All posts tagged: raised

Academies haven’t raised pupil achievement – there’s no need for them to have privileges that other schools do not

Academies haven’t raised pupil achievement – there’s no need for them to have privileges that other schools do not

Published by skeptic

The UK education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, is planning to cut some of the freedoms academy schools currently enjoy in England to refocus on improving outcomes for disadvantaged pupils. Critics say academies are hugely successful but my research has shown there are better ways to make education fairer. The academies programme was introduced in England in 2002 by the then Labour government as a way to improve failing schools. These schools were given additional initial funding, as well as recurrent, per-pupil funding. They had freedom from local council control and from the national curriculum, and more flexibility in terms of pupil places, teacher pay and contracts. From an initial three schools, the academy programme has grown rapidly and adapted in the process. Academisation was a central pillar of Conservative education policy, and over 40% of all schools are now academies, and more than 50% of pupils in England attend one. The current Labour government plans to cut back on some of the exceptions afforded to academy schools – such as their freedom from the national curriculum …

The Dream of the Raised Arm | Zadie Smith

The Dream of the Raised Arm | Zadie Smith

Published by skeptic

Born in 1907 in Forst, Germany, a town near the Polish border, Charlotte Beradt was a young journalist who reported on women’s issues and other aspects of German social and political life for the weekly journal Die Weltbühne. In 1933 Beradt, a committed communist and a Jew, found herself suddenly unemployed. As the Nazi movement grew, she began having nightmares every night. She wondered whether other people were having similar dreams. She started to ask people about their dreams, discreetly: “I asked the dressmaker, the neighbor, an aunt, a milkman, a friend, almost always without revealing my purpose.” She did this because “dreams like this should be preserved for posterity,” and she wrote down hundreds before fleeing to New York in 1939. There she worked as a hairdresser for fellow émigrés, sometimes spending time with her friend Hannah Arendt. In 1966 she finally brought her collection together, arranging the dreams by theme, offering her own light commentary, and bolstering each short chapter with epigraphs from the likes of Kafka and Brecht and Arendt herself. She …

Humanist priorities raised in King’s Speech debates

Humanist priorities raised in King’s Speech debates

Published by skeptic

Over the past week MPs and Lords have been debating the proposals in the King’s speech and many have raised a range of key humanist issues. Yesterday, in a debate on modernising the House of Commons, All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group (APPHG) member Ellie Chowns MP raised the issue of parliamentary prayers and how those members who do not wish to attend Anglican prayers due to their own personal beliefs were left at a democratic disadvantage as the current Commons chamber is only able to seat 427 out of 650 MPs. The MP told the Commons that this leads to, ‘some frankly rather ridiculous behaviour’, with members, ‘queuing up at the opening of the Chamber to place a prayer card and book a seat.’ The UK Parliament is currently the only national legislature that does this. It’s time this outdated practice changed. Meanwhile in a debate on the Constitution in the Lords, peers raised the key issue of bishops in the Lords. Currently 26 Church of England bishops have the automatic right to sit, speak, and …

17-year-old Eric Zhu’s startup was built in a high school bathroom — now it’s raised .3M and is emerging from stealth

17-year-old Eric Zhu’s startup was built in a high school bathroom — now it’s raised $2.3M and is emerging from stealth

Published by skeptic

Eric Zhu started building Aviato, an analytical platform for private market data, in a very typical place for an entrepreneur: the bathroom in his Carmel, Indiana, high school. Now the 17-year-old’s startup is emerging from stealth with $2.3 million in venture funding. Aviato tracks funding rounds and headcount, similar to competitors like Crunchbase and PitchBook, as well as data points like company credit card revenue data, employee vesting schedules, and where top engineers are currently working, in addition to other metrics. If that sounds a little like what SignalFire built for its internal database, that’s intentional. Zhu said Aviato’s goal is to build a platform that resembles what SignalFire has built internally; in fact, he said that his startup has worked closely with the firm’s founder, Walter Kortschak, to build out its product. Zhu told TechCrunch that he credits his early interest in venture capital and startups from being in the right place at the right time during the boring days of the pandemic, learning about the space from Discord group chats he joined in 2020, …

Indians have raised ‘a voice for democracy’ online and in the polls in historic vote

Indians have raised ‘a voice for democracy’ online and in the polls in historic vote

