To follow
I passionately feel it is wrong
For people to call for the resignation of Gavin Williamson, the Education Secretary, over the Great Exam Results Robbery, described perfectly here by Marina Hyde as his ‘Disasasterclass’ and a ‘S*** storm’.
Click here to sign the petition for the resignation of someone who should have known better.
WE NEED EXPERTS
Ten years ago, Michael Gove worked with Dominic Cummings at the Department of Education to set a path for the country's education and thus its economy, democracy, and possibly even health.
Michael Gove has since famously said "We've had enough of experts".
He laid the way for a succession of education ministers with no real experience of education.
So it would be unfair to demand Gavin Williamson's resignation as he probably hasn't ruined the futures of many young people on purpose, that would take a particularly nasty, short sighted and ideologically driven type of person.
Gavin Williamson probably got the job because he isn't an expert in education (apparently he was a previously fireplace salesman)
Anyway the department will need some continuity after who I see as the biggest culprit in the Department of Education actually is fired for "ruining" the lives of many young people not just this year but for a decade now.
Only one UK minister has presided over UK Education Policy, a Narrow Curriculum, an Education Crisis and Examination Policy for ten years and is one of its biggest fans.
He may have got the job because he isn't an expert too.
He was what?
Schools Minister, Mr Nick Gibb, The Conservative MP for Bognor Regis was an accountant before entering politics, implying he was good with data and writing algorithms
From the video clip of him here on national TV a year or so go, it would appear that simple arithmetic isn’t a strong point either!
Today as a dad, education consultant, art activist and on behalf of the UK's creative industries and its contribution to the UK economy I call for the resignation of the Right Hon Nick Gibb MP
I demand that #GibbMustGo
I have met and spoken to Mr Gibb on several occasions. He's a lovely chap, has listened to (and dismissed) my concerns and seems well intentioned.
But after ten years we surely need at least one expert in the Department of Education Ministerial team, not a data and algorithm amateur.
'First they said they needed data about the children to find out what they’re learning.
Then they said they needed data about the children to make sure they are learning.
Then the children only learnt what could be turned into data.
Then the children became data'
Michael Rosen
Let's #TrustOurTeachers with our children's futures not accountants
Click here to sign my petition now that calls for the resignation of Mr Gibb if you instantly agree
Or read on if you need some more evidence to convince you.
A Conservative Party Revolt
The recent A-Level (and soon GCSE?) fiasco has been derided across the political divide for the way it has literally robbed many young people of futures they have worked hard for:
"The government must stop digging and accept teacher assessment" - Former Conservative Education Minister Lord Kenneth Baker on BBC News 16/08/20
"We need an education system for the future and should consider coursework" - Conservative MP and Chair Cross Party Parliamentary Committee Robert Halfon MP on LBC 16/08/20
"The role of politicians is to bring humanity to the process... Abandon the algorithm, use teacher assessment" - Lord Iain Duncan-Smith on LBC 16/08/20
The system has largely worked as it always was designed to, to deliver the required number of winners and losers every year.
And with jobs disappearing due to robots and AI and now Covid19 we now need more losers and where better to start convincing people that they are losers, than at school?
What's the point of School?
I'm a dad, who ten years ago saw a TED Talk, read had a book and went to a festival and started looking closer at how and why we educate our children and what communities could do to help.
