Reino Unido

Page 55 of 84
1 … 53 54 55 56 57 … 84

Reino Unido: El programa del Partido Laborista «Para la Mayoría, No la Minoría»

Noticias
VientoSur | Max Shanly/ Roman Burtenshaw

El Partido Laborista nunca ha sido un partido socialista, pero siempre ha tenido socialistas, y por primera vez están en el asiento del conductor. Esto se ha reflejado en el manifiesto-programa del partido de 2017. Con el título “For the Many, Not the Few” (Para la Mayoría, No la Minoría)*, representa el máximo logro del corbynismo hasta la fecha y ofrece al pueblo británico la primera oportunidad en una generación de votar por políticas que significarían un cambio fundamental hacia la izquierda.

Aunque moderadas en el lenguaje, las propuestas programáticas son radicales; basándose en las promesas de las dos campañas de primarias de Jeremy Corbyn, sostiene una visión que pondría fin a la era de la austeridad y daría forma a un nuevo marco económico, que acercaría la riqueza y el poder del capital a los trabajadores.

Todo indica que este programa es extremadamente popular. La semana en la que se lanzó el manifiesto completo de 128 páginas, se convirtió en viral en la red, compartido decenas de miles de veces. Fue mucho mejor recibido que el equivalente conservador y ha catapultado al Partido Laborista en algunas encuestas a cinco puntos del partido gobernante. Después de dieciocho meses de dificultades, el trabajo de Corbyn ha encontrado terreno firme por primera vez. Pero, ¿qué propone el manifiesto y cómo puede realizarse su propuesta?

La promesa

El manifiesto tiene tres ejes fundamentales: nacionalizar las principales empresas de servicios públicos cuya privatización ha aumentado el coste de la vida; reformar las condiciones laborales, deteniendo el proceso de degradación en términos y condiciones; y construir una economía social en la que los elementos básicos necesarios para vivir una vida digna – desde la educación y la vivienda hasta la asistencia social y las ayudas sociales – mejoren y, en muchos casos, sean de libre acceso.

El Partido Laborista propone revertir en propiedad pública no sólo el ferrocarril sino también el servicio postal, la energía y el suministro de agua. Aumentaría el salario mínimo a diez libras por hora, aboliría los contratos de cero horas, prohibiría las prácticas no remunerados, otorgaría a la gente autónoma los mismos derechos que a las personas empleadas y otorgaría a los sindicato el derecho de acceder a los centros de trabajo.

Bajo el gobierno laborista se construirían un millón de viviendas, la mitad de ellas de propiedad pública. Se introducirían controles de alquiler. Los gastos de matrícula de las universidades serían desechados, habría guardería gratis a partir los dos años, comedores escolares gratuitos durante la etapa de primaria y un servicio de educación nacional que invertiría 6 300 millones de libras en mejorar las escuelas. El Servicio Nacional de Salud sería renacionalizado, eliminando los servicios privatizados, y los hospitales ya no cobrarían por el aparcamiento de coches. Las personas mayores tendrían garantizada la pensión y se invertirían dos mil millones de libras en atención social. Se invertirían los recortes en bienestar.

Para lograr este programa de transformación social, el manifiesto vuelve al viejo principio de la tradición laboralista y socialdemócrata: la redistribución de la riqueza. Los 52 500 millones de libras esterlinas necesarios para financiarlo vendrían de los impuestos sobre las empresas y de quienes ganan más de 80 000 libras al año, así como de propuestas como una campaña contra la evasión fiscal y el fraude, el impuesto Robin Hood sobre las instituciones financieras y un impuesto sobre las tasas de la escuela privada. La gran mayoría de la gente británica se beneficiaría de un programa pagado por el 5 % que más gana. De la minoría para la mayoría.

