Crib sheet 10.01.10

A week, the cliche-mongers tell us, is a long time in politics. And what a funny week it's been. A poll last Friday showed that teachers are twice as likely to vote Tory now as they were five years ago. But will that be true this morning, now David Cameron has made it clear that if you don't have a top degree from a Tory-approved university, you will no longer be welcome in the classroom? Slightly uncomfortable for the Tories' own "maths tsar" , Carol Vorderman, who left Cambridge University with a third. By the way, who tells MPs what educational qualifications they ought to have? What you said No shortage of anti-Cameron tirades to choose from. Great Divide was pithy: "A lot of people with firsts are barely socialised and couldn't switch a kettle on. What the kids need are animated and engaging people with charisma and the ability to improvise." GE44 said: "I've known a school caretaker with more idea of how to engage young people than teachers with first-class honours whose classrooms he swept." Report card Funding cuts Universities musn't think I'm being especially mean to them, purrs Struwwelpeter as he sharpens his claws. I'm not about to cut them off at the knees. In fact – and he really does say this – they should see this as "opportunity to do some clear thinking about the future". Mike Baker argues that compared to schools, universities are an easy target for cuts. Not least because they're so competitive with one another. Spelling trouble Synthetic phonics was supposed to be the cure-all that sorted out reading and writing in primary schools. It worked in Clackmannanshire – so what's going wrong in England? On the margins Barking barnets He's seen some horrible hair-dos in his time, but Phil Beadle says schools are crazy to legislate against tonsorial creativity. Quote of the week This week, a tasty mixed metaphor from John Dunford , general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, talking about the decision of many private schools to opt out of GCSEs and A-levels in favour of more impressive qualifications: "Exam results are used by universities to choose between different applicants and therefore it's vital that the playing field is level. We can't have a level playing field with a smorgasbord of examinations." Stories of the day Gelly on the plate Scientists at Birmingham University are working on a brilliant aid to dieters - a watery substance that turns into a gel in your stomach and makes you feel full. My favourite teacher Paddy Ashdown, Robert Peston, Sarah Waters and more reminisce about classroom inspiration A bad idea in any language Seaside towns are a magnet for foreign students wishing to learn English. But new visa rules could put language schools out of business All today's education stories EducationGuardian on Twitter