All must have prizes

British Education is in a state of meltdown. Throughout the system, from nursery classes to degree courses, the relationship between teacher and pupil has been undermined, and the idea that children should be taught a body of rules at all, whether in maths or grammar, is now taboo in many schools. Systematic instruction has given way to approximations and guesswork. The result is a rising tide of illiteracy. Melanie Phillips' devastating book is the inside story of a social debacle. But the collapse of education is not viewed in isolation. At the heart of the problem lies cultural and moral relativism, the doctrine that no values can be judged to be any better or worse than any other. The primary effect, particularly in the last twenty years, is the collapse of the authority of the institutions. Melanie Phillips sounds a warning and offers a blueprint to restore authority and meaning to society.