A diferencia de los manifiestos de otras campañas en las últimas décadas, «Para la Mayoría, No la Minoría» es un giro a la izquierda en las propuestas del partido. En los dos años transcurridos desde las últimas elecciones, la política laborista ha avanzado desde el objetivo de suavizar los efectos del neoliberalismo, a querer reformarlo y, ahora, a derrotarlo. Si Ed Miliband se comprometió a limitar los precios de la energía (una política denunciada como marxista en aquel momento), Corbyn se compromete a intervenir directamente en el mercado de energía a través de la creación de empresas energéticas controladas regionalmente, junto con la renacionalización del National Grid (la red nacional). Hace dos años, Miliband y Balls trataron de acabar con los contratos de cero horas que eran «injustos». Hoy, Corbyn y McDonnell buscan su completa abolición. El Labour entró en la elección general de 2015 prometiendo reducir las tasas de matrícula para la universidad, pero ahora están comprometidos con la educación superior gratuita.

Si el Brexit apareció como un vago y contradictorio llamamiento a «retomar el control», el programa del Partido Laborista es el camino para lograrlo, recuperando una alternativa enterrada por el Thatcherismo. Se inspira en el aspecto más radical de la política socialdemócrata, la desmercantalización, y apunta a sacar del mercado los productos básicos de la vida cotidiana, haciéndolos públicos, universales y libres en el punto de acceso.

Al hacerlo, el programa del partido reduciría radicalmente el costo de vida, poniendo a la gente trabajadora bajo menos presión para ceder a la exigencia de sus jefes de trabajar más tiempo por menos salario. Recuperaría la idea de derechos contra la que el Partido Conservador ha luchado tan duro y pondría frenos a un desplazamiento hacia una economía en la que incluso los bienes públicos se proporcionan sobre la base del pago por el servicio. También podría cambiar la forma en que la gente se relaciona con la provisión de las cosas necesarias, desafiando la idea de que deba hacerse sobre la base del intercambio, donde lo que se recibe siempre se relaciona con lo que se pueda pagar.

Durante cuarenta y un años, Gran Bretaña ha estado gobernado, tanto por Tories como por New Labour, sobre la base de que el mercado lo es todo, y que la creciente mercantilización de la vida pública era un desarrollo natural. Al tratar de subordinar el mercado a los intereses del pueblo, el trabajo de Corbyn ha desafiado en lo fundamental la lógica impuesta al partido por el Fondo Monetario Internacional en 1976. Una lógica que llevó al entonces primer ministro, James Callaghan, a declarar en la conferencia del partido celebrada en el mismo año, que la opción socialdemócrata «ya no existe».

La norma

En esta campaña electoral Jeremy Corbyn ha confundido a sus críticos. Casi dos años de constantes ataques de la prensa británica y una guerra interna llevado a cabo por la derecha de su propio partido lo colocaban muy atrás en las encuestas (a 14 puntos) al comienzo de la campaña electoral.

En esas mismas encuestas Jeremy Corbyn quedaba a unos 52 puntos por detrás de Theresa May en las calificaciones de aprobación personal. Sin embargo, el día previo al ataque terrorista en Manchester a principios de este mes, logró cerrar esa brecha casi completamente, situándose solo dos puntos de la primera ministra. Ahora es el político laborista más popular del país, superando cómodamente a cualquier rival potencial para el liderazgo.

Este cambio asombroso se debe en gran parte al manifiesto-programa, que ha demostrado ser enormemente popular. Una encuesta reciente de ComRes muestra que el 52 por ciento del electorado está a favor de la renacionalización de los ferrocarriles de Gran Bretaña, con sólo 22 por ciento en contra. La misma encuesta muestra el apoyo de exactamente la mitad del electorado para que la Royal Mail (correos) vuelva a ser de propiedad pública. Otro 71 por ciento apoyaban que los contratos de hora cero sean ilegales, y el 64 por ciento apoya la petición del Partido Laborista de aumentar el impuesto sobre la renta para los que ganan más de 80 000 libras al año. La única medida encuestada por ComRes que no contaba con el apoyo de una mayoría absoluta era la promesa de publificar la industria energética, pero aun así la propuesta gozaba de un 49 por ciento de apoyo y solo un 24 por ciento en contra.