Published by Sam

Despite the heightened anxieties over the conduct of a free and fair election, India’s democracy rallied in the 2024 election, with voters denying Prime Minister Narendra Modi a landslide win. Much of the fight occurred online as independent journalists and influencers challenged the government narrative echoed on mainstream media. The night before the 2024 Indian election results were to be announced, Dhruv Rathee released a “final message” YouTube video that was a cry from the heart. The 29-year-old vlogger and social media activist is a cyber sensation in India, adored by his fans, reviled by his detractors, and acknowledged as one of Time magazine’s 2023 Next Generation Leaders. During the mammoth, six-week election this year, Rathee emerged as a powerful voice of dissent against Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist policies and the democratic backsliding the prime minister spearheaded for a decade. As India awaited the Modi “landslide” victory – as the mainstream media exit polls had forecast – Rathee’s 25-minute video, released late Monday, sounded like the last words of a man facing the gallows. The …

US crypto super PACs have raised more than 0 million, report says

US crypto super PACs have raised more than $100 million, report says

Published by skeptic

Outside political groups tied to the cryptocurrency industry have raised more than $102 million to spend on the upcoming U.S. congressional elections in order to elevate candidates who are friendly to digital assets, according to a report from Public Citizen. WHY IT’S IMPORTANT Only two other political groups, or super PACs, have raised more money than the crypto sector this election cycle, Public Citizen said. The money raised by crypto-backed super PACs shows how crypto companies are hoping to influence policies in their favor as the industry is facing increased scrutiny from regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as lawmakers. BY THE NUMBERS About $54 million of the crypto industry’s political war chest comes from direct corporate expenditures, primarily from Coinbase and Ripple Labs, according to the report. The remainder comes from crypto executives and venture capitalists: $11 million each from the founders of Andreessen Horowitz, $5 million from crypto exchange Gemini founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, and $1 million from Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. CONTEXT Crypto-backed super PACs have said …

Trump campaign says it raised million last month

Trump campaign says it raised $76 million last month

Published by skeptic

Former President Trump and the Republican National Committee (RNC) raised over $76 million last month, according to a campaign official.  Trump’s advisers, Susie Wiles, Chris LaCivita and Tony Fabrizio, shared that the former president’s political operation is projected to have raked in $76.2 million in April, the official confirmed.  The expected haul, first reported by The New York Times, is an uptick from March when the two organizations, which merged after Trump became the presumptive GOP nominee, brought in $65.6 million.  Apart from fundraising numbers, advisers during the presentation to donors at a retreat in Florida said the former president is leading in battleground states like Arizona, Nevada and Georgia, according to the official. They also argued that blue-leaning states like Virginia and Minnesota are not out of reach for Trump in November, citing private polling.  2024 Election Coverage The increase in campaign funds comes as the former president is spending most of his time in a New York courtroom. He spends four days there a week amid his ongoing hush-money trial.  The officials also …

Whistleblower who raised concerns about Boeing jets dies at 45

Whistleblower who raised concerns about Boeing jets dies at 45

Published by skeptic

Joshua Dean, who died on Tuesday, had gone public with his concerns about defects and quality-control problems at Spirit AeroSystems, a major supplier of parts for Boeing. Here, a Spirit AeroSystems logo is seen on a 737 fuselage sent to Boeing’s factory in Renton, Wash., in January. Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images Joshua Dean, who died on Tuesday, had gone public with his concerns about defects and quality-control problems at Spirit AeroSystems, a major supplier of parts for Boeing. Here, a Spirit AeroSystems logo is seen on a 737 fuselage sent to Boeing’s factory in Renton, Wash., in January. Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images Joshua Dean, a former quality auditor at a key Boeing supplier who raised concerns about improperly drilled holes in the fuselage of 737 Max jets, has died. Dean, 45, died on Tuesday morning, his family announced on social media. His family told NPR on Thursday that Dean had quickly fallen into critical condition after being diagnosed with a MRSA bacterial infection. He …

Pint-size wine to be allowed on shelves from September – as doubts raised over demand | UK News

Pint-size wine to be allowed on shelves from September – as doubts raised over demand | UK News

Published by Sam

Pint-sized bottles of wine will be allowed on UK shelves from autumn under new post-Brexit trade rules – but doubts have been raised over their demand. Business minister Kevin Hollinrake said seven changes to pre-packaged wine sizes are due to come into force on 19 September. Announcing the date in the House of Commons, he said the measure will support the “thriving” UK wine sector by providing opportunities for “innovation and greater choice”. But the SNP’s Patrick Grady said the government should admit there is “little to no demand or interest for this supposedly glorious Brexit benefit”. Follow Sky News on WhatsApp Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News Tap here The move to introduce the 568ml size of wine, to sit alongside 200ml and 500ml measures already available, was announced in December and hailed by ministers as a Brexit “freedom”. Pint bottles of Champagne were sold in the UK before Britain joined the European Common Market and were on shelves until 1973. But …