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In my last post I wrote about books and whether the Kindle and other e-readers would lead to their demise. Concluding, hopefully, that books will be just fine, because
they are a different experience. An e-book is not a book to my mind – no less
valid, but not a book. I thought this time, I’d talk about the content rather
than the method of reading. The TES has recently surveyed 500 teachers to find
out what their favourite hundred books are. The list makes for interesting
reading. Personally I’m a little disappointed that the Harry Potter series has
beaten Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy. Yes, yes, I know Harry
Potter encouraged reading in youngsters on an unprecedented scale, but the
books are just not as well written, in my humble opinion.

There are, of course, some books on the list that come as no surprise – you can’t argue
with “The Gruffalo” (you wouldn’t dare!), “Of Mice and Men” or “Pride and
Prejudice”. But, I was pleasantly surprised to see some more modern entries on
the list – “A Thousand Splendid Suns” by Khaled Hosseini, for instance, has
been one of my favourite reads of recent years. Going through the list, I’m
please to find out I’ve read just over half of them (51 to be precise). I’m
pleased about this, because it means I still have the pleasure of the other 49
awaiting me. I’ll let you know when I’m done. If LinkedIn still exists by then.
We might all be hooked up to the cloud by then, so I’ll just have to send out a
thought signal from the comfort of my hover car/jetpack…

Before I go off on a flight of fancy, let me ask: How many have you read (remember, it’s
not a competition!)? Which are your favourites? And, most importantly, which
books on the list are you inspired to read next?

Alys Barber – Consultant

Last night I attended the launch of a new paper, “An Avalanche is Coming”, on the future
of higher education. (In the interest of full disclosure, I should tell you
that the paper was written by my Dad and his two colleagues.) As you’d
expect, the debate also focussed on employability. I’m with the majority of the
attendees I spoke to last night – I don’t think universities exist solely to
make students employable, but it is surely part of their purpose. If we’re
agreed that it is part of their purpose, are they doing enough? Lots of
employers don’t think a degree is enough preparation for the world of work,
youth unemployment remains high, despite plenty of people qualifying from
university with good degrees. So what’s missing? How can we fill the gap
between an academic degree, which in itself is a wonderful thing, and being
ready to work and add value to a business?

Of course students can do work experience or internships but, increasingly, employers
want something more; something less tangible than proof that someone worked in
an office for 2 months last Summer. Increasingly, clients ask me for people
with “entrepreneurial spirit” and other attitudinal attributes and universities
are diversifying their offering to students in order to try to meet these
needs. Personally, I think the hyperbolic language in the debate about the
future of higher education masks the issues slightly. (But I once slept through
an avalanche in the Himalayas, so what do I know?).Whether technological
advancements and changes in the requirements of the jobs market constitute an
“avalanche” of change for universities or not, they certainly represent an
opportunity for educators and the commercial world to improve the lot of both
undergraduate students and everyone else.

I’m no expert on these matters, so I won’t even pretend to have the answers! But it’s
a fascinating debate and I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below
or on Twitter #avalancheiscoming

http://www.ippr.org/publication/55/10432/an-avalanche-is-coming-higher-education-and-the-revolution-ahead