With a career in the creative industries I was particularly concerned about the idea that the ‘education system might be killing creativity’ and discovered some shocking truths:
That in the last ten years there been a relentless focus on academic achievement based on rote learning and testing of, sometimes irrelevant, knowledge which is great for some young people but alienates, even breaks, many others
That vocational options which allow young people access to real jobs they would be perfect for and wanted to do, have been downgraded and that schools are actively discouraged from teaching the skills businesses need
A survey by the World Economic Forum in 2016 showed the skills most demanded by employers were Problem solving, Critical thinking and Creativity
Yet the obsession with literacy and numeracy in Primary schools and teaching for the tests, SATs has seen project work and creative subjects completely removed from many schools
In 2018 the BBC and the Head Teachers Union ASCL found that 9 in 10 UK schools had cut arts and creative subjects. Mental health of students and teacher was at an all time high, with teacher work load, staff turnover and funding all contributing to an #EducationCrisis
There has been a systematic and deliberately divisive campaign by mysteriously funded ‘grass roots’ organisations and lobby groups to undermine and almost abolish creativity and the arts in schools, discredit its advocates and bread a feeling of distrust in teachers, evident by the current refusal to award exam results based on teacher assessment. Moreover, a lot of thsi linsk back to the ‘Leave’ Campaign, which regardless of your views on Brexit must seem odd, no?
More on all this here but be careful going down this rabbit hole, it really will shock you.
The Social Mobility Myth
Education is seen as a chance for all to better themselves, but has and always will prioritise the many young people who have a head start through birth or bank balance.
Some people see this so called opportunity for 'social mobility' as a myth because with jobs disappearing, it's simply not worth wasting tax payers money educating young people for jobs that won't exist.
Some people, like eugenicists, feel that some people by virtue of their birth, race or socio-economic background simply aren't worth educating beyond a very basic level, of literacy and numeracy.
Some people feel we can get all the top academics and chart topping creatives we need from private and grammar schools with a a few high flyers from state schools.
That only really makes sense IF you ONLY see the point of school being to educate young people to work in industries that are dying and you don't have the vision for a new economy and society
Our current education system was completely redesigned ten years ago by Michael Gove and Dominic Cummings.
Many feel it has led to both the #EducationCrisis mentioned above, that threatens us all whether or not we have kids or work in schools, and a #CreativityCrisis, that particularly threatens the economy via the Creative Industries which are responsible for over £130bn of UK GDP employing millions.
Messrs Gove and Cummings have since been actively involved in what many see, regardless of the side they were on, as a #DemocracyCrisis through the misuse of algorithms and false claims, lies even.
Given the centralisation of power in Whitehall under Dominic Cummings, it is hard to believe that he wasn't involved in the algorithm behind the Great Exam Results Robbery.
But he has already proven to be indestructible, there is too much power and vested interest behind him and anyway, if he left the Prime Minister really would have to work very hard.
No, the person who must go now is the only minister who has had influence for the last ten year whcih is why I demand that
#GibbMustGo
I wanted to dump some thoughts I had around some stuff I saw and heard about the use of what to many is a very dirty word - PowerPoint.
I'l hopefully revisit it in time.
BBC Radio 4 Show - PowerPointless:
This Radio programme about PowerPoint - its history, application and thoughts from both critics and fans was brilliant, especially the comments by one of the UK's most respected brand/business strategists and thinkers Russell Davies.
The BBC blurb said this...
'With more than 30 million presentations being given around the world every day, PowerPoint has become the single most ubiquitous tool for presenting ideas. Yet it's the software many of us love to hate - vilified for simplifying the complex and complicating the simple.
30 years on from its commercial launch, Ian Sansom asks, 'What's the real point of PowerPoint?' as he embarks on what surely must be a world first - a PowerPoint presentation for the radio.
How do I move this on to the next slide? There we are. Thanks.
Armed only with an auto-content wizard, some zippy graphics and a hefty set of bullet points, Ian ventures forth to assess the true impact of this revolution in communication. He speaks with the software's pioneers, meets some of its notable detractors and asks how PowerPoint has influenced corporate life and spilled out into some improbable areas of our culture.
As he discovers how science-fiction is helping to inform the next generation of presentation technology, Ian asks if PowerPoint has empowered the individual - or if our boardrooms, lecture halls and even our spiritual affairs are to be forever condemned to the fate that has come to be known as 'Death By PowerPoint.'
What do I do now? Press escape? No, I want to bring it back to the start. F6 I think. Where's the remote thingy..?'
Death by PowerPoint
The other week I was invited to an evening of talks arranged by marketing agency Bray Leino for one of their clients - Benenox - who make a herbal remedy that helps you sleep better and therefore wake up more refreshed and creative (!)'
