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Revolution in the Classroom: Part 5, Community and Conclusions

Gareth Stevens discusses the interplay between modern education, neo-liberalism, meritocracy and democracy. In part five he discusses the demise of close-nit communities and how this has impacted on the efficacy of democratic processes and individual wellbeing, before summing up in a short conclusion to parts one to five.   Community Let us be very clear about one thing, your school is not a community school … Continue reading Revolution in the Classroom: Part 5, Community and Conclusions

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Revolution in the Classroom: Part 4, Service Learning

Gareth Stevens discusses the interplay between modern education, neo-liberalism, meritocracy and democracy. In part four he highlights the huge failings of service learning and the citizenship curriculum in our schools. He also gives examples of ways in which it can be done better. On Service learning I want to point out the paucity of thought given to civic engagement and service learning in schools. Later … Continue reading Revolution in the Classroom: Part 4, Service Learning

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Revolution in the Classroom: Part 3, a Hong Kong Story

Gareth Stevens continues with his longer discussion of the interplay between modern education, neo-liberalism, meritocracy and democracy. In part three he tells of how the international school he worked in for 11 years failed to engage its students with the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement (or the ‘Umbrella Revolution’ as it was called at the time) and he argues that in not doing so they abdicated a … Continue reading Revolution in the Classroom: Part 3, a Hong Kong Story

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Revolution in the Classroom: Part 2, Meritocracy and Social Mobility

Gareth Stevens continues with his longer discussion of the interplay between modern education, neo-liberalism, meritocracy and democracy. In part two he discusses how false notions of meritocracy and social mobility conspire to block students from developing meaningful aspirations and argues that education is fundamentally flawed in this country. Rather than encouraging our children to be happy and emotionally buoyant, our system prioritizes a materialist and … Continue reading Revolution in the Classroom: Part 2, Meritocracy and Social Mobility

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Discuss, Ideas

Revolution in the Classroom: Part 1

Gareth Stevens discusses the interplay between modern education, neo-liberalism, meritocracy and democracy. He argues for a more participatory and authentic approach to the teaching of democracy and civic engagement. In Part One he introduces the longer piece and discusses whether the term ‘working class’ has any validity within educational and political discourse anymore. “For more than just a day They keep us from the game … Continue reading Revolution in the Classroom: Part 1

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Activism, Discuss, Stories

Refugee Reality Check

Kent Barker, writing in the Hastings Independent in February 2018, tells the story of a stateless refugee fortunate enough to find friends in Britons. This is the story of a boy called Javad. And it’s the story of a couple called Terry and Stuart who live in a small house in Hastings with two pampered cats. Javad now lives there too, sleeping in the conservatory … Continue reading Refugee Reality Check

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Book Reviews, Free Learning Media, Resources

Rules For Radicals

Gareth Stevens looks at the book by Saul D Alinsky. It’s a classic source of pragmatic advice for those who are organizing for positive change. (free copy here) I found out about Saul D Alinsky’s incredibly important book from an unlikely source. The CEO and publisher of Harbour Times, a business, policy and diplomacy newspaper in Hong Kong, hosted a session that aimed to introduce Alinsky’s … Continue reading Rules For Radicals

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Tim Martin and the Brexit Vox Populi

Or…JLB Didn’t Invent Television. The Real Pub Landlord; Tariff Reform – What Would Joe Chamberlain Say?; Two Sides of Bigotry; Democracy in Action; We Were Lied To From The Start; Emotional Politics; Dying For Freedom; Conclusive Press Summary. “There’s nothing falling off the walls.” – Tim Martin on the John Logie Baird, Hastings. “No. You’re wrong (again). A negotiation is about compromise. You’ve put us … Continue reading Tim Martin and the Brexit Vox Populi

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Council Houses by Any Other Name

By Kent Barker, writing in the Hastings Independent The only real surprise is that it’s taken so long. Margaret Thatcher’s mad doctrinaire decision to strip councils of the housing stock they had built up with rate-payers’ money over generations did untold damage. The Right-to-buy was bad enough. While enabling ordinary people to get onto the middle-class property gravy-train, it had the perverse effect of destroying … Continue reading Council Houses by Any Other Name

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