Deluded: the New Field of Future Etymology

The other day I was talking to an old friend who shares my interest in word roots. I wondered aloud if we could think of the word “deluded”, which has its origins in the Latin verb ludere meaning “to play,” as meaning “having the playfulness taken out of us.” In other words, is the core meaning of “deluded” that we are in a confused and self-deceptive state when we have lost our sense of playfulness — we are taking ourselves (or “things”) too seriously. Read More

The perplexed horse in search of his place in the new paradigm

Collectively, we have been for half a century exhaling a breath of specialization, and our lungs are now empty. It is time now to converge back toward the centre, to take a deep breath. The professional momentum is now inexorably with the forces of integration. I sense that many PALT practitioners are either unconsciously gravitating towards or consciously groping towards a comprehensivist or convergent, integrative way of looking at their work. In other words, the needs and interests of the majority in the profession are less well served than those of the academic specialists. The majority are alienated from the dominant and diffusive force of specialization in PALT that has radiated into the profession a confused mindset that does not know how to make use of convergent or holistic thinking. Read More

Reflections on “Authority” in PALT

The demystification and weakening of authority from above in all spheres of life, and the corresponding empowerment of individuals — the strengthening of individual and personal authority— is an important elem ent in the long-term overall process of “globalization” (defined here as humanity’s realization of its unity). Read More

“Intimate” discussions with George

The published and forthcoming posts on George Whitfield in this blog — and many of those on other aspects of life at Hampton Grammar School — document the removal of one of the strands of cloth used in my own educational mummification. It is a narrow band that I am particularly happy to now see waving in the wind, and I’ve attached it as a tail to the high-dancing kite that is my life. Read More

A New Year question: What does “Do your best mean?”

With these simple understandings at the heart of any family or any curriculum we can create the kind of world that we want. It really is simple. Read More

Graduate level laughter

Knowing how to and feeling free to respond to people as individuals first, students of a particular field second, seems to me to be the essence of a holistic approach to education. Read More

“A lump of shit floating down the river”

This blog is gaining momentum, but at a pace that belies the flood of memories and creative ideas that the pleasure of self-expression in this medium has unleashed. Speaking of floods, I’ll talk in another post about how my 14-year-old hands steered the Hampton Junior Colts eight to what could have been a fatal disaster on… Read More

The kind of workplace we want, the kind of world we want…

Choosing to banish the excuses and prejudices that prevent us from achieving the kind of workplace that we want is the most powerful and empowering education that we can provide for students at this most dramatic time in human history. Read More