We entertained on Saturday evening. We hadn't met our friend's female partner before but we're very interested to meet her as she started a 'Montessori' school about 25 years ago and it continues to thrive.
What is a 'Montessori' school, you may be thinking.
By coincidence, we had recently seen the french film, The Class, about the jungle and battleground that is secondary education in inner city french secondary schools. No different from many of our own. Defensive, unruly, demoralising, sullen environments in which no one is in control and there is a 'slow-burn war of attrition between teachers and a minority of disruptive kids where the few often manage to prevent the education of the many from reaching their potential. Brilliant film but with a dark message.
Montessori' is not a trademark or a brand, but a teaching method developed by the Italian physician and educator, Maria Montessori, who died in 1952. She believed that we should support children to explore and use thier inner natural guidance for self-directed development. The method can be applied to children from 2 years old up to 13 years of age.
We were intrigued and our guest, whom we will call 'Maria' without being preachy or sententious, fielded our questions impressively. The whole experience, it seems, of children in such a school is one where the child's true interests are focussed on and nurtured while the child remains interested in them and until the child wants to move on, not the teacher.
A recipe for disaster, you may think, but this is a school which has consistently been given top marks on inspection and whose children when moving on to secondary schools or higher education achieve high standards and are seen as well-rounded a extremely literate and confident young people.
This was a dinner party, not a press conference, and so we didn't linger too long on the topic but, having spent an evening with 'Maria' we were very impressed and both felt that we wanted to be whisked back 50 years in a time machine and implore our parents to get us into such a school. Simplistic? Possibly. However I have no doubt that there are many children for whom mainstream schooling is anathema and for whom this alternative would be a lifesaver, giving them a touchstone, some bedrock for their self esteem and confidence for the rest of their lives.
Our friend's school is clearly run on a modest budget but amazingly there are many volunteers, some of them professional people, giving expert help, support and guidance, for nothing, simply because of their belief in the project.
It was uplifting to hear such a hopeful message on a cold January evening as we extricate ourselves from another winter.
In our next lifetime, that's where we're heading!
Monday, February 1, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
INVESTMENT BANKERS - A SOLUTION
MY FIRST BLOG!
Retirement last October has set me thinking but without a real destination for those thoughts so here goes!
As we all stand, largely helpless, on the sidelines, listening with politely sullen resentment to the constant flow of news of million-pound bonuses for those who are already multi millionaires, what about this constructive solution to provide us with some quiet satisfaction.
It would also feel like some retribution for the havoc and misery that they have inflicted on all of us and their total lack of repentance.
OK. This is it.
Anyone who traded in sub-prime mortgages,credit default swaps, derivatives or any other 'mickey mouse' investment, prior to the credit crunch should be forced to do community service. It would require some fine-tuning, to reflect the individual's level of involvement but starting with a minimum of 50 hours and with a maximum of 500 although that's open to debate as some may think they are getting off too lightly! There could be an argument for making it 5000 for some.
The idea came to me about 5 weeks ago, when I spent a day volunteering with the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV). BTCV carries out voluntary comunity-based work, mostly outside, with very little funding, and a handful of dedicated young staff.
They provide a venue for anyone who wants to volunteer. It's very informal for people like me. When I made my initial enquiries, they were very encouraging and helpful. Basically you just turn up.
About 12 of us spent the day coppicing willow at a nearby country park for use in creating 'Andy Galsworthy-style' bowers, shelters, mazes within the grounds of primary schools and elsewhere. On another day you could be doing dry stone walling or restoring a footpath.
Without invading anyone's privacy on such a short acquaintance, it was clear to me that the group was a diverse one, including some disadvantaged individuals and some with disabilities. The atmosphere was relaxed but also focused on getting the task done and everyone's interests were catered for. The group leader, and the volunteer officer under him (unpaid but full-time), both in their early 20's, had to assemble all the tools and equipment that was needed for the day's tasks, organise the loading of the minibus, get us to site, ensure everyone understood the health and safety issues, manage the relationship with the landowners, get the job done and get us back safely.
Despite limited resources, they did so with a lightness, commitment and joie de vivre that would put the average city trader to shame.
It was such a rewarding day's activity to be involved in
I wonder what this BTCV group could do with one, just one of those million-pound bonuses - or a tenth of it.
So it's community service with BTCV for the Canary Wharf mob - Or of course we could have the equivalent of carbon trading for the investment banking world. Say £ 20,000 for each hour of CS redeemed.
However I think they should do a minimum of 8 hours. It may change their lives to step out of the parallel universe in which they live - just for a day.
Until the next time.
Retirement last October has set me thinking but without a real destination for those thoughts so here goes!
As we all stand, largely helpless, on the sidelines, listening with politely sullen resentment to the constant flow of news of million-pound bonuses for those who are already multi millionaires, what about this constructive solution to provide us with some quiet satisfaction.
It would also feel like some retribution for the havoc and misery that they have inflicted on all of us and their total lack of repentance.
OK. This is it.
Anyone who traded in sub-prime mortgages,credit default swaps, derivatives or any other 'mickey mouse' investment, prior to the credit crunch should be forced to do community service. It would require some fine-tuning, to reflect the individual's level of involvement but starting with a minimum of 50 hours and with a maximum of 500 although that's open to debate as some may think they are getting off too lightly! There could be an argument for making it 5000 for some.
The idea came to me about 5 weeks ago, when I spent a day volunteering with the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV). BTCV carries out voluntary comunity-based work, mostly outside, with very little funding, and a handful of dedicated young staff.
They provide a venue for anyone who wants to volunteer. It's very informal for people like me. When I made my initial enquiries, they were very encouraging and helpful. Basically you just turn up.
About 12 of us spent the day coppicing willow at a nearby country park for use in creating 'Andy Galsworthy-style' bowers, shelters, mazes within the grounds of primary schools and elsewhere. On another day you could be doing dry stone walling or restoring a footpath.
Without invading anyone's privacy on such a short acquaintance, it was clear to me that the group was a diverse one, including some disadvantaged individuals and some with disabilities. The atmosphere was relaxed but also focused on getting the task done and everyone's interests were catered for. The group leader, and the volunteer officer under him (unpaid but full-time), both in their early 20's, had to assemble all the tools and equipment that was needed for the day's tasks, organise the loading of the minibus, get us to site, ensure everyone understood the health and safety issues, manage the relationship with the landowners, get the job done and get us back safely.
Despite limited resources, they did so with a lightness, commitment and joie de vivre that would put the average city trader to shame.
It was such a rewarding day's activity to be involved in
I wonder what this BTCV group could do with one, just one of those million-pound bonuses - or a tenth of it.
So it's community service with BTCV for the Canary Wharf mob - Or of course we could have the equivalent of carbon trading for the investment banking world. Say £ 20,000 for each hour of CS redeemed.
However I think they should do a minimum of 8 hours. It may change their lives to step out of the parallel universe in which they live - just for a day.
Until the next time.
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