The Principal; Power and Professionalism in FE: Measuring Up To The Mean – Beggars Belief

On Saturday 25th November I attended and presented at the ‘Power and Professionalism in FE Conference’ which was held at University of Huddersfield (Twitter hashtag: #hudpowerfe). This conference was brought together to coincide with, and reflect the themes, ideas and work of a host of contributors to the launch of the book ‘The Principal; Power and Professionalism in FE‘ published by University College London Institute of Education Press. Read more…

Live Better, Help Often & Wonder More: Presentation for Sunday Assembly

It is a pleasure to speak at Sunday Assembly, and I will be sharing how helping others led me to understanding all I needed to find the community I always wanted.  Starting the Ragged University project of knowledge sharing has been the greatest learning journey that I’ve ever undertaken, and through doing it I quickly came to identify the basic ingredients that I needed for a happy, balanced life. Read more…

Issues of Seeking Patronage: A Thought Experiment

There are a number of issues with seeking patronage which are discussed here particular to our time. This is a response to a thought experiment sent to me after writing an article called ‘Why Not To Chase Wealth and Status: A Community Project Perspective’. In it I was writing my rationale for not following a frequently offered piece of advice on how to develop the Ragged University as a project. Read more…

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…