Observations that inequality is rising as wealth rises have circulated recently with the publication of the International Monetary Fund’s latest World Economic Outlook which shows that while global income inequality has fallen, within countries, both rich and poor, inequality has been rising almost everywhere. As the IMF put it: “This recent experience seems to be …
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Category:Education
Humans learn aggression from parents when young
Research looking at the development of aggressive behaviour in toddlers, highlights that young children do not learn to be aggressive, instead as they get older and their brains become more mature they become less aggressive as they learn to control their behaviour. Children learn to regulate the use of physical aggression during the preschool years, …
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A global map of ocean plant-life
This image shows the density of chlorophyll in the earth’s oceans; the lighter colour the more phytoplankton. The linked article describes how the graphic was created and its implications. It is striking because it shows which parts of the ocean are most productive. This awareness will be important as humanity improves ocean management and even …
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Social skills favoured in evolution
A new cycle of research of baboon behaviour is summed up in a book titled “Baboon Metaphysics” by Dr. Cheney and Dr. Seyfarth, biologists from the University of Pennsylvania. The title is a play on Darwin’s comment “He who understands baboon would do more towards metaphysics than Locke.” Their conclusion, based on many painstaking experiments, is …
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Play is critical to development
The UK school grounds charity, Learning Through Landscapes, commenting on a poll of 1,146 children sponsored by RBS, suggests children engage in bullying and negative behaviour because they are bored. Although almost all (93%) enjoyed playtimes, one in four had been bullied in the playground while one in six got bored. They suggest a solution …
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Japanese protest history cover-up in text book
Over 100,000 people in Okinawa, Japan protested over proposals to change the account in school text books detailing the account of Japanese army involvement in mass suicides during World War 2. The protest was against moves to modify and tone down passages that say the army ordered Okinawans to kill themselves rather than surrender. When …
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Rare 19th century books to go on-line
The British Library is digitising and putting on-line more than 100,000 old books previously unavailable to the public. The programme focuses on 19th Century books, many of which are unknown as few were reprinted after first editions. This excellent initiative will help teachers who otherwise can not get access to this literature, and it will …
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TV beats family, hands-down
Sad but unsurprising results of a UK survey show that children spend far more time watching TV than spending time with family, or anything else. A survey of of 1,800 families with primary school-age children was part of research accompanying the government-backed Booktime literacy project. The survey suggested that children were more likely to be …
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Children’s play is critical to development
In the UK a group of experts wrote an open letter to the Daily Telegraph warning that overprotection of children is injurious to their health. Signatures to the letter were gathered by Sue Palmer, author of the book Toxic Childhood, and Dr Richard House, a senior lecturer in psychotherapy at Roehampton University. 300 signatories include …
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Cronyism still (unfortunately) more important than ability
In the UK, the Sutton Trust charity analysed admissions from 2002-06, and has concluded that state school pupils are losing out. The trust found the number of pupils at the top 30 comprehensives who went to Oxbridge was just a third of what might be expected if based on ability; while at the top 30 …
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