Good letter about the economy in The Observer this week

If capitalism is unstable, it's not just because it deals with unknowable risk but because it lives by that risk and makes it more unknowable.
Capitalism disconnects wealth, profit and growth from any material or social measure of benefit or improvement. Hutton calls for daring deeds, not words, but fails to get much beyond the chimera of monetary growth and GDP. His bold measures treat mainly symptoms, not causes, symbols, not substance. The task of government is not simply to quantify and manipulate financial targets, but to enable us to define and deliver the goods and services we most need. Not just to turn the tap marked "Growth", but determine what is to be grown and how.
Human wellbeing is never totally knowable or quantifiable. But we do know we all need health, housing, education, useful employment, peace and care in old age. And a world fit for our children and theirs. This real market is all our business, central to good life and good government. Our future is not reducible to "Profit" and "Loss", or to be left at the door of "Good Capitalism".
Greg Wilkinson
Swansea

Democracy in Europe?

Politics and Literacy. These are amazing times.
On Friday, Nov. 11, Time magazine published an article by Stephan Faris with the title: Regime Change in Europe: Do Greece and Italy Amount to a Bankers’ Coup? It says the following:

“The voice of the people isn't something the markets seem to want to hear these days. First there was Greece, the cradle of democracy itself, where early this month, the merest mention of a referendum offering its citizens a say in a series of severe austerity measures was enough to send the markets into a tailspin. The ultimate result: the collapse of Prime Minister George Papandreou's ruling coalition, the rejection of any notion of bringing the proposal before the people, and the installation of a caretaker government under the leadership of Lucas Papademos, a former vice president of the European Central Bank and, until earlier this week, a visiting professor at Harvard.

“Then came Italy. As Athens threatened to go under, Rome found itself under pressure not so much for its level of debt — which though high is generally considered within the limits of sustainability — as much as for the erratic behaviour of its flamboyant prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi. On Monday [Nov. 7], investors seemed to make the collective decision that he could no longer be trusted at the helm of the euro zone's third largest economy and sent Italy's cost of borrowing up towards crisis levels. By the end of the week, not only was Berlusconi finished, so was the very idea of holding a vote to replace him. The markets had spoken, and they didn’t like the idea of going to the electorate. ‘The country needs reforms, not elections,’ said Herman Van Rompuy, president of the European Council on a visit to Rome Friday.”

"What was it Sisyphus pushed up the hill?"

Reading Carol Ann Duffy's new book 'The Bees' and her poem 'Big Ask' made me go back to Greek Myths to answer her question

Then there was Albert Camus

I now tweet more than I blog...
#ALambirth

Blogging

I have been neglecting this blog. I must put it down to having two new jobs in two years. i suspect no one has noticed...

I have begun tweeting, but this may prove to be rather pointless.

The painting here is by Peter Greenham.

News: I'm currently recruiting teachers from the local area to work with me and two colleagues on the funded 'Poetry Champions' project which starts in January 2012. There are many basic but fundamental issues around the teaching of poetry in primary schools which continue to be a problem and need some attention. A little matter of how teachers can respond and formatively assess the poetry written by children is one of these issues. I have just written a small article for NAWE about this subject.

'Teaching Early Reading and Phonics' has just been reviewed favourably by the UKLA and English Association magazine 'English 4 - 11'

Ken Loach at the BBC

At last, the BBC have released a 6 DVD set of Ken Loach's work at the BBC including 'Days of Hope'

It has been a long time coming and may well be very timely.

Crown Woods School

Read this article from the Guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/jul/25/secondary-school-streaming

Poetry Champions

I have just won some funding to begin the 'Poetry Champions' project in schools around my University. We will be recruiting primary school teachers to the project which aims to develop poetry teaching in Foundation to Key Stage 2. This is exciting as I'll be working with a great team of experienced colleagues and poetry is the central focus!!