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Recent Posts
- A political education. May 10, 2022
- Redistribution and recognition should go hand in hand. April 17, 2022
- French presidential election: could Mélenchon make it? April 10, 2022
- Owning our crises March 26, 2022
- French elections 2022 January 29, 2022
- Zola’s ‘Money’ January 23, 2022
- Overcoming the barriers to learning January 7, 2022
- Finding our voice in a crisis. January 1, 2022
- Stupid gene. December 30, 2021
- Learning from Utopia December 28, 2021
- Resisting classification December 23, 2021
- ‘Bewilderment’ by Richard Powers November 22, 2021
- “You either bend the arc or it bends you” September 12, 2021
- A manifesto to end educational inequality? September 9, 2021
- ‘Light Perpetual’ by Francis Spufford May 15, 2021
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Tag Archives: economy
Owning our crises
The climate emergency and environmental degradation, the Covid-19 pandemic, the injustices of systemic racism, wars and their humanitarian consequences, the sharp rise in the cost of living… As one crisis succeeds another in dominating our thoughts, it’s easy to see … Continue reading
Posted in Politics
Tagged Anti-war, Antonio Gramsci, climate emergency, crisis, Democracy, economy, Equality, inequality, Nancy Fraser, politics, Social change, Sustainability
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Zola’s ‘Money’
Rougon-Macquart #18 A powerful anti-capitalist novel. Emile Zola’s wonderful 1890 novel ‘L’Argent’ (‘Money’) is set in the world of finance and share-speculation in 1860’s Paris. It is still fresh and relevant and should be on any reading list of anti-capitalist … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Fiction, Politics, Reviews
Tagged capitalism, economy, Emile Zola, France, investment, money, Napoleon III, Paris, Second Empire, socialism, speculation, Yanis Varoufakis
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10 things which could improve education
I’d like to offer the following tentative 10 point charter to improve education at all levels as an initial contribution to the debate about the future of education in England. 1. Build a comprehensive system rooted in equality: We should … Continue reading
Posted in Education, Education policy
Tagged citizenship education, comprehensive education, Critical thinking, Cultural heritage, culture, curriculum, Democracy, economy, Education, education system, employment, England, Equality, future, global citizenship, knowledge, learning, liberal education, National Education Service, research, Social cohesion, Solidarity, values
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Shaping an alternative education policy.
The Labour Party National Policy Forum Consultation 2017. Labour is currently consulting on its Early Years, Education and Skills policies and the consultation document merits the attention of anyone who is interested in developing alternatives to the current direction of … Continue reading
University for all
This August I was asked to contribute a short piece for our local newspaper, the Newham Recorder, as part of a debate about the benefits of a university education. I did my best to summarise the case in 220 words … Continue reading
Posted in Education
Tagged Cultural heritage, economy, Education, employment, London, Newham, Newham Sixth Form College, NewVIc, Universities, university progression
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What is Social Capital?
The Economy of Ideas #5 What is social capital? “Connections among individuals; social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them.” Robert Putnam (b. 1941) Bowling Alone: the Collapse and Revival of American Community (2001) The American … Continue reading
Posted in Education, Philosophy
Tagged capital, economy, Education, human capital, ideas, Jane Jacobs, Lyda Hanifan, OECD, Robert Putnam, social capital
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The global economy of care.
The economy of ideas #3. Is there a limit to how much we can care about others? Is it natural that we should care more about those who are closest to us? Is it in our nature to ‘look after … Continue reading
Posted in Philosophy, Politics
Tagged care, economy, Equality, global citizenship, selfishness, Solidarity, univeralism
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Educational inequality in Europe
What are the patterns of educational inequality in Europe? To help answer this question, The Social Atlas of Europe (Policy Press, 2014) by Danny Dorling, Dimitris Ballas and Benjamin Hennig provides a fascinating visual overview of inequalities across our continent … Continue reading
Posted in Education
Tagged cartograms, Danny Dorling, economy, Education, Equality, Europe, inequality, social atlas, Social cohesion
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Overlooked and left behind?
The latest report from the House of Lords Select Committee on Social Mobility runs to over 100 pages and makes some worthy points. However, it seems to support the idea that education in itself can improve mobility and fairness in the … Continue reading
The limits of social mobility
In his Observer article a couple of weeks ago, the sociologist John Goldthorpe shatters two cherished illusions: first, that social mobility in Britain is in decline and second, that education is a powerful agent for promoting social mobility. 1. Social … Continue reading
Posted in Education
Tagged economy, Education, Equality, John Goldthorpe, marketisation, Social mobility, Sociology
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Skill shortage, training shortage or job shortage?
Unpicking the ‘skills gap’ narrative. “The number of job vacancies unfilled because employers cannot find candidates with the appropriate skills has risen by 130% in 4 years” (UK Commission for Employment and Skills UKCET report, January 2016) When employers or … Continue reading
Let’s celebrate vocational success!
I never cease to be surprised at how little most politicians and commentators know about vocational qualifications and their value. There is no shortage of people who will tell us that we need to ‘do something’ about vocational education in this country … Continue reading
Teachers create wealth too!
It’s become a commonplace to say that wealth has to be created before it can be spent and the received wisdom in mainstream political discourse is that the private sector does the wealth creating which then allows the public sector … Continue reading
Posted in Politics
Tagged austerity, children, Colleges, crossing patrol, economy, Education, Elizabeth Warren, politics, resilience, Social cohesion, Solidarity, young people
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Defending liberal education
I had the pleasure of attending a talk at the London School of Economics given by the U.S. commentator Fareed Zakaria (18th May 2015). The lecture coincided with the launch of his new book ‘In Defense of a Liberal Education’ … Continue reading
Posted in Education
Tagged Critical thinking, Cultural heritage, curriculum, economy, Education, Fareed Zakaria, innovation, liberal education, technology
3 Comments