Items to Share: 26 May

Education Focus

• Encouraging Moral Behaviour | websofsubstance  Interesting discussion of conflicting moral principles (principally inclusivity versus utilitarianism) in the practice of class management. Good case-study.

• What makes great school leadership? | Pragmatic Education  A good piece, although easier said than done...

• A Don’s Life: Can computers mark exams? Mary Beard engages with the MOOC question.

• To encourage creativity, Mr Gove, you must first understand what it is | Ken Robinson | The Guardian  Contesting the view that you can only be creative when you have mastered the basics.

• The OFSTED Teaching Style | Scenes From The Battleground  Ofsted reports analysed on the basis of the boiler-plate phrases they appear to use, indicate discrepancies between espoused theories and theories-in-use--and probably between the leadership and the rank and file of the organisation.

Other Business

• How Creativity in Humor, Art, and Science Works: Arthur Koestler's Theory of Bisociation | Brain Pickings  Excellent attempt to condense the argument of Koestler's The Act of Creation (1964). His reputation has suffered since his death, but this book, The Ghost in the Machine (1967) and The Sleepwalkers (1959) are fascinating and highly readable. 

• Presence, Not Praise: How To Cultivate a Healthy Relationship with Achievement | Brain Pickings (again) On Stephen Grosz, building on Carol Dweck.

• Small Talk | The Point Magazine  Good overview, taking in Goffman, Heidegger and Malinowski--so it's not exactly an example of the genre.

• Beyond the Pale | The Weekly Standard "At ‘white privilege’ conferences, a lengthening list of victims issue an ever-more-detailed indictment of Western civilization"