Tag Archives: Democracy

London Citizens’ Mayoral Assembly: 28th April 2016.

Posted on April 30, 2016 by Eddie Playfair

Is it inevitable that politicians are held in low regard and that political debate is reduced to personalities or fleeting soundbites? Is there an alternative to disengagement and cynicism? A politics of respect and engagement is possible – and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Tagged citizenship education, community organising, Democracy, elections, Housing, London, London citizens, London mayor, London mayoral accountability assembly, refugee, Sadiq Khan, Zac Goldsmith | Leave a comment

Project Hope: for a democratic Europe.

Posted on April 10, 2016 by Eddie Playfair

‘Project Fear’ is well under way. Both sides in the EU referendum are keen to convince us that everything will be worse if we stay / leave and to scare us into the polling stations on June 23rd. No concern … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Tagged Democracy, EU referendum, Europe, European Union, global citizenship, politics, Solidarity | 2 Comments

Young people discuss the future of London

Posted on March 29, 2016 by Eddie Playfair

We were delighted to welcome 3 of the candidates for this May’s Greater London Assembly elections to our NewVIc Future London event, held at Stratford Circus Arts Centre on Wednesday 23rd March. The hustings were part of our Future London showcase … Continue reading →

Posted in NewVIc, Politics, Students | Tagged Democracy, elections, London, London mayor, Newham Sixth Form College, NewVIc, politics, young people | Leave a comment

Boswell in Corsica.

Posted on March 28, 2016 by Eddie Playfair

The Scottish lawyer and writer James Boswell (1740-1795), famous for his Life of Samuel Johnson, was also a great supporter of Pasquale Paoli and Corsican independence. Boswell met enlightenment thinkers such as Voltaire and Rousseau and was encouraged by Rousseau to … Continue reading →

Posted in History | Tagged Corsica, Democracy, enlightenment, Equality, James Boswell, Pasquale Paoli, Samuel Johnson | Leave a comment

The social origins of human thinking.

Posted on March 27, 2016 by Eddie Playfair

What is thinking? Where does human thought come from? How did it evolve? These are important questions for us if we want to understand what makes humans different from other living things and to make the most of our abilities both as … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Philosophy, Science, Teaching and learning | Tagged co-operation, collaboration, Critical thinking, Cultural heritage, Democracy, Education, empathy, evolution, Lev Vygotsky, Michael Tomasello, shared intentionality, Social cohesion, thinking | Leave a comment

W.E.B. DuBois, black liberation and liberal education for all.

Posted on February 7, 2016 by Eddie Playfair

The great African American academic, socialist, peace and civil rights activist William Edward Burghardt DuBois (1868-1963) wrote about philosophy, sociology, history, race equality and education as well as writing fiction. He is best remembered for his The Souls of Black … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, History | Tagged African American, curriculum, Democracy, discrimination, Education, Equality, liberal education, Martin Luther King, Race equality, vocational education, W.E.B. DuBois | Leave a comment

Developing Labour’s vision for education

Posted on September 22, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

The heady summer campaign is over and a new leader has been elected. It’s time for the party to turn its attention to policy development as well as effective opposition. Across the whole spectrum of public policy, the party needs … Continue reading →

Posted in Education policy | Tagged competition, comprehensive education, curriculum, Democracy, Education, elections, Equality, Labour party, marketisation, National baccalaureate, selection | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Education, Education Futures, Reviews | Tagged citizenship education, community education, Democracy, Education, future, future-building school, Keri Facer, Learning Futures, schools, Solidarity | Leave a comment

‘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 →

Posted in Education, Reviews | Tagged arts education, citizenship education, Critical thinking, curriculum, Democracy, Education, Equality, John Dewey, liberal education, Martha Nussbaum, Rabindranath Tagore, Solidarity, Universities | Leave a comment

For a pragmatic idealism

Posted on June 28, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

We all have a range of perspectives on education arising from our various roles: professional, personal and political. In those roles, whether as teachers, learners, parents, governors or trade unionists we need to find ways of dealing with the world … Continue reading →

Posted in Education policy | Tagged Democracy, Education, Equality, marketisation, National baccalaureate, Post-16 funding, SEA, Solidarity | 2 Comments

Market madness: condition critical

Posted on June 24, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

Market madness: condition critical From Forum vol.57, no.2, 2015 The condition of English education is critical. It has been weakened by pathological marketization and is in desperate need of treatment to restore it to health. In this article, I try to … Continue reading →

Posted in Education policy | Tagged aspiration tax, competition, comprehensive education, Democracy, Education, elections, Equality, Forum, marketisation, selection, Solidarity, young people | 2 Comments

Snatching hope from the jaws of despair

Posted on June 17, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

What we say and do about post-16 education, like everything else, has to be seen in the context of the outcome of the recent general election. Elections are the great democratic moment when the people ‘speak’ and all our individual choices … Continue reading →

Posted in Education policy | Tagged Colleges, Colleges and Universities, competition, comprehensive education, Democracy, Education, elections, Equality, marketisation, National baccalaureate, Post-16 funding | 3 Comments

A better future for London?

Posted on May 29, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

The political parties are currently in the process of choosing their candidates for the 2016 London mayoral and Greater London Assembly elections. For Labour, this means that members in London are pondering who is best placed to help win back the … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Tagged Changing London, Christian Wolmar, David Lammy, David Robinson, Democracy, Diane Abbott, elections, Equality, inequality, Labour party, London, London mayor, politics | Leave a comment

Listening to our post-16 conscience.

Posted on May 23, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

Frank Coffield is the conscience of the post-16 sector. When faddishness or instrumentalism threaten, he is there to remind us of our values and our purpose. A decade ago, Coffield was one of the first to question ‘learning styles’ and … Continue reading →

Posted in Education policy | Tagged 18 year olds, Colleges, curriculum, Democracy, Education, England, Frank Coffield, further education, learning, National baccalaureate, Post-16 funding, professionalism, teaching | 5 Comments

Tribalism or pluralism?

Posted on May 3, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

With no single party likely to win an overall majority in next week’s general election, they are all finding ways of answering, or not answering, the questions about what they will do in hypothetical post-election scenarios. So we are learning … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Tagged coalition, Democracy, diversity, elections, pluralism, political parties, politics, tribalism | 2 Comments

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