It’s Your Time You’re Wasting

Schools, AI and Stupidity

Is AI dumbing us down? Are schools in danger of making kids 'stupider'?Should we make schools gymnasia of the mind?Will an education for leisure replace an education for work?All this and more in this episode!Some links to material discussed:Do our brains need knowledge in the age of AI? https://arxiv.org/pdf/2506.11015Scott Alexander's Misleading Victory: https://garymarcus.substack.com/p/scott-alexanders-misleading-victory?r=18455&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=trueYour Brain on Chat GPT: https://daviddidau.substack.com/p/the-cost-of-borrowed-thoughtTikTok and AI are Junk Food: https://archive.is/20250512191652/https://www.thetimes.com/comment/columnists/article/tiktok-and-ai-are-junk-food-start-dieting-m7pbtcpdv#selection-1385.0-1519.694Are We Living in a Stupidogenic Society? https://substack.nomoremarking.com/p/are-we-living-in-a-stupidogenic-societyFlynn Effect and its Reversal: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6042097/Reevaluating the Flynn Effect: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160289625000121Will AI Make You Stupid? - https://archive.is/20250826084540/https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2025/07/16/will-ai-make-you-stupid#selection-1105.0-1367.47

Schools and the Personality Crisis

Conscientiousness is crashing, neuroticism is soaring, young people are far less agreeable and far more introverted - what have we done to our kids?David and Martin discuss this and more - is our on-screen and social media culture to blame? What can schools do, if anything? Does 'project based learning' have a role?Article by John Burn Murdoch can be accessed here: https://www.ft.com/content/5cd77ef0-b546-4105-8946-36db3f84dc43His thread on Twitter/X can be accessed here: https://x.com/jburnmurdoch/status/1953811277463122162

Dead Poets Society: Lessons in Romanticism

Is Dead Poets Society a great film?Does it have any lessons for contemporary teaching?Is Romanticism a bad influence on schooling?ALSO: Why not sponsor David on his half marathon for Cancer Research? https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/davids-giving-page-28674978

Are Kids Free to Choose?

Did you choose to watch this?If there is no free will who would ever discipline a child? It's not their fault!In this week's cornucopia of delights we look into Free Will and the implications of the science and the philosophy - do we have free will or not?We put Descartes before the Hume. Dennett and Searle, you name it we name drop it. We can't help ourselves!

Engagement Crisis in Schools?

Some links to articles mentioned: https://powerfulknowledge.substack.com/p/how-should-we-think-about-the-engagementhttps://schoolsweek.co.uk/curriculum-labour-is-on-the-right-path-but-its-a-tightrope/https://daviddidau.substack.com/p/what-do-you-mean-by-engagement?selection=8e3325ff-837e-40fd-becb-cc379a5e3fb3Fiona Millar was quoted from the RSA Journal Issue 2, 2025

Can Schools Solve the Mental Health Crisis?

In this episode, we take apart the myth that schools can paper over the cracks of a society in crisis with mindfulness sessions, gratitude journals and breathing techniques.We look at what the data really tells us: a fifth of children now meet the threshold for a probable mental disorder. Over a third of 17 to 19-year-old girls are struggling. Services are overwhelmed. Yet instead of fixing what’s broken, we offer sticking plasters and tell young people to breathe through the damage.We explore why wellbeing initiatives often individualise failure, how schools risk medicalising ordinary distress, and what we should be doing instead.If you’re tired of seeing schools made responsible for society’s failings, this one’s for you.Links Below:NHS Digital (2023) — Mental Health of Children and Young People in England:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/mental-health-of-children-and-young-people-in-england/2023-wave-4-follow-up#:~:text=Key%20Facts,36.9%25%20compared%20with%207.6%25Mind — Facts and figures about young people and mental health: https://www.mind.org.uk/about-us/our-strategy/doing-more-for-young-people/facts-and-figures-about-young-people-and-mental-health/Health Foundation — Understanding the crisis in young people’s mental health: https://www.health.org.uk/features-and-opinion/blogs/understanding-the-crisis-in-young-people-s-mental-healthHouse of Commons Library — Children and young people’s mental health services:https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-7749/

Should Schools Teach Queer Theory?

According to the Times Newspaper, the English Department at Alleyn’s School in southeast London are in the process of diversifying their curriculum and are introducing students to the 'works of a drag queen and non-binary authors.' We're not sure that the Times approves… There is another question underlying the discussion here and that is ‘should children see themselves in the curriculum?” and in times of growing individualism and self-authorship is that even possible?
 
Some Links:
https://www.thetimes.com/article/7c9a532d-c23e-4bcb-b649-d26562cda39a
 
https://www.thetimes.com/article/4611de82-f49a-47ef-9c43-7d7395e38105
 
https://www.them.us/story/uk-gender-identity-schools-proposed-ban
 
https://www.vox.com/scotus/408356/supreme-court-mahmoud-taylor-dont-say-gay
 
https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-lgbtq-books-religion-maryland-069d155fa862d2a16619fc7f513819ab
4a2e2a29e3729ef11c57c7d8e8cb044aa0c5855a

Is Assessment Failing the Test?

Is our obsession with testing failing students?

Oracy: Talking About Talk

Is Oracy a fad or part of the ongoing tradition of Western Education?Links to some of the things mentioned in this episode:https://oracyeducationcommission.co.uk/oec-report/https://www.education-uk.org/documents/pdfs/2021-appg-oracy.pdfhttps://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-commission-conversations/id1739353277?i=1000658062482https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-commission-conversations/id1739353277?i=1000659285974

School Uniform: Equity or Oppression?

What is the case for school uniforms? Would schools become chaotic places (more chaotic?) without them? Do they provide a ‘discipline distraction’ for some naughty pupils to hit out against? All this AND MORE in today's episode!Some links which are referred to:https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14777071/parents-fury-school-ban-skirts-gender-neutral-options.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=social-twitter_mailonlinehttps://www.newscientist.com/article/2417240-school-uniforms-may-prevent-children-from-getting-enough-exercise/https://www.playscotland.org/play-scotland-backs-new-made-to-move-campaign-on-active-school-uniforms/https://www.youthsporttrust.org/news-listings/news/youth-sport-trust-research-reveals-parents-and-teachers-support-an-always-active-uniform-policy#:~:text=Research-,Youth%20Sport%20Trust%20Research%20Reveals%20Parents%20and%20Teachers%20Support%20an,break%20time%20to%20active%20learningGuidance from NEU: https://neu.org.uk/advice/classroom/dress-code