Reconnecting…

Well, when I set up this blog in Dec 2013 I knew it would be dificult to aim even for two posts a month reviewing books that have been and continue to be formative on my political and cultural understanding of the world and to comment on issues and debates  that interest me or I think important. But 19, 19 months on…. let’s just say..shit happens. So I  hope to begin to reconnect with the project I set myself.

Politically, the picture looks better than it did just a few months ago when a small Tory majority was elected on 36% of the vote. Therefore to return to what has been repressed in the last 19 months, I want to re-engage with some of the debates in politics, cultre and education that have shaped me and my life for the last 36 years. The aim is…I know, I know, you have heard it before, to produce at least two pieces a month to do three things: clarify my own thinking; to indicate some points that might be of interest to fellow travellers; to debate with others. Simples.

For those of you that care to read what comes next and wonder what it is all about the title piece is probably the best, if not the necessary, place to start-Reflections on a Damaged Life. 

I have decided to put something up later about Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership campaign and the exciting effect it is having on creating a renewed interest in socialist politics.

I also want to share some views on the situation in Greece as well as join in the discussion on the European Union and the referendum.

My starting point however, will be education and in particualr the changes to English Language and Literature GCSE exam specifications which kick in in September 2015 and to which end I, and the English Faculty I lead, have been working towards.

From there, I shall stick with education but this time education trade unionism and put up some thoughts on the NUT’s strategy in challenging the government’s agenda on work,pay and pensions.

So, I have set myself some targets as they say in schools. Hopefully they are realistic and achievable. Okay, I hear cynicism and whispers that I will never get around to it.

Well let’s just see.