It was one of the most inspiring evenings I've attended for a while as the connect had been curated and presented by the School of Life, who I was aware of but hadn't experienced before tho was already a big fan of the MC and first speaker JP Flintoff.
While the content itself was fascinating, I was in full train spotter mode and really taken by the way every speaker made an effort to engage the audience in an activity and particularly how they used PowerPoint (it may have/could been delivered using any presentation software package as they can all be as boring or brilliant as each other - as Russell Davies says in the Radio 4 programme above, it's what you do with it that counts).
This was best illustrated by the talk by Sarah Stein Lubrano who had placed all the images (no words) on a black background in PowerPoint so that there was no noticeable border and essentially making the whole wall behind her a very flexible canvas.
No not rocket science but very effective and a million miles form a blue gradient fill background with yellow Times New Roman bullets... zzzzzzz.
Lunch some time?
Since I gave up my career in brandland to advocate for creativity in education with STEAM Co. I have supplemented my next to no income with my 'Dirty PowerPoint' masterclasses that tell you and colleagues everything you need to know about PowerPoint, ie the 20% of what it can do, to do the 80% of what you need to do.
All over a sandwich in a lunch break if you prefer. Or breakfast.
More info here. Do get in touch
The internet has been abuzz with Safer Internet Day #SID2017 which is intended to do what it says on the tin, provide ideas and education around ensuring a safe online experience for youngsters taking in everything from cyber bullying to use of safety filters and of course the elephant in every family living room, screen time management.
Use talk not tech to tame your children's online habits
An old chum and collaborator Alan O'Donahue posted an interesting read By Mark Ward
Technology correspondent, BBC News entitled 'Use talk not tech to tame your children's online habits'.
It talked about the sensible controls that the author has in place in an attempt to manage screen time/uage with his chidlren:
- Device specific controls on the internet router to manage use/limit net time (how manay peopel do yo uknow and teachers who sugegst you just pull the plug on hte router when th ekids go to bed - dont they watch BBC iPalyer or ever have to work after bedtime?)
- Locked down tablets and smartphones
- Software on PCs to filter out unsuitable content and viruses
He also described how many of these techniques his kids eventually worked round requiring him to revert to the age old approach of educating his children on best practice.
Enter the M&Ms
My answer to that is where the biggest bag of M&Ms comes in. For that is what the internet and all you can eat gaming is to most kids. I personally have never bough a large or small bag of M&Ms on a drive and not eaten the lot in ten minutes and both myself and my kids are well aware of the dangers of sugar and tooth decay. Sorry I don't buy the education only route.
Parent eye views
It all reminded me of the Kidcrafters parenting event I threw together a couple of years ago, at the Royal Institution where I launched STEAM Co.
Just after a wonderful talk by the (then) teenage tech editor of the Sunday Observer Dan Tomlinson and before a similarly killer talk by Google Labs European creative director, Steve Vranakis, we heard from four parents: a sreen free mum, a free screen dad, a Minecraft dad and a child psychologist.
Screen free mum
Free screen dad
Minecraft Dad
Child psychologist
How are you helping your staff
It never ceases to amaze me how little many people know about this subject and the things they can do to help their kids manage their screentime which is why I put this little lunchtime 80:20 course together. 80% of what you need to know in 20% of the time - from setting your internet hub so you can use the web and watch online TVwhile the kids can't after bed time, simple screentime management tools and other stuff to look out for.
Talkin' 'bout a revolution
A few weeks ago, Darren Henley of the Arts Council visited Sunderland to call for a ‘Creativity Revolution’ in a speech alongside Matt Hancock Digital Economy and Culture Minister who was championing the UK's creative industries.
WHY SUNDERLAND?
Back in January, the non-profit social enterprise STEAM Co. I co-founded held an event in Sunderland with the support of the Arts Council to inspire communities of the North East to inspire their children with creativity.
