John Popham's Blog (7)

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It's a little bit out of date now, but I found this thought provoking article from Time Magazine, which I think is just as pertinent to the UK education system as it is to that in the US.

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How to Bring Our Schools Out of the 20th Century

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Here's a potentially exciting venture offering a radically different and engaging approach to education.

What do you think?

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Next year West Yorkshire Playhouse will open a brand new arts space in Leeds dedicated to young people. Facilities will include large visual and pe

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The Parliamentary Education and Skills Committee (chaired by Barry Sheerman, MP for Huddersfield) is conducting an inquiry into Creative Partnerships and the Curriculum.

The deadline for responses is Monday 16th July 2007.

Details of how to respond can be found here http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/education_and_skills_committee/espn040607.cfm. Or, alter

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Letter Published in "Times Educational Supplement - FE Focus" 29th March 2007

I was very surprised by your editorial in FE Focus (“Folly of EU Phone Subsidy” - 23/3/07). I normally have the highest respect for your publication, but, in this instance I think you have lost the plot. To suggest that resources should only be targeted at those who want to learn is to ignore so many of the issues which beset the education system today. The UK cannot afford the was

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I just don’t get the majority of Reality Television. Perhaps it’s my age, I don’t know, but it just passes me by. In my view television should entertain, inform or educate, perhaps even a mixture of these, if possible. I find the antics of reality TV “stars” one step removed from watching paint dry. Why is the nation gripped by so much of this stuff; by young people sitting around bitching about each other and doing very little else; by out of tune wannabe pop stars who really should have been t… Continue

This is the full text of a letter partially published in the Society section of "The Guardian" Newspaper on 22nd November 2006.

Dear Sir

Peter Inson’s perceptive article (“Work Ethics” 15/11/06) on the issue of the young people who drop out of school because they have positive alternatives hits the nail on the head in all but one respect. He seems to suggest that schools should waive goodbye to youngsters such as Charlie at an early age and accept they… Continue