Give me evidence
31 January 2010One flavour of discounting first-hand voices: A theory that our ethics and scepticism are being misconstrued/misrepresented as selfish blinkered naïveté.
You would say that
30 January 2010On the discounting of first-hand voices in favour of external “experts”. This is an obstacle to determining ethical and effective courses of action. Featuring quotes from Marcus Riggs and Charlotte Cooper, and references to the Children, Schools and Families Bill.
Advantages of maintaining ignorance
28 January 2010There’s a saying that “knowledge is power”. But sometimes ignorance has advantages too.
Featuring a quote from Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, and a couple of extracts from the Children, Schools and Families Bill Committee.
Self-sovereignty for children
25 January 2010Here I quote something Louisa wrote on children’s self-sovereignty, the non-neutral role of the state, and an ethical point of reference for the shape of our activism. This arose out of a discussion about how compulsory school can be used to protect children from being made to work (in the economic/ money-earning/ survival sense).
Dysfunctional news media
4 January 2010The book Flat Earth News gives an invaluable insight into the present-day news media. Highly recommended for all activists. Quotes and discussion here.
The nature of rights
2 January 2010Are rights real? If so, what kind of real? A sort of foundation for any possible future discussions here involving rights.
Oppression and places to stand with it
31 December 2009On the last day of the year, a slightly retrospective flavour exploring one theme of my year.
Setting more of the agenda
17 December 2009Some suggestions for possible amendments to the Home Education section of the Children, Schools and Families Bill. Plus some context for why I’m thinking about this now.
Impact Assessment notes: shorter version
17 December 2009Key points from the Home Education bit of the Impact Assessment for the Children, Schools & Families Bill.
Some notes on the Impact Assessment for the Children, Schools and Families Bill
15 December 2009I printed out the pages relevant to elective home-based education, highlighted the bits which snagged my attention, and wrote a note on each. Includes various omitted or miscalculated costs, and quite a long bit on School Attendance Orders.
Mainstream school, girls in immigrant &/or religious families, “British Values” etc
12 December 2009An angle I hadn’t considered before on recent struggles around UK education law.
Another angle on the consultation
20 October 2009Clare M’s consultation response as a sort of guest post, plus a bit of commentary by me, and links to a few other responses.