John Taylor Gatto devoted 30 years of his life to teaching. When he resigned, he ploughed his energy into writing books about modern education; books that weren’t always complimentary about the ideology, history, and consequences of western teaching practices. I’m not going to get into all that, but today, as many children break up for … Continue reading School’s Out For Summer
Where did it all go wrong? Back in the 1930s, eminent economist of the day, John Maynard Keynes predicted that, in the future, the working week would be drastically cut, maybe to as little as 15 hours a week, with people choosing to have more leisure time as their material needs were satisfied. What Keynes … Continue reading Survival Tips for the Mildly Frazzled
It’s Sunday: that day in the week when you want things to be simple. A bit of a lie in (maybe you’ve had someone bring you a cup of tea to bed), flick on the radio to see about the state of the world (it’s still turning, snuggle back under), a quick peep outside for … Continue reading Easy Like Sunday Morning
Well done, you’ve made it - it’s Friday. How has your week been? I hope you are not feeling too weary, that you’ve not been run ragged with the ravages of your job. If you work at a university, you might have been striking yesterday, or sneaking in through the back door for fear of … Continue reading Run Ragged
I’ve just looked at the weather forecast and decided I’m not going to leave the house all weekend. I’m still ‘post viral’ which is my main excuse, but a frigid February has firmed it up for me. I am going to continue to drop everything and relax. I used to have a poster of ‘The … Continue reading Balancing Act
“I had no idea you were so melodramatic,” J. said to me on the phone last night. “You are so measured when we talk through things, but when it comes to you feeling poorly, suddenly it’s the end of the world!” My mum laughed, “she’s got the measure of you alright,” as she reminded me … Continue reading Go Slow
“When a great moment knocks on the door of your life, it is often no louder than the beating of your heart, and it is very easy to miss.” So said poet and novelist Boris Pasternak. I surely don't want to miss my ‘great moment’ and have it slip by unnoticed, do you? But if … Continue reading Quiet
