Unnoticed by everyone, education is regressing.

Understanding education is not easy.  We all think we know what it means but when it comes to defining it and suggesting improvements the challenge becomes amorphous.  I’m trying to create a framework to help improve curriculum and pedagogy. One of the biggest problems I see as an educator, coach and parent is the rapid …
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Exercise body and mind to keep them fit; or lose you wits and fade away.

In case you still find it a challenge to get off the couch or do mental arithmetic (when shopping for example) this week more evidence was published  showing the dramatic difference between people engaged in life and those waiting to die. A study showing that elderly people who exercise ‘live five years longer’ was published …
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Maths is art. Art is maths. It’s all science. – Govt education report

This morning Eilis, a friend of Pam’s, explained to a councillor that funding for art education should be increased because businesses want creativity and the Renaissance flourished because science and art merged. At the same time a report by The Creative Industries Federation and the Institution of Civil Engineers, saying similar things was being publicised.  …
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Good people are dying. It’s going to get worse before it gets better.

Tension is rising is the USA.   Two US police officers were shot dead in Mississippi.  Last week.a New York police officer  was shot in the head while questioning a suspect from his police car.  And riots bubbled in Baltimore after a suspect died in police custody.  The mood is confused and angry. The issue is …
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Sapiens: Thinking, Stories and Ignorance, then choosing to die.

Yuval Harari’s brief history of humankind, weighing in at a meaty 400 pages, is enjoyable, provocative and very worrying.  The wide-ranging, scholarly story is easy to read and sensible.  I enjoyed the book from beginning to end, though I had to restrain myself from skipping to the last chapter: The End of Homo Sapiens. For …
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You’re NOT only human …

… you’ve got bits of bug in your DNA, and some of it is missing*. These facts help appreciate the diversity of look and behaviour of humans, but looking deeper, it is the similarities in looks and behaviour, a.k.a. culture, which show that nurture is such a powerful influence on each of us. Research published …
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Social, economic, intellectual capital and the memes of society: expectations determine wealth.

The emerging science of memes hold the key to modern business success.  Be a part of a growing meme and you win.  That is the aim of leading marketers. What is a meme?  It is culture. How do you measure it?  Using social, economic and intellectual  measures against a backdrop of psychology. Getting data is …
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“The Facts” about sustainability, the environment and your future.

Below are the facts stated in the film Cowspiracy and their references.  Which ever side you’re on it’s good to know them.   For example, one takeaway from the ideas presented is that we can resolve environmental problems, reform economic systems and still keep our cars, if we change our diet.  If you take that with …
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The benefits of skills training.

Admittedly the title The One Thing Electricians, Chefs, and Entrepreneurs Have in Common attracted me because I’ve played electrician, cook and entrepreneur, so it caught my eye.  The article reinforces the knowledge that nurturing head, heart and HANDS is important to become a whole person. The One Thing Electricians, Chefs, and Entrepreneurs Have in Common …
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Yellen about the benefits of education.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen said in a speech yesterday that “public education spending is often lower for students in lower-income households than for students in higher-income households.” The Fed’s unusual comment on education came in a speech, delivered at the Conference on Economic Opportunity & Inequality sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, and …
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