All Must Have Prizes

I did not need to read this book to know that standards across the UK education system have slipped dramatically. What this book does to devastating effect is to explain how this state affairs has arisen and why. Most interestingly, the author apportions equal blame to Thatcher et al as to the 'social-liberal left', which gives the lie to the slurs made against her of being a right-wing ideologue.

The text is well written and the arguments are consistent and logical. Where I disagree with Philips, is her assertion that children require to be taught Shakespeare and other 'cultured' literature. I was forced to endure this at high school and did not pick up a book for pleasure for a full ten years as a result.

In summary, if you want to know show more why our education system is in tatters then read this great book. show less

Controversial examination of the educational system and its avowed lack of competition and insistence upon equality of outcome rather than opportunity. Agree or disagree, but it's an interesting read.

British education is in a state of "meltdown". Throughout the system, from nursery classes to degree courses, the relationship between teacher and pupil has been undermined, and the idea that children should be taught a body of rules at all, whether in maths or grammar, is now taboo in many schools. Systematic instruction has given way to approximations and guesswork, resulting in a rising tide of illiteracy. All Must Have Prizes presents the inside story of a social debacle. The collapse of education is not viewed in isolation; at the heart of the problem, claims Melanie Phillips, lies cultural and moral relativism, the doctrine that no values can be judged to be any better or worse than any others. She regards the primary effect of show more this, particularly in the last 20 years, to be the collapse of the authority of institutions. Sounding a warning, she offers a blueprint to restore authority and meaning to society.

"seminal"
The Sunday Times

"an awesome polemic"
The Guardian

"Essential reading"
The Spectator

"...this is likely to become the most discussed work of social criticism since Allan Bloom's THE CLOSING OF THE AMERICAN MIND."
Jonathan Sacks show less