Scottish Enlightenment

• Smith – whose tercentenary we celebrate this year – was a pioneer of economics.
• He was one of the greatest thinkers the world has seen and an alumnus of the University of Glasgow.
• Smith’s first great work, the Theory of Modern Sentiments (1759), sets the philosophical foundations for his magnum opus, The Wealth of Nations (1776).

Universal education

• And the general consensus among Smith scholars is that Smith was in favour of a public contribution towards education, although in the 18th century this related to the provision of primary school education.
• Smith also argued for universal education.
• He believed that, to offset the harmful effects of the alienation caused by the division of labour, education had to be accessible to all workers.
• During his life, Smith saw reforms to university education in Glasgow: new professorships in law, new medical schools and an expansion into new subjects like chemistry and botany.

Productivity problem

• The recent sluggishness in productivity growth in the UK and some other advanced economies has complex causes.
• Demand for labour is above pre-pandemic levels, according to the Bank of England’s August 2022 Monetary Policy Report , but supply is below pre-pandemic levels.
• Also, the quality of education is quantitatively much more important than the quantity of education for sustained economic growth.

Working with technology

• MIT economists Daron Acemoğlu and Simon Johnson discuss this in their new book Power & Progress: The Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity.
• In essence, this means ensuring that new technologies like AI do not substitute people, but complement labour to boost productivity.
• His fundamental belief in the value of education to society will continue to stand the test of time.

• This first-ever biography explores the curious connection between the American Revolution and the Industrial Revolution.
• First biography of William Small -- mentor to Thomas Jefferson & James Watt.
• Spark of American & Industrial Revolutions
  Walter Isaacson, who encouraged the project, knew of Small from research for his best-selling biography of Benjamin Franklin.
• William Small died on Feb. 25, 1775 247 years ago this month as both the American Revolution and the global Industrial Revolution were getting underway.

• CHICAGO, July 8, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Britannica Digital Learning today announced that LaunchPacks, its popular K-12 social studies curriculum solution, has won the prestigious 2021 CODiE Award for "Best Social Sciences/Studies Instructional Solution."
• The CODiE Awards are presented annually by the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), the principal trade association for the software and digital content industries.
• Britannica LaunchPacks is a digital solution that transforms the way teachers facilitate learning and how students engage with and master core concepts while developing lifelong literacy skills.
• Britannica Digital Learning is a division of the Britannica Group, which is headquartered in Chicago.

• CHICAGO, April 8, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ --Encyclopaedia Britannica today announced Britannica for Parents , a new website that provides information, resources and advice from trusted experts in child development and education.
• The site aims to provide advice and guidance for parents of children of all ages.
• "Parents around the world are looking for guidance on how to raise their children," said Ann Gadzikowski, director of early learning at Encyclopaedia Britannica and the site's chief editor.
• The site has special features for parents of young children in the crucial early years, from birth through age seven.