The Future of Education: My Perspective Given to Students

This is a summary of two presentations which I gave to students at Blackburn College when I was invited to share by teachers there who are teaching students to become teachers.  The main theme was the future of education. I was asked as it was felt that what I could offer was a different and complimentary viewpoint to the various speakers who had shared in the course. You can listen to the podcasts and also read through some of the annotated sources here on the internet.
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Why Not To Chase Wealth And Status: A Community Project Perspective

One of the common things which has been proffered to the Ragged University as advice is to “make use of the wealthy and high status individuals in order to deliver the good that Ragged could achieve”. This has been repeatedly mentioned in regards to how to get the project recognised, backed and funded. One person said that ‘the trustees you have in mind are not suitable’… Read more…

Watching Ragged Grow by Daniel Zambas

Firstly I want to say thank you – I have had the incredibly fortunate pleasure of watching Ragged grow from the very start. Its simple philosophy really struck a chord with me, something so obvious but equally necessary – “What do you love? What do you want to know? What do you want to be?” and most importantly “Did you know this existed?”. These are the questions that we do not ask our children in our current education system, and this ideal has been born out of the very absence of this question. For that, Alex, thank you. Read more…

How To Control Cookies Policy

The use of cookies on the Ragged University website has been a subject of much discussion, particularly as new digital eticates and laws to reflect these are emerging. To respond to a necessary transparency, it requires both choice and information.  For this reason, here all the analytic and functional protocols are explained and also the information to control your internet information on a day to day basis is provided.
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Kintsugi: Learning To Love The Critical

Why do whistleblowers get such a hard time ? The philosophy of Kintsugi may help us appreciate the value of the critical even when it is directed at something we love; as such we can learn to love the process of finding problems because they lead to improvement. It is hard sometimes to not get caught up on the politics of group think and remain honest and true to the reality that you experience. I certainly have found this in both developing the Ragged University project and being honest in my own personal setting. I have long struggled with the uncomfortable nature of being critical especially when I worry that I may be upsetting some constructive setting or community. Read more…

Why Is Everyone Not A Demographic ?

Along the way in trying to get formal support for the Ragged University, I have encountered endless bureaucracies which, if taken onboard, distance you from the work at hand.  In the case of Ragged University, it is about building communities of learning networks where people share their knowledge and skills in social spaces.  As far as engaging with the bureaucracies goes, I have wound up analysing the processes instead of engaging as the culture itself seems to be a key factor in why so many social and community activities are dying out in our landscape.

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Ragged University and People Know How by Glenn Liddall

Alex Dunedin of Ragged University and I were introduced through a mutual acquaintance who simply said “You both need to talk” because we are both involved in the idea of cultivating community and trying to create opportunities for people where they are most needed. Alex is a gifted listener and ideas person, keen to listen to people, appreciate the time and energy they have invested in their subject, and try and support them to get where they want to be – wherever that is. Read more…