I would recommend two short articles to you which I think address issues raised by staff, tutors and volunteers in the WEA over 2007 - the loss of the word "education" from the scene in government department titles and communications and the strange meaning of 'demand-led' in the new plans for adult learning.
Both articles are from NIACE's 'Adults Learning' monthly journal and are linked to this blog with their permission. The first, by Alison Wolf, Download al_oct_issue_pg_2225.pdf is an acute critique of the language, meaning and implementation of Leitch. The second, by Allen Parrott Download al_nov_issue_pg_2427.pdf , covers similar issues but looks at the loss of mainstream adult education and lists what has been lost:
• All students regarded as equal – to each other and the teacher;
• Rich and poor learners in the same classes – social cohesion;
• Second chances of all sorts, offered to people regarded as school ‘failures’;
• Physical and mental health of students and the population enhanced;
• An escape from the drudgery and predictability of everyday life;
• Safe evening activities, especially for women and single people;
• ‘Non-affiliated’ activities without any pressure placed on non-joiners;
• Social and convivial meeting places, as well as venues for learning;
• Intrinsic worth of subjects, entering one of the ‘conversations of humanity’;
• Intellectual risk-taking, leading to new ways of thinking and acting;
• Outlet and opportunity for developing creativity and imagination;
• Confidence building and personal development of all kinds;
• Opportunities to deepen political understanding and to ask ‘why’ questions;
• Facilitating participation in local organisations and/or in local issues.
Something to campaign for in the New Year?
Happy Christmas!
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