I’ve not recently been doing as much leisure reading as usual. Half-read is my ‘Christmas book’ “Charles Dickens: a Life” by Claire Tomalin.
Also half-finished is a book I started ‘before the fire’ Trevor Royle’s “Civil War: The Wars of the Three Kingdoms 1638-1660”.
Nearly finished, though something quite else, is “The Hungry Cyclist: Pedalling The Americas In Search Of The Perfect Meal” by Tom Kevill-Davies.
One book I bought just a few days ago and am now reading for the third time, although admittedly a rather slim volume, is “Last Year in Hong Kong: Four presentations to the 7th World Congress on Conductive Education, Hong Kong, December 2010” by Andrew Sutton, with a Foreword by Ivan Su, Corporate Programme Coordinator at SAHK.
Here are four snippets on the theme of transformability:
“This ambitious [research] programme that I was following – part psychological, part pedagogical, part philosophical, - some of it practical, some academic – was directed to understanding and demonstrating the transformability of human beings as a product of their social experience”. p.17
Makarenko – Vygotskii - Luriya – Feuerstein – Zazzo and Wallon “…. all bore the same central message: the development of human beings is not fixed, they are not destined to be as they are – they are all transformable.” p.18
[But] “…. there is no coherent concept of pedagogy, upbringing, education that is transformative”. p.18
[conductive education] “… demonstrating yet again that the development of human beings can be transformed by properly structured social intervention”. p.18
“Exposure to Conductive Education had introduced the notion that disabled children’s development can be transformed by disciplined, optimistic, determined and organised educational experiences, in the family and at home”. p.34
Highly recommended to anyone who cares about the future of conductive education wherever you are.
Footnote: on the day I sat down to write this post, DfE published data that, according to BBC News, showed that "Struggling pupils don't catch up". BBC reports:
Just one in 15 (6.5%) pupils starting secondary school in England "behind" for their age goes on to get five good GCSEs including English and maths, official data shows.
The government data published as part of secondary school league tables suggests the majority of schools are failing struggling pupils.
The Comments make depressing, and sometimes cheering, reading. In the context of "transformability" make of it what you will. I know what I think.