Since then Barclays, Google and National Grid have supported events organised by the social enterprise I co-founded, STEAM Co. across the UK.
“Unleashing the power of art and creativity. We're leaving no one behind”
Ashok Vaswani : CEO, Barclays
"In creativity I saw light. Creativity is not the monopoly of artists"
Lemn Sissay MBE : Poet/Chancellor
STEAM Co. Days have since been held in schools in Newcastle and across the country, from South Tyneside to Cornwall to Shropshire to Manchester.
Sunderland has a wealth of cultural, industrial and community powered stories and is a lead bidder for UK Cultural Capital 2021. So I was delighted to revisit the city at the invitation of the local community to give 4 talks and workshops in the city’s schools and a wider community meeting Thursday evening at Northern Saints Primary School.
CREATIVITY IN THE UK? IT JUST DOESN’T ADD UP
At an event organised by the Creative Industries Federation, the DCMS digital economy and culture minister Matt Hancock MP celebrated our creative industries and their contribution to the economy.
UKTI sell the UK to the world under the banner of ‘Creativity is GREAT’ with a poster featuring Sunderland born designer, inventor and STEAM Co. Inspirator Dominic Wilcox.
Yet schools minister Nick Gibb MP recently addressed a schools conference featuring speakers including a leading teacher with 14,000 followers who says ‘creativity is for people with glasses who like to lie”.
Last week Sunderland MP Sharon Hodgson, leader of the Art in schools All Party Parliamentary group, described how, not only are fewer children choosing creative GCSE’s, but also how fewer people are now training to teach creative subjects.
It’s a downward spiral.
ONE VOICE
The UK isn’t short of people and organisations who believe in and value creativity but we need to bring it out of the silos of education, trade bodies and institutions. We need one message we can all shout out.
DON’T MENTION THE C WORD
Our message has to be clear and simple and mean something to, and be ownable by, everyone. ‘Creativity’ itself is a mouthful to many and requires a definition. Rightly or wrongly, the arts can have an instant elitist connotation.
‘Art’ is open to many definitions, but one we particularly like is from global business and social change guru Seth Godin: #ArtConnects
“Art is what we call it when what we do might connect us”
Seth Godin
So “What’s your art?”
Whether painting dance or music. Whether football, cookery or woodwork. Social entrepreneurship, innovation or coding. It’s all art, We can all be artists.
YOUR LOGO.
A windows sticker in a shop in France recently caught my eye, which simply said ‘I ♥ ART’ which gave us an idea. Our statement. Our campaign. In this consumer co-created open source world we see people creating their own ♥ that captures their art.
By Friday night we had a thousand logo, created by children, parents, teachers, artists and business people from South Tyneside and printed them on posters and t-shirts.
What's your art?
Do visit www.people4art.org.uk to tell us about your art. They did.
So far I've dedicated the second half of my life to raising the profile of creativity, particularly in education and how it can inspire children, innovate business and connect communities.
So when an education policy threatens all this from the ground up, by killing creativity and the arts in our schools I couldn't stand by.
And I wasn't the only one.
Read this blog on the background to the EBacc and this milestone which brought creativity onto the UK agenda.
My career has taken in butcher's boy, silver service waiter, interactive training, the dawn of interactive multimedia and web, marketing, innovation and education.
One of the most common denominators and inspirational people at various points along the way has been global marketing, education and social change guru Seth Godin.
Like many big brand and thinker fan boys, I've bought and devoured most of his books but none have such impact on my life as 'Your Turn' which I might not have even read had my car not broken down one New Year's Eve.
Read that story here and see how it brought every thing together for me and many others I was to connect with down the line because Seth generously sent me a couple of boxes of the book to share around.
I must admit that that headline in The Guardian above a piece about me, made even me cringe, but I said it, I meant it and it's spot on.
I was particularly chuffed that I was in a copy of the paper that had an article on one of my hereos Ricky Tomlinson and included ad for Camp Bestival which provided me with the inspiration to turn my life inside out.
Read the whole article here.