Pero no sólo resulta popular el manifiesto sino que también está siendo un éxito la política comunicativa utilizada. Durante meses, el corbynismo intentó construir una política radical desde los pasillos de Westminster [Parlamento], jugando el juego de la alta política en el que sus enemigos son más expertos. En esta campaña, el equipo de Corbyn se ha liberado de los grilletes de ese ambiente, organizando grandes mítines en todo el país, compartiendo escenario con activistas de una amplia gama de causas sociales, llevando la política socialista a la gente, a quienes son sus sujetos. Esta dinámica de campaña de base ha ayudado a transformar la percepción pública de Corbyn y a involucrar a miles de personas en su proyecto de transformación social. También ha desenmascarado a Theresa May, que ha pasado de aparecer como la personalidad necesaria para guiar a buen puerto el Brexit, a no sólo ser incapaz de comunicar su visión política al pueblo, sino que aparece incompetente en la cuestión de la salida de Reino Unido de la UE. Probablemente su negativa a debatir cara a cara con Corbyn dañará más aún su ya terrible campaña.

Nada de esto podría haber ocurrido si la batalla hubiera permanecido confinada en un escenario tan orquestado como el Westminster, con guiones escritos por la prensa convencional y Corbyn disfrazado de un inadecuado traje de respetabilidad. Es con una política de masas como la izquierda puede ganar; lo que también es cierto para llevar a cabo este manifiesto-programa, en caso de ganar las elecciones.

Ningún programa significativo de redistribución de la riqueza y del poder puede lograrse solo a través del parlamento. Incluso si el Partido Laborista ganara el 8 de junio, su manifiesto se enfrentaría a una oposición significativa: de la derecha del Partido Laborista, del imperio de la prensa, de los aparatos del Estado y de la clase empresarial. La única manera de implementarlo sería mediante la organización más allá del parlamento: a través de los movimientos sociales que exigen sus propuestas, de los sindicatos que luchan por ellas en los centros de trabajo y de un Partido Laborista revitalizado que se convierta en un vehículo para el poder popular a nivel local así como a nivel nacional.

Finalmente, si el Partido Laborista es derrotado en las elecciones, la derecha del partido argumentará, sin dilación, que fue porque el liderazgo de Corbyn ha sido demasiado izquierdista. Pero ahora sabemos que esto no es cierto. La inmensa mayoría del país apoya las políticas de izquierda, es la derecha laborista y sus aliados en la élite política, empresarial y mediática los que están en minoría. La próxima batalla será defender el programa de estos ataques.

Por primera vez en décadas, podemos estar seguros de lo que pretende hacer un gobierno izquierdista del Partido Laborista. Hay una oportunidad real para construir un proyecto que a lo largo de los años podría mejorar la vida de millones de personas. Es responsabilidad de la izquierda, a lo largo y ancho de Gran Bretaña, mantener este horizonte –sea cual sea el resultado el 8 de junio– y luchar para hacerlo realidad.

https://jacobinmag.com/2017/05/labour-manifesto-jeremy-corbyn-theresa-may-election

Comparte este contenido:
Leer más »

Reino Unido: Where is Labour’s big thinking on education policy?

Noticias

Theresa May’s unimaginative approach to education is no surprise, but Jeremy Corbyn should be making the running

Europa |ReinoUnido/TheGuardian
Resumen:  Propuestas para revisar las evaluaciones comparativas en educación,
al menos 100 nuevas escuelas libres al año se construirá, inclusión de viveros en las escuelas, garantía de 30 horas de cuidado infantil gratis, Universidades que cobran tarifas máximas (£ 9.000 +) deben patrocinar escuelas libres o academias, los nuevos maestros no tendrán que pagar los préstamos estudiantiles mientras permanezcan en la profesión, son algunas de las ideas que sobre educación plantea el programa laborista de Jeremy Corbyn.
It is not a great start to an election campaign, or a piece of journalism, to say you feel bored and uninspired by what is on offer. But there you have it.

