Tag Archives: France

Matisse in Corsica.

Posted on July 16, 2017 by Eddie Playfair

The great artist Henri Matisse (1869-1954) was inspired to use colour in radical new ways during his first visit to Corsica. After their wedding in early 1898, Matisse and his wife Amélie Parayre spent their honeymoon first in London and … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Education and the French presidential election.

Posted on April 17, 2017 by Eddie Playfair

This Sunday, 23rd April and then on Sunday 7th May, French voters go to the polls to elect a new head of state. This will be followed shortly afterwards by parliamentary elections on the 11th and 18th June. All the … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Education policy, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Abdellatif Laâbi: attesting against barbarism.

Posted on December 31, 2016 by Eddie Playfair

The brilliant Moroccan poet, novelist and playwright Abdellatif Laâbi is the epitome of the engaged writer. Born in Fez in 1942, he studied at the University of Rabat and was one of the founders of the literary magazine Souffles in … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Education, Poetry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Les réfugiés francophones de Londres.

Posted on October 25, 2016 by Eddie Playfair

Nous nous sommes réunis au Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle le 19 Octobre pour rappeler les évènements qui ont bouleversé le monde il y un siècle. Avant d’évoquer le Londres de 1916, je me permets d’évoquer celui de 1966. C’est … Continue reading →

Posted in en Francais, History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

London’s francophone refugees

Posted on September 25, 2016 by Eddie Playfair

We are roughly at the mid point of our commemoration of the First World War. Let’s look back just over a hundred years. London before the outbreak of war in 1914 was the greatest industrial city in the world and … Continue reading →

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Jean Jaurès: ‘what is courage?’

Posted on August 5, 2016 by Eddie Playfair

Jean Jaurès (1859-1914), member of the French National Assembly, leader of the Parti Socialiste Français and peace campaigner was an eloquent and compelling public speaker. One of his most famous speeches was his 1903 address to young people at the … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Politics | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Instinct, heart and reason – Daniel Pennac on the refugee crisis.

Posted on August 4, 2016 by Eddie Playfair

The popular French writer and teacher Daniel Pennac, author of Chagrin d’école (translated as School Blues) and Les droits du lecteur (The Rights of the Reader) amongst others, has written a powerful essay on the refugee crisis for a book … Continue reading →

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Market autonomy or democratic autonomy?

Posted on May 29, 2016 by Eddie Playfair

With French presidential and parliamentary elections due in April , May and June next year, politicians on all sides agree that education should be a high priority and they are trying out a range of policies for education reform. These … Continue reading →

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Educating after the November 13th attacks.

Posted on December 22, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

Philippe Meirieu on keeping the big questions open The French educationalist Philippe Meirieu reflects in Café Pedagogique on how the French education system should respond to the 13th November Paris massacre: “Our society’s response to terrorism must keep faith with … Continue reading →

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France: “teachers need to resist”

Posted on November 30, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

Following the terrorist outrages of November 13th , French sociologist Francois Dubet reflected on the Café Pedagogique website on the impact of such atrocities on the work of schools and on the role of schools in the aftermath of the … Continue reading →

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Scale and efficiency in upper secondary education

Posted on October 12, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

In which country has the national audit agency investigated the cost of upper secondary education and found it to be costly and inefficient? The figures have only recently been calculated and it seems that this phase is more expensive than … Continue reading →

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Educational inequality in France

Posted on May 31, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

With a far more cohesive national education system than ours, it is tempting to assume that France is more successful in challenging social inequalities through schooling. In fact, French educators share many of our concerns about the limits of their … Continue reading →

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Citoyens multilingues, société multiculturelle

Posted on March 19, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

Quelques réflexions sur le vécu bilingue et biculturel et ses avantages éducatifs. Je ne suis ni expert ni chercheur et je ne vous propose pas de résultats d’une recherche scientifique. J’enseigne depuis 30 ans dans des communautés diverses et je … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Education, en Francais | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Inspectors make the case for comprehensive colleges

Posted on January 31, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

A report by the national education inspectorate makes a strong case for comprehensive sixth form colleges rather than vocational colleges. The case is based on evidence that comprehensive colleges are more socially mixed and achieve better results. The report has … Continue reading →

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What is learning? Philippe Meirieu

Posted on July 23, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Philippe Meirieu is a French academic and Green party politician. His educational thinking starts from an ethical and egalitarian position and a commitment to emancipation through learning. He is actively involved in both educational and political debate and engages readily … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Teaching and learning | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments