Cribsheet of the week 09.11.10

Let's begin with schools. Andy Burnham used the word "comprehensive" 15 times in his first major speech as shadow education spokesman. He said "academies" just once. Does that make him a hopeless Old Labourite, or a genuine alternative to Gove/Adonis at last? These are his reservations about the free schools scenario: "My big critique of Gove is that I don't think he has a plan for everyone. He's got a plan for some kids, not all kids. And I think there's an elitest echo in that." Fiona Millar is more annoyed by Gove's endless catwalk of photogenic thinkalikes: Katharine Birbalsingh, Arne Duncan, Geoffrey Canada. By next season, they'll look just as unfashionable as those Swedes he used to fancy. Great read of the day is Simon Schama on the value of history in schools . He's picked out six key events every child should know about - can you guess what they are? Report card As students prepare to march against tuition fee rises, parents up and down the land are gritting their teeth and thinking through the options. Ex-fashion editor Lisa Freedman tells her son which brands are worth shelling out for, which degrees will shrink in the wash, and how to recognise clever window-dressing. Back to that march… P aul Wellings, chair of the 1994 Group, believes it's wrong for students to protest in this way. Fees have to rise, students need to accept this, and all they're doing at the moment is scaring off prospective applicants: "All of us in higher education need to be careful not to create false impressions that turn the public against our cause and deter talented people from applying to university." The NUS vice-pres for further education, Shane Chowen, who most certainly is going to march , says the issue is not just university tuition fees. The abolition of the education maintenance allowance, he points out, is causing fury among needy college students. Who's right? Only one way to find out… Vote in our online poll . And check out #demo2010 on Twitter. Video Seen this? It's a talk by the arts educationist Sir Ken Robinson - once of Liverpool, now of LA - brilliantly animated by RSA Animate , about how to change the way we think about education. Just wonderful - if you haven't seen it, do. Specially the bit about ADHD. On the margins Distorted eating. That's what researchers are calling the kind of food intake typical of your average male student . It's not your typical junk food diet - they're too clever to load up on fats and carbs. They know girls want boys with flat stomachs and pecs. So they're pigging out on proteins, getting them in supplement form while mainlining meat and egg whites - and steering well clear of fruit and veg. Er, not so bright after all. Excess protein is exhausting for livers and kidneys and could do long-term damage. Quote of the week Noel Lynch, chair of the London Green party which requested pensions data from the government under the Freedom of Information act, said it was scandalous that taxpayers are contributing to the pensions of teachers at Eton and Harrow . "Yet again, ordinary people are effectively subsidising the fees of these elite institutions," he said. "If we really are 'all in this together', then private schools should be charged the true cost of these pensions and taxpayers' cash should be redirected towards more urgent and appropriate spending within the education budget." What you said The student protest march has been causing lots of controvery online, with Polly Toynbee under fire for suggesting students think of the plight of others before moaning about their own. Betweentwothorns had an alternative suggestion : Surely the most effective way to protest against the hike in university fees would be for the new crop of students to take a year or more out. If no one applies for university this year what do you think the government will do? You only pay fees if you take part. The universities need students more than students need universities. More education stories from the Guardian How to get the best from a school visit from an author: advice from Jonny Zucker. Why does no one want to be a college principal these days , even on £200,000? Free expertise: why are so many students doing pro bono work? Stories from around the web Recruit retired army officers for schools , says Lord Heseltine. Scary. The Daily Mail has: a teacher exposes the wilful anarchy in Britain's Wild West classrooms . Fabulous. Teachers' pay and sickness records are to be published , says the Telegraph. Three new measures of pupil progress have been introduced . A poll shows 70% of people in Britain oppose £9,000 tuition fees . Competition Do you have a clever way of using technology to teach children at your school? Enter the Classroom Innovation awards by sending us a short video of what you can do. There is a primary and secondary category and each winner will get £7,500 of Asus computing kit. Find us on the Guardian website EducationGuardian.co.uk All today's EducationGuardian stories Follow us on Twitter and Facebook EducationGuardian on Twitter Judy Friedberg on Twitter Jeevan Vasagar on Twitter Jessica Shepherd on Twitter Claire Phipps on Twitter EducationGuardian on Facebook EducationGuardian resources The Guardian University Guide 2011 School league tables Postgrad tables The world's top 100 universities More education links on the Guardian Online learning and teaching resources from Learn Job vacancies in education More about Crib sheet Sign up to get Crib sheet as an email on Tuesdays