There haven’t been many elections in recent years when education has been either a gamechanger or a grand talking point. The Labour landslide of 1997 maybe, preceded by Tony Blair’s 1996 Education Education Education conference speech. And Michael Gove’s passionate proselytising about the curriculum and Swedish free schools certainly livened things up in 2010, whatever we may have thought about the implications.

Apart from grammar schools, on which No 10 seems fixated, the Tories seem numb from the head down when it comes to education policy. Even this dreadful idea may be played down in the campaign. Every new version of the grammar school plan seems to come with the rider that it will affect only some areas, have a moderate impact and be nothing like the selective system in the past.

But if you hear a Tory spokesperson suggest they may only create a few new grammar schools, just remember that 30 years ago the Conservatives promised only a handful of city technology colleges, the original “independent state schools”. Legislation was duly passed and now there are 5,000 academies.Grammar schools on that scale would be very much like the past, so let’s not get fooled again.

But Conservative conservatism on education policy may not be surprising. Parties in government tend to be less good at developing compelling new ideas than parties in opposition, and Theresa May does not come across as a person with much driving vision or imagination.

Play Video
Over to Labour then, which could, and should, be making the running. Just imagine how it would liven things up if Jeremy Corbyn promised to ditch his party’s fudge of being both for and against grammar schools at the same time.

But even that would only require Labour to engage on the minuscule piece of territory the Tories have carved out. Where are the imaginative solutions to the ever more fragmented local oversight of schools, or brave thinking about a curriculum and qualifications to address the skills shortage in a post-Brexit world?

And what about the wider issues of school accountability, teacher recruitment and retention, workload, unfair admissions and market-driven segregation in the non-selective sector?

The promises so far of free school meals for all primary children and smaller class sizes are irrelevant to the big systemic issues. Evidence of their impact is unclear at a time when every penny spent should be making up a £3bn shortfall the government prefers to describe as “record levels of funding”, while ensuring there is enough money for a genuinely fair distribution across the country.

These are really the bread and butter issues of schools policy, which need to be illuminated with radical thinking. It is a sign of the dismal times that there seem to be no thinktanks on the left churning out ideas in the way that Policy Exchangeor Reform did pre-2010. Corbyn’s office apparently employs 28 people; the output in policy terms seems non-existent.

It isn’t even difficult these days to pick up the germ of good ideas from outside. In a turnaround from earlier elections, most interesting policy thinking now comes from educationists themselves.

The Headteachers’ Roundtable, soon to celebrate its fifth birthday after its initial Guardian meeting, has grown in stature and just published its owndoorstep manifesto [pdf]. Its offshoot, theNational Baccalaureate Trust, is developing and piloting the idea of a real Bacc for all 18-year-olds, incorporating academic and vocational qualifications with an ethos and values that could start in primary school.

At a recent party to celebrate the second birthday of Education Datalab, a new research and analysis organisation, guests were entertained by high-profile writers and practitioners pitching their ideas for reform “without policymakers”.

A pact in which all schools ignore Ofsted; a refusal to implement any policy not based on evidence; a plan to ditch marking in favour of comparative judgments; instructional rounds (as practised by the medical profession) rather than formal lesson observations – these were the solutions that emerged.

These ideas may not all be suitable for an election manifesto, but at least they show signs of a pulse. Someone just needs to feel it.

Fuente: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/may/09/labour-education-policy-jeremy-corbyn

Comparte este contenido:
Leer más »

Reino Unido: UK schools taking desperate measures as funding crisis hits

Noticias

Reino Unido/Junio de 2017/Fuente: The Guardian

Resumen: Las pausas de almuerzo están siendo suspendidas, las materias de las minorías se están dejando caer y a los padres se les ha pedido, incluso, pagar los ingredientes básicos de la cocina como parte de los intentos de las escuelas  del país para cubrir  los déficits en la financiación. Un análisis realizado por The Guardian revela que los directores han estado recurriendo a medidas desesperadas para ahorrar dinero a medida que los presupuestos se aprietan – y se ven obligados a hacer crecientes demandas, a menudo a los padres, para cerrar la brecha.

Lunch breaks are being cut short, minority subjects are being dropped and parents have even been asked to pay for basic cooking ingredients as part of attempts by schools across the country to cover for shortfalls in funding.

Analysis by the Guardian reveals that headteachers have been resorting to desperate measures to save money as budgets are squeezed – and are forced to make increasing demands, often on parents, to plug the gap.

Examples include:

  • The Latymer school in north London turning to parents for donations for the second time in a year, after an initial £70,000 raised was not enough to save subjects including PE and Latin from being scrapped for some years.
  • Parents of pupils at Davenant Foundation school in Loughton, Essex, being asked for £20 donations to cover the costs of “creative studies” in key stage 3 – including salt and milk for food technology lessons.
  • Lowercroft community school in Bury, which has a £45,000 budget shortfall, seeking to lay off lunchtime supervisors and cut breaks to end the school day 15 minutes earlier.
  • Parents at St Nicolas’ Church of England school in Taplow, part of Theresa May’s constituency, receiving letters asking for contributions of up to £30 a month to plug a projected £40,000 shortfall next year, or face staff redundancies.
  • Teachers complaining that school photocopying and printing budgets have been slashed, meaning pupils are missing out on classroom material or having to rely on battered or defaced old textbooks.

Teaching unions say the crisis is the result of years of frozen budgets, further eroded by higher pension, wages and tax costs as well as inflation, with little hope of relief if the Conservatives are re-elected.

Russell Hobby of the National Association of Head Teachers said schools throughout England were increasingly asking parents to make ends meet, and slashing staff budgets when that wasn’t enough.

“Almost every head I speak to is thinking about not replacing teachers who do leave, or is having to lay off staff within the next year or two,” said Hobby.

“I think it’s just phenomenal. The funding crisis isn’t just something that’s going to happen in 2020 – it’s happening right now.”

Liam Collins, headteacher of Uplands community college in East Sussex, said his school was hundreds of thousands of pounds worse off.

“The per-student funding is not protected. This year we received £4,664 per student, and this flat cash settlement is what we will receive for the foreseeable future. This is well below the national average, even under the new funding formula,” Collins said.

“In simple terms this is a cut of 10 teachers, fewer clubs, no pastoral support, a narrowed curriculum, no counselling for students struggling with mental health issues, crumbling buildings, no IT upgrades, no new textbooks and no school planners.”

The cuts come as the National Audit Office has calculated there will be a £3bn real-terms reduction across all schools by 2019.

In its analysis of the Conservative manifesto, the Institute for Fiscal Studies found school funding in England would fall nearly 3% by 2021 even with a promised extra £1bn a year, adjusting for inflation and a rise in student numbers.

The Conservatives have so far promised to put an extra £1bn a year into school budgets – with the cash saved by ending free school meals for infants, and some optimistic efficiency savings from bureaucracy.

Labour is offering a more generous £4.8bn injection of funds, funded by reversing cuts to corporation tax, which would see school budgets in England rising in real terms over the next five years.

Sixth-formers would miss out on the largesse, however, with the IFS calculating that “spending per student in 16-18 education would remain about 10% lower than it would be for secondary schools”, no matter who wins the coming election.

Teachers contacting the Guardian have even complained of school buildings that reek of urine because budgets cannot stretch to fixing serious plumbing problems.

Furzedown primary school in Wandsworth, London, revealed that it was asking pupils to help clean classrooms because it could not afford a new cleaner, while the headteacher’s partner was having to undertake odd jobs around the school.

Even Latymer, a selective school in leafy north London, found that raising £70,000 in donations this year after an earlier appeal to parents was not enough to stave off cuts.

“For the next academic year, we will reduce staffing and teacher allowances further. Sadly Latin, PE, technology and sociology will no longer be offered to students joining the sixth form in September 2017,” Latymer’s headteacher, Maureen Cobbett, wrote to parents.

