With Lou Mycroft We educators must step up and speak out


Recently, the people who run the country have been saying things I like to hear. Not all the things. But when they say things like “we need to support flexible lifelong learning” and “there’s nothing easy about soft skills”, that feels encouraging. The education secretary, Damian Hinds, foregrounds


the teacher’s role, and has positive things to say about digital. Having now read the small print, there will be no extra money available for further education (I reckon I lost half of you then). And that’s part of the problem. I’m not sure we, as a profession, know how to be afirmative any more. As practitioners we are tired and over- scrutinised and, as organisations, we are obedient to Ofsted and struggle to innovate without extra funding. We are so used to being under-resourced, under- theorised and undervalued that we can’t imagine being anything else. Despite compelling efforts to recast our story as Dancing Princesses*, we still think we’re Cinderella: a profession with collective low self-esteem. The assumption of scarcity stops us from being risk-


positive, particularly those of us on sessional or short- term contracts: trying new stuff makes us vulnerable. But if we don’t speak out, others will represent us. This is our moment to say what we want to be. I could get all cynical about the proposed Review of


Politicians don’t know what a thriving and flexible lifelong learning sector looks like, but I bet you've got some ideas.


Post-18 Education and Funding, but, in a spirit of afirmation, I won't. My mum says I can get myself “where water can’t” and there are bound to be


consultation opportunities I can squeeze into. You too, even if your first thought is, “I don’t know how”. You’re the expert in your professional context. Politicians don’t know what a thriving and flexible lifelong learning sector looks like, but I’ve got some ideas and I bet you have too. This is a moment when we educators step up with our thoughts and reimagined aspirations. When we stop playing trad/prog ping-pong on Twitter and sketch out proposals that let the newness in. When we organise local and virtual conversations. When we create thinking environments to co-produce consultation responses which focus on what we can do, not what we don’t have.


Lou Mycroft is a writer, teacher, independent thinker and thought-provoker. Join the debate #pedagogue


* I was inspired by the following book, Further Education and the Twelve Dancing Princesses (edited by Maire Daley, Kevin Orr and Joel Petrie). Trentham Books.


20


20


SET Newcastle Local Network meeting goo.gl/ mj4FwM


20


ETF/AoC Outstanding Teaching, Learning and Assessment Technical Skills National Conference, London goo.gl/Qr44tf


AELP Technology Conference 2018, Manchester goo.gl/ PVu3pr


21 23


22


Annual Apprenticeships Conference 2018, Birmingham goo.gl/kjzqig


27


Future Apprenticeships workshop on becoming an end-point assessor, Birmingham goo.gl/dQ9y9Z


31


Problem Based Learning and Employer Responsive Excellence, London goo.gl/NTbEy5


End of early bird discount period for SET membership renewals. See over for details.


INTUITION ISSUE 31 • SPRING 2018 35


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36