Angela Rayner’s speech to the Labour Party conference contained many interesting ideas. The National Education Service, of course, echoes the UK’s beloved NHS: The next Labour Government will create a National Education Service, a cradle-to-grave system supporting everyone throughout their lives. It would start in the early years, where we know it has the most … More Knowledge Belongs to the Many, Not the Few
In her thoughtful essay ‘The Crisis in Education’, Hannah Arendt addresses the difficulty of teaching in the modern world. If you go into teaching with the sole purpose of making a real difference, changing the world one child at a time, you might end up doing nothing of the sort. A revolutionary or radical attitude … More The Need for a Progressive Attitude
German players seemed to have more to draw on as people than English counterparts; greater all round resources that helped them navigate tournaments and pressure points Jonathan Northcroft: interview with Frank Lampard, Sunday Times, May 28th 2017 In our great debates about education: vocational vs grammar, 21st Century skills for the jobs that don’t yet … More Academic Education For All
Traditional education is problematic. If it was perfect then there would be no cogent arguments against it. As Dewey made clear, what he termed as progressive education was a reaction due to “discontent with traditional education.” This discontent is based on important ideas. Dewey described traditional education being, “…in essence, one of imposition from above and from … More The Problems With Traditional Education.
Lord Nash, speaking at the Challenge Partnership national conference, titled his talk: ‘what is relevant in business to education?’ According to the TES, he said that: “…too often teachers have confused their individuality with their professionalism… Being a professional means embracing accountability, standardisation and consistency, although of course we want our teachers to be inspiring.” He went … More Schools Are Not Businesses. A Message to Lord Nash.
To avoid misunderstanding: it seems to me that conservatism, in the sense of conservation, is of the essence of the educational activity Hannah Arendt According to the sleeve notes of their new album, Blue and Lonesome, Rolling Stones’ guitarist, Keith Richards, wants written on his gravestone: He passed it on The gnarled rockers’ latest album … More Teachers Should Pass Knowledge On
ED Hirsch Jr.’s new book ‘Why Knowledge Matters’ is a good read. It covers some old ground, focuses on areas in which his mind has changed and clarifies others in the light of experience and research. I am pleased to see, in his acknowledgements, that we share some similar philosophical interests, especially Husserl, Hegel and … More Why Knowledge Matters by E.D. Hirsch Jr.
To be cultured means to nail one’s colours to the mast, and those who fear what’s arbitrary in that (and run to theory for protection) fear culture itself. Howard Jacobson The importance of tradition, the great tradition, is not that it is the only possibility but it is the best one that we have. For … More Get Kids Cultured
Creating a culture of speech in your classroom means having everyone doing it, not simply those that are willing – do not let students ‘hide’. Andrew Fitch, from the book: Trivium in Practice In a piece for the TES, Jonathan Simons, head of Education for Policy Exchange, wrote about the importance of debating: To debate, participants … More The Importance of Debate in Schools
The dove, in free flight cutting through the air the resistance of which it feels, could get the idea that it could do even better in airless space. Immanuel Kant: Critique of Pure Reason Pity our free spirits, constrained by the school and kicking against the pricks. Teenagers, angst ridden, knowing full well if the … More When Push Comes to Shove: Kant’s Dove
Trivium 21c 