Open-mindedness, Commitment and Peter Gardner

Against Peter Gardner, this article re-asserts a conception of open-mindedness as not requiring either the indecision or neutrality of persons concerning their beliefs, but rather a willingness on their part to form or revise beliefs in the light of evidence and argument. This conception, it will be argued, yields an educational ideal which is both important and coherent. It not only avoids the difficulties which Gardner sees as inherent in the promotion of open-mindedness in children, but also avoids some of the dangers implicit in his own view.     

Christopher Winch and Peter Wells,Nene College,Northampton

Abstract:

This paper records both dissatisfaction and evidence of poor current standards of literacy, notably in the area of the written word, among higher education students. It also suggests what may be done to remedy the situation.     

Remembering Peter Medway

Peter Medway was an exceptionally able teacher, researcher and thinker, and his work throws light on governments, inspectors and educators. In the early 1960s, Peter met a theory which ‘established language as a major means of constructing our realities’. Later, after teaching English in secondary schools for two decades, he reflected on why this theory had failed to make English more serious and more central. In his research, he looked into the history of English, its assumptions, practices and motivations. He also wrote about the significance of the students’ experiences, looking carefully (and critically) at what they produced in talk and writing. Persuaded that English needs to be about using language rather than studying it, he helped students find the right words. Starting with their own words, Peter focused on the business of making interventions without compromising students’ own agency. When he returned from Canada to take up a lectureship at King’s College, London, he was dismayed by the state of English in schools. His dissatisfaction with current English teaching led to a fully funded research project as well as a major publication that tells a story of the way teacher-led change transformed English in post-war London, English Teachers in a Postwar Democracy. Here we remember what was special about his contribution, his legacy and why we will miss him.     

鲁本斯

1577—1640佛兰德斯的大画家鲁本斯多才多艺,既善于创作宗教和神话题材的作品,也善于创作肖像画与风景画。他把威尼斯画派的明亮色彩与柔和光线、米开朗基罗作品的雄浑气势、希腊雕塑的形态和活力全部融合在一起,又加以艺术的创新,形成了一种鲜明的个人风格。他的     

On Peter Medway

This article takes a personal view of the contribution made by Pete Medway to King's College London.