Activism

One flavour of discounting first-hand voices: A theory that our ethics and scepticism are being misconstrued/misrepresented as selfish blinkered naïveté.

On 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.

There’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.

Here 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).

The book Flat Earth News gives an invaluable insight into the present-day news media. Highly recommended for all activists. Quotes and discussion here.

Are rights real? If so, what kind of real? A sort of foundation for any possible future discussions here involving rights.

On the last day of the year, a slightly retrospective flavour exploring one theme of my year.

Some 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.

Key points from the Home Education bit of the Impact Assessment for the Children, Schools & Families Bill.

I 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.

An angle I hadn’t considered before on recent struggles around UK education law.

Clare M’s consultation response as a sort of guest post, plus a bit of commentary by me, and links to a few other responses.