C.E. Jottings

CE through the lens of possibility

The other day, I asked whether your reaction to the following question was to feel shocked or liberated: "Would it matter if we did away with compulsory schools and schooling?" Interesting then to read in today's Times, an opinion piece by Mary Ulicsak of FutureLab "Schools must adopt fresh approaches to learning". (Catch it now before Rupert Murdoch introduces the fee for reading the Times online.) Basing her argument for change in the cost of education and the example of... Read more →

Just having a laugh

Anti-semitic jokes about Jews and Palestine (BBC forced to apologise ...)? That'll be the same Frankie Boyle who makes jokes about children with Down's Syndrome. What a way to earn a living. Read more →

Is mainstream more expensive than conductive education?

The Institute for Fiscal Studies is saying that whoever wins the General Election will have to make the biggest cuts in public services for a generation - and that none of the three main parties is telling us the half of it. (It's a story reported in all the serious papers but The Independent report will do as well as any.) How do we in conductive education prepare for the "biggest cuts in public services for a generation"? Pondering that... Read more →

"And in my head I am fiercely alive"

The Times columnist Melanie Reid broke her neck and back earlier this month. In today's Times, from her hospital bed, she confronts her future, "Why did I let this happen to me?", which she will record in a series of articles for the newspaper. I find it a most moving piece of writing. Read it now before Rupert Murdoch introduces his charge for reading The Times online. Read more →

Cerebral palsy in the classroom 2

In a post "Cerebral palsy in the classroom" on 12 Dec last, I was reflecting on how depressing was the poverty of information on the internet about the education of children with cerebral palsy. Just a few days ago, this comment was added by Sara Dugger: "So, where can I find some information on how to teach a child with CP? I found the sites you mentioned, but if the info is no good, then what are we going to... Read more →

More green than pinko-liberal-lefty?

For a while now, I've found myself taking a passing interest in statements from the Green Party. Particularly noticeable has been the Greens' move, under the leadership of Caroline Lucas, MEP and parliamentary candidate for Brighton Pavillion in the coming election, from being a broadly single issue party campaigning on the environment to taking wider political positions. For instance, the other day, I chanced upon a report in Third Sector magazine that the Green Party would take away charitable status... Read more →

Just another parent; just another child

A story you've probably read many times before - different parent, different child, different disability. It's all the same in the end. But take a look at the story in today's Independent on Sunday: The boy in the corner: Why do children with special needs still get such a raw educational deal? The system set up to help children with special educational needs can be as frustrating to parents as mainstream classes seem to their kids. With education a key... Read more →

A short break

Hello all. Why so quiet? Am on holiday until Monday next (12th April). Almost beyond the reach of mobile phones and the internet - in this house anyway. Have a weak signal again tonight. We are enjoying pleasant spring weather - walks, picnics (Sarah insists), being beside the sea, mowing Dad's lawn. Had a tasty lamb korma this evening. Been lazily rereading "Too Close to the Sun", Sara Wheeler's biography of Denys Finch Hatton - who was played by Robert... Read more →

Cerebral Palsy - brain "damage" or "injury" and does it matter?

One of my favourite bloggers, someone I've had the pleasure of meeting in person and whom I greatly admire, is Glenda Watson Hyatt, the "left-thumb blogger". In her latest blog post, Glenda reflects on whether cerebral palsy is best described as "brain damage" or "brain injury", whether such a fine distinction matters and to whom? Glenda has more reason than most of us to be interested in the question and its answer - she herself is a person with cerebral... Read more →