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The Guardian - UK

National

Judy Friedberg

Cribsheet 14.02.11

Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper — Wise men say only fools rush in… Check out Polly Curtis's tweet further down. Photograph: Lewis Whyld/PA

There's a huge row bubbling about the "kettling" of Aaron Porter, the NUS president, by students in Glasgow at the weekend.

Glasgowoccupied tweeted:

"We kettled Aaron Porter outside the Labour youth conference earlier. Follow #porterwatch."

And follow #porterwatch we did. Pics were posted on Facebook.

Then @pollytoynbee tweeted@

"Are you sure faction fighting in the student movement is the best way to fight the government cuts?"

And @EmilyMaryDavis said:

"Get the bullying out of our campaigns against education cuts please. #porterwatch."

And now we have @Kirsteen Fraser declaring:

"#porterwatch has backfired @glasgow_uni anti-cuts and occupation groups now splintering over treatment of @aaronporter and future strategy."

In the face of reports that at one point he was hiding in the ladies' loos, @aaronporter himself is maintaining a dignified silence.

Never mind the politics, feel the love

• It's Valentine's Day, and we're grateful to the THE for this link to research on the state of the modern marriage:

"No Valentine's Day would be complete without academic insights into the nature of love in modern Britain. Among the research released this 14 February is a study that suggests that, despite rising divorce rates, the majority of UK couples are happy in their relationship."

• Thanks also to @pollycurtis for tweeting:

"Ed Balls in the Times on his and Yvette's song, Elvis's Can't Help Falling in Love. 'We'd drive along embankment singing the harmonies'."

• There's a public lecture at Brunel University tonight at 7 entitled "What's Love Got to Do With It? The New Dynamics of Human Attraction".

• Laurie Penny, aka activist blogger @pennyred, writes in the Guardian:

"Whether you are single or attached, Valentine's Day can be the loneliest day of the year. The saccharine sentiment of the annual Hallmark holiday puts pressure on all of us: couples dutifully shell out time and money over kitsch – cuddly mating rituals that paralyse real passion – while the rest of us, however contented, nurse a sense of bitter isolation."

• The lovely and temperate researcher @DaintyBallerina has posted David Tennant reading Shakespeare sonnets. Much better than chocolate.

Education news from the Guardian and Observer

• Riazatt Butt is preparing a story about a Muslim school that has shut early for half-term ahead of a Dispatches programme to be shown tonight on Channel 4. In the meantime, this is the Mail's account of what the programme will show.

• Jeevan Vasagar reports on a NUS survey that shows the time university students spend in direct contact with lecturers has fallen over the past year, with the sharpest decreases in medicine and engineering.

• The NAHT, the union representing headteachers, says its members are prepared to take industrial action if ministers approve sweeping changes to public sector pensions. The union has carried out a survey of its members, and found 64% of respondents backed some sort of industrial action to retain their pension scheme.

• Cuts to Esol provision are causing anguish for immigrants trying to learn English so that they can make a life for themselves in the UK. Shalina Parveen, who came from Bangladesh 10 years ago, tells Toby Helm:

"I want to do a child care course. I really want to do it. But I have to improve my English to get accepted."

"You have to speak English, because it helps with everything. If you want to go to the doctor, or if people ring you. It makes you feel more relaxed in the community."

Education news from around the web

Michael Gove's perky reaction to the news that a judge had ruled his cancellation of the school building programme an "abuse of power" was the subject of an interesting blog from a teacher called Pencilandpapertest:

"Sounding like a football manager who looks for the positives after a defeat to nil a long way from home, he says: "I am delighted that the judge has ruled in my favour".

"To go with his peculiar interpretation of making a decision that was deemed to be both unlawful and an abuse of power, Gove chooses to add an unpleasant whiff of eau-de-gloat, picking out the following for our delectation: 'No-one should gain false hope from this decision'."

But Tim Montgomerie, writing in the Telegraph, says the high court's decision must not knock the education secretary off course - his reforms are too important.

• The Telegraph also has a piece by Chris Leslie, MP for Nottingham East, calling for an end to the "unearned Master's degree" at Oxford and Cambridge to go:

"Incredibly, the practice of converting a bachelor's degree straight into an MA with no exams, no extra academic study and no tuition fee sees around 3000 Oxbridge graduates able to list an impressive looking postgraduate qualification on their CVs each year for no more than a £10 admin charge.

"With 200,000 students typically spending a year's full-time study to earn a 'real' MA degree, it is highly unfair to perpetuate this fast-track award merely on the assumption that a BA (Hons) from these two institutions justifies a complimentary equivalent award."

• The Mail carries the news that Eton plans a "mini version of the top public school which won't cost pupils a penny to attend". Actually it turns out that the head, Tony Little, is merely "involved in advising" on how to provide free boarding facilities at a school in Holyport, near Maidenhead.

Insight into journalism seminars for teachers

A unique opportunity for teachers to spend a day at the Guardian, find out how a national news media organisation works and get ideas and resources that can be used in the classroom.

News 11 March Learn about the 24 news cycle; meet news reporters, feature writers, picture and sub editors; understand the role newspaper advertising; go on a tour of the editorial floors and take part in a workshop creating you own news front page which will be evaluated by an editor.

Multimedia 31 March Writing for a news website, web editing, blogging, the use of social media, video production; podcasting.

Places are limited and likely to fill up quickly, so book soon.