Author Archives: Eddie Playfair

About Eddie Playfair

I am a Senior Policy Manager at the Association of Colleges (AoC) having previously been a college principal for 16 years and a teacher before that. I live in East London and I blog in a personal capacity about education and culture. I also tweet at @eddieplayfair

Tsitsi Dangarembga’s ‘Nervous Conditions’.

Posted on May 3, 2020 by Eddie Playfair

The personal is political, and this wonderful book is both entirely personal and deeply political. Nervous Conditions (1988) is the story of Tambudzai, a young woman growing up in rural Zimbabwe (then known as Rhodesia) in the late 1960’s, told … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Fiction, Reviews | Tagged Africa, colonialism, Equality, inequality, liberation, Nervous Conditions, Race equality, racism, sexism, subjugation, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Zimbabwe | Leave a comment

Rebecca Solnit on Hope.

Posted on April 23, 2020 by Eddie Playfair

In a crisis, it is easy to despair. ‘Don’t mourn, organise!’ is a good mantra in such situations. Mourning has its place, but our response should be neither blind despair nor blind hope. We need to understand the objective reality … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Politics, Reviews | Tagged Coronavirus pandemic, crisis, hope, Hope in the Dark, learning, optimism, pessimism, Rebecca Solnit, Thinking Global, utopianism | 2 Comments

In praise of lightness – Calvino’s Leggerezza.

Posted on March 29, 2020 by Eddie Playfair

The Italian writer, Italo Calvino, was invited to give the Charles Eliot Norton lectures at Harvard University in 1985 but died before he was able to deliver them. Luckily, we have the text of 5 of these 6 planned lectures … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Philosophy, Reviews | Tagged emergence, Italo Calvino, Leggerezza, Lezioni Amerciane, Lightness, Six memos for the next millennium, Thinking Global, weight | Leave a comment

An A-Z for a world which has to change.

Posted on March 22, 2020 by Eddie Playfair

In the midst of a global coronavirus pandemic which threatens many lives, we need to remember that this is just one of several global crises we face which will change our world in profound ways. All these challenges require us … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Tagged Anti-war, basic income, co-operation, Coronavirus pandemic, Democracy, Equality, global citizenship, inclusion, inequality, knowledge, marketisation, mutuality, poverty, rationalism, resilience, Solidarity, state, Sustainability, Thinking Global, trust, universalism, wealth, xenophobia, young people, zeitgeist | 1 Comment

Decarbonising education.

Posted on March 15, 2020 by Eddie Playfair

The climate emergency is a global reality and the large scale catastrophic weather events we face on a regular basis remind us that it is affecting us in the here and now, while also threatening far more serious impacts in … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Education policy, Politics, Students, Teaching and learning | Tagged AoC, citizenship education, climate change, climate emergency, Climate Emergency Education Bill 2020, global citizenship, Nadia Whittome MP, NUS, student activism, Students Organising for Sustainability UK, Teach the Future, UK Student Climate Network | Leave a comment

The mighty pencil

Posted on November 2, 2019 by Eddie Playfair

The mighty pencil It’s just a pencil Making a mark in a specific place On a specific piece of paper On a specific day. It only takes a second or two, No time at all. Such a simple thing. But … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Poetry, Politics | Tagged Democracy, elections, Poetry, politics, voting | Leave a comment

Knowledge-rich and skills-rich

Posted on August 18, 2019 by Eddie Playfair

We can learn a lot from the telly. Skills competitions like ‘Bake Off’ and ‘Strictly’ and quiz shows like ‘University Challenge’ and ‘Mastermind’ are among the most popular programmes on TV. These shows fall into two main camps, reflecting a … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Philosophy | Tagged E. D. Hirsch, further education, Gilbert Ryle, Harold Entwistle, John Dewey, knowledge, Lisa Wheeahan, Michael Young, powerful knowledge, skills, vocational education | Leave a comment

‘Unsheltered’ by Barbara Kingsolver

Posted on August 11, 2019 by Eddie Playfair

Barbara Kingsolver’s novels are always fascinating and rewarding and her latest, Unsheltered (2019) is no exception. We follow two stories over a hundred years apart and set in the same location; Vineland, New Jersey, a town originally established as a … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Fiction, Reviews | Tagged Barbara Kingsolver, Charles Darwin, evolution, Mary Treat, natural selection, Unsheltered | Leave a comment

‘The Overstory’ by Richard Powers.

Posted on March 10, 2019 by Eddie Playfair

Richard Powers is an extraordinary writer. If you’ve not yet discovered his novels, I strongly recommend them. He tackles big ideas which concern all of us while at the same time telling compelling stories about complex and conflicted characters who … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Fiction, Reviews, Science | Tagged global citizenship, interdependence, old growth forest, Patricia Westerford, Planet Earth, Richard Powers, Sustainability, The Overstory, Thinking Global, trees | Leave a comment

Familiale (Jacques Prévert)

Posted on March 10, 2019 by Eddie Playfair

The mother is knitting The son is fighting She thinks it quite natural the mother And the father what is he doing the father? He’s doing business His wife is knitting His son is fighting He’s doing business He thinks … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Poetry | Tagged Anti-war, Jacques Prévert, Poetry, translation | 1 Comment

Fred Jarvis and ‘what the future holds’.

Posted on January 20, 2019 by Eddie Playfair

It was a great privilege to join with so many others this week in a belated celebration of Fred Jarvis’ 94th birthday at the Institute of Education in London. It was both a joyous and a serious occasion. Far from … Continue reading →

Posted in Education | Tagged Fred Jarvis, future, optimism, pessimism | 1 Comment

The promise of a National Education Service

Posted on January 13, 2019 by Eddie Playfair

The proposed creation of a National Education Service (NES) for England offers us the possibility of a decisive break with the market model, where education is treated as a commodity and where individual and institutional competition are regarded as the … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Education Futures, Education policy, Politics | Tagged Education, Forum, Ken Jones, marketisation, National baccalaureate, National Citizens' Service, National Education Service, Roberto Unger | Leave a comment

My NewVIc story: Nathan Coulson

Posted on July 6, 2018 by Eddie Playfair

My NewVIc story: Nathan Coulson When I started at NewVIc , I was sixteen and I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. This was probably obvious from my A-level choices: Philosophy, English Literature, Classical Civilisations, Maths and Further … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Guest blogs, NewVIc, Students | Tagged My NewVIc Story, Nathan Coulson, Newham Sixth Form College, NewVIc, NewVIc alumni, social enterprise | Leave a comment

My NewVIc story: Joseph Adelakun

Posted on July 5, 2018 by Eddie Playfair

My NewVIc story: Joseph Adelakun Former NewVIc student Joseph Adelakun is a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and performed in the new RSC productions of Julius Caesar, Titus Andronicus and Antony and Cleopatra. At NewVIc, Joseph studied A-level Drama, A-level … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Guest blogs, NewVIc, Students | Tagged Joseph Adelakun, My NewVIc Story, Newham Sixth Form College, NewVIc, NewVIc alumni, Royal Shakespeare Company | Leave a comment

Creating the conditions for a successful FE system

Posted on April 29, 2018 by Eddie Playfair

This week saw the launch of The FE and Skills System, a study by The Policy Consortium. Subtitled ‘The consequences of policy decisions – lessons for policymakers and stakeholders’, this thorough survey reaches deep into the heart of FE; drawing … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Education policy | Tagged Colleges, Education, further education, policy, Policy Consortium, policy volatility, Tony Davis | Leave a comment

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