Describing our viewpoints on the world, Mary Midgley used the analogy of an aquarium with a number of murky windows through which people could peer. If we think of the aquarium as a whole as ‘reality and truth’ and each window being a perspective through which we can gaze upon that reality, we can begin … More Cultural Mobility
Initially appealing, at least to me, the idea of cultural capital has begun to worry me. Though not coined by someone who admitted to being a Marxist, Pierre Bourdieu did draw quite heavily on Marxist thinking when it came to expounding his thesis. It is about power. Simply put, if you speak posh, go on … More Some Problems with Cultural Capital and Social Mobility
Curriculum Shorts (Some short musings about curriculum) The thought that the only thing keeping the unwashed hordes from taking up positions at the highest echelons of society is a knowledge-rich curriculum is, somewhat, ludicrous. The idea that by learning a smattering of Latin, the history of kings and queens, Darwinian theories, and iambic pentameter the offspring … More The Socially-Mobile Curriculum
The Government wants to unlock talent and fulfil potential with its plan to improve social mobility through education. It intends to do this by: targeting communities that are left behind, closing the ‘word-gap’ in early years, closing the attainment gap in schools between disadvantaged and more affluent children, providing high quality post 16 skills education … More Social Mobility? Forget It…
In this morning’s Daily Telegraph Shaun Fenton the headmaster of Reigate Grammar School writes that: We should increase social mobility by using state funding to open access to independent schools. Independent schools should be challenged to educate even more disadvantaged young people… My proposition is that the partial state funding should be for those who … More On Independent School Education for Pupil Premium Children
Trivium 21c 