So, I read this book. This shouldn't really come as a surprise seeing as reading books is kinda my thing. I recently finished this at the same time as finishing writing an essay about the changes to assessment in English laid out in the government's most recent white paper. They illuminated each other, to say the least.
I expected it to be difficult as pretty much everyone has told me that Dickens is, but, as I found with his other books I've read, this was a completely enjoyable page turner and hugely topical.
The story revolves around Thomas Gradgrind, his family and acquaintances. Thomas Gradgrind believes, above all else, in the importance of facts. That is, until his daughter, who is highly educated in his 'system', falls into a crisis that brings Gradgrind to question his philosophy. Dicken's prose, though famously circuituous and with so many tangents you'd think you'd wandered into a maths nightmare, is enchanting, with a rhythm and security that wraps you up like a warm blanket.
However, Dickens was 150 years before his time in terms of his message: a warning against the mistreatment of the environment and the humble and an admonition about the dangers of too much reliance on facts rather than 'fancy'.
Everybody even distantly involved in education should read this, especially Michael Gove.
Love
Lizi xx
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