songs: music to focus the mind – playlist

Music critics, journos and students give their recommendations for songs that will pump you up for exams• What songs do you listen to before entering the exam hall? Join in the debate by posting your suggestions in the comments threadIf the thought of entering an exam hall sends your legs to jelly, fear not. We've compiled a list of pre-exam songs that will make you feel invincible.To add

Pornography risks should be taught to children as young as five, say parents

Eight in 10 parents polled by headteachers say issues around pornography should form part of sex education lessonsMany parents believe schools should teach children about the dangers of pornography as soon as they are old enough to use the internet, a survey suggests.It reveals that the majority of parents do not want it to be left to them alone to educate their youngsters about the issue,

Teaching dyslexic children: spotting the signs

With many teachers not trained to spot dyslexia, Sally Bouwman shares her advice for detecting the disorderThe one thing my postgraduate teacher training course had simply not prepared me for was that more than a third of my first class of seven and eight year-olds might not be reading and writing with any degree of confidence.Granted, it was a school in special measures, and many of the p

Hey British moaners: Germans want to be more like us | Stephen Evans

The view from Berlin, where I now work, is that the UK has lots to envy – but probably not our self-destructive streakI remember the moment I realised I really liked Britain. It was in New York, where I was living at the time. The news came through that a man dressed as Osama bin Laden had broken into the birthday party of the heir to the throne.Aaron Barschak had not only walked through secu

Top 5 best and worst things about my time studying abroad in America | Richard Morris

The US is far better than I ever expected, even if it does have messed up healthcare, money and road systemsA Brit studying abroad across the pond might not sound that adventurous, but it's been an eye-opening year for me at the University of West Georgia in the much stereotyped US south. Here's the best and worst of what I learned about America:1. Bad: currencyI'm not very good with num

Does Prozac help artists be creative?

More than 40 million people globally take an SSRI antidepressant, among them many writers and musicians. But do they hamper the creative process, extinguishing the spark that produces great art, or do they enhance artistic endeavour?Twenty-five years after pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly unleashed Prozac on the red-braced 80s, SSRIs are still the world's most popular antidepressants. They are

Becoming an academy gave our school the freedom to innovate

Special school head Trystan Williams is passionate about learning outside classroom and has taken his pupils to the ends of the Earth to prove itTell us about your career and how you became head at The Springfields Academy.I had no interest in becoming a teacher, my dad was a headteacher and my mum was involved in special needs education and I didn't want to follow their lead. I did a maste

NQT career clinic: help and advice on finding your first teaching job

Sponsored Q&A: The deadline to land your first teaching post is fast approaching. For last-minute advice, join our expert panel live on Wednesday, May 22 from 6pm to 8pmFinding your first job as a newly-qualified teacher (NQT) can be challenging; the whole application and interview process has its own particular set of laws and is unlikely to be comparable to any other recruitment process you

Working conditions in the fashion industry: news and teaching resources round up

The collapse of a factory in Bangladesh has put sustainability in the fashion industry back on the agenda. Here are the best news stories and teaching resources to deal with the issues in classThe deaths of more than 1,100 garment workers when the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh collapsed last month, as well as those at a Cambodian shoe factory on Thursday, have forced consumers and retaile

Trainee lawyer was denied permanent contract when she became pregnant

33-year-old wins case against top City law firm, but her counsel warns of many similar casesA trainee lawyer is in line for compensation from a top City law firm after winning her case for discrimination after she missed out on a job because she was pregnant.An employment tribunal found that law firm Travers Smith denied Katie Tantum, 33, a permanent job because she became pregnant in the

Judi Dench defends drama school in row over advertising boards

Oscar-winner attacks council decision to order Central School of Speech and Drama in London to remove hoardings that support charitable workDame Judi Dench has come to the defence of the drama school where she learned her Oscar-winning craft.The London borough of Camden has banned two advertising hoardings outside the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama on supposedly aesthetic grounds

Web-connected libraries for Africa: the dream of digital knowledge for all

New venture Librii is seeking to set up self-sustaining libraries with internet access in poor and isolated communitiesA decade ago, Brewster Kahle, philanthropist and founder of the Internet Archive, created the first digital bookmobile: a complete printing press in the back of a car. With a power source, satellite internet connection, printer and binder, the vehicle and its descendants subs

Daniel Dennett's seven tools for thinking

Cognitive scientist and philosopher Daniel Dennett is one of America's foremost thinkers. In this extract from his new book, he reveals some of the lessons life has taught him1 USE YOUR MISTAKESWe have all heard the forlorn refrain: "Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time!" This phrase has come to stand for the rueful reflection of an idiot, a sign of stupidity, but in fact we should

Sussex academy pays £100,000 to use 'patented' US school curriculum

Aurora Academies Trust is challenged over use of patented 'Paragon curriculum' that has been criticised by OfstedAn academy running four schools is paying its US parent company £100,000 a year to use its patented global curriculum, which has been criticised by Ofsted for lacking a "local" focus.Aurora Academies Trust insists that the Paragon curriculum is transforming the fortunes of the p

Headteachers pass vote of no confidence in education policies

Union delegates declare that Michael Gove's policies are not in the best interests of children, parents or schoolsHeadteachers have passed a vote of no confidence in the government's education policies, declaring that Michael Gove's policies are not in the best interests of children.Delegates at the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) conference in Birmingham raised concerns about