Category Archives: Reviews

What is powerful knowledge?

Posted on August 19, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

In Knowledge and the Future School (2014) the sociologist of education Michael Young proposes a ‘return to knowledge’ following what he regards as the ‘turn away from knowledge’ taken by some progressives including Young himself in his earlier work. This … Continue reading →

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Keri Facer and the future-building school

Posted on August 4, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

In her brilliant book Learning Futures – Education, technology and social change (2011) Professor Keri Facer suggests that we should be creating what she calls future-building schools rather than future-proof schools based on equipping young people to compete in the global economy. Keri … Continue reading →

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‘Not for Profit’ by Martha Nussbaum

Posted on July 31, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

In Not for Profit (2010), the U.S. philosopher and academic Martha Nussbaum argues that we are in the midst of a global crisis in education. Why? Because we are too willing to neglect the skills we need to keep democracy … Continue reading →

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Reading dystopias

Posted on July 15, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

Reading dystopias Utopia: an imagined society or state of things in which everything is perfect or close to perfect. Dystopia: an imagined society or state of things in which things are very far from perfect to a frightening extent. An … Continue reading →

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From Bamako to Timbuktu

Posted on July 5, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

The brilliant director Abderrahmane Sissakou grew up in Mali and has named two of his films after Malian cities: Bamako and Timbuktu. Watching these two remarkable films recently over one weekend in the sequence they were made was a moving … Continue reading →

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Gulliver’s levels

Posted on May 4, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

Jonathan Swift’s ‘Gulliver’s Travels’, first published in 1726, mocks the travel journals of its day with their increasingly fantastical adventures. It is also brilliant social satire, mercilessly tearing through contemporary conventions and pretentions.   It can also be read as a thought … Continue reading →

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Roberto Unger on school as the ‘voice of the future’

Posted on April 15, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

In his excellent book ‘The Left Alternative’ the Brazilian philosopher and politician Roberto Unger proposes a new way for progressives to think about the future and start creating the good society. Unger suggests we should not give up on the central promise … Continue reading →

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Berkeley and the promise of the public university

Posted on January 5, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

Frederick Wiseman’s brilliant documentary ‘At Berkeley’ which takes a long (4 hour) look at this large Californian university as it was in one semester of 2010. Despite its length, I warmly recommend it to anyone interested in education.  As viewers … Continue reading →

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Gramsci’s grammar and Dewey’s dialectic.

Posted on December 18, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

James Donald’s ‘Dewey-eyed optimism’ Over 20 years ago I read a short review article which re-examined the relationship between knowledge, skill, vocationalism and a broad liberal education. It helped me see that progressive educators could value knowledge and tradition as … Continue reading →

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Grosse Fugue by Ian Phillips (Alliance Publishing Press, 2012)

Posted on September 27, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

This is a story whose outlines are familiar but which we need to hear again and again. The story of Reuben Mendel is a twentieth century biography, a story of both world wars, the holocaust and its aftermath. It is … Continue reading →

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Trivium 21c by Martin Robinson

Posted on August 24, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

I am so glad to have finally got round to reading Trivium 21c. I was expecting a treat and I wasn’t disappointed. This is an important book which should be read by anyone interested in the purpose and practice of … Continue reading →

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