Jo Yurky, a co-founder of the Fair Funding for All Schools campaign group, said: “Parents are keenly aware that the cuts are not a future threat but are already happening now. We are deeply unhappy about it.”

Fuente: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/jun/04/uk-schools-taking-desperate-measures-as-funding-crisis-hits

Comparte este contenido:
Leer más »

Reino Unido: Un informe advierte sobre la escasa protección de la libertad de cátedra

Internacional de la Educación

Por: Internacional de la Educación 

El Sindicato de universidades y facultades ha presentado un informe que pone de manifiesto un descenso significativo en la protección de la libertad de cátedra en el Reino Unido en comparación con otros países de la Unión Europea.

«Libertad de cátedra en el Reino Unido: protección legal y normativa en un contexto comparativo», obra de los docentes universitarios Terence Karran y Lucy Mallinson, de la Universidad de Lincoln (Reino Unido), también revela que casi una cuarta parte de los académicos del Reino Unido (un 23 por ciento) afirman haber sufrido acoso por parte de compañeros de trabajo debido a sus opiniones. El Sindicato de universidades y facultades (UCU, por sus siglas en inglés) encargó esta amplia encuesta en un intento por encontrar una definición mejor para el concepto de libertad de cátedra y para garantizar que se proteja de manera más adecuada.

Hallazgos fundamentales

Una de las recomendaciones del informe consiste en que la UCU tenga en cuenta una queja de la UNESCO/Organización Internacional del Trabajo sobre la falta de aplicación de la Recomendación de la UNESCO relativa a la Condición del Personal Docente de la Enseñanza Superior de 1997por parte del gobierno británico. El sindicato ha declarado que valorará sus opciones para responder al informe, incluida la posibilidad de explorar si el Reino Unido cumple o no lo exigido por dicha recomendación de la UNESCO de 1997.

Los autores del informe también argumentan que la gente necesita seguridad laboral para contar con la libertad para cuestionar ciertas ideas y comprometerse totalmente en la gestión universitaria.

Sus hallazgos incluyen los siguientes, entre otros:

·         Dos quintas partes de los académicos del Reino Unido (un 42 por ciento) afirmaron que cuentan con un conocimiento adecuado del concepto de libertad de cátedra, aunque un tercio (el 34 por cierto) declaró que no.

·         Ocho de cada 10 académicos del Reino Unido (un 81 por ciento) querían informarse más sobre la libertad de cátedra, mientras que tres cuartas partes (el 74 por ciento) de sus compañeros de otros países de la Unión Europea respondieron de forma similar.

·         Los académicos británicos sienten que el nivel de protección de la libertad de cátedra en su país en mucho menor que el que se otorga a sus compañeros de la Unión Europea.

·         Más de un cuarto de los académicos británicos (un 28 por ciento) y un 13 por ciento de sus colegas de la UE piensan que su nivel de protección es bajo.

·         La mitad (el 49 por ciento) de los académicos de la UE declaran disfrutar de un nivel de protección elevado, en comparación con el 22 por ciento de británicos que afirman lo mismo en su caso.

·         Más de la mitad de los académicos británicos (el 52 por ciento) y un tercio de sus compañeros de la UE (el 34 por ciento) indican que la protección de la libertad de cátedra ha disminuido en su universidad durante los últimos años.

·         Más de dos quintos (un 43 por ciento) de los académicos británicos y una cuarta parte (el 25 por ciento) de los de países de la UE afirman que la libertad de cátedra en la docencia se ha reducido.

·         Dos tercios del personal del Reino Unido (un 67 por ciento) y más de la mitad en países de la UE (el 54 por ciento) declaran que la protección laboral de los empleados del sector docente ha descendido en los últimos años.

La importancia de la libertad de cátedra

«Este informe amplio y vital destaca que solo una cifra sorprendentemente reducida de académicos cree que comprende de forma adecuada lo que significa de verdad la libertad de cátedra», explicó Sally Hunt, Secretaria general del UCU. «Es menos sorprendente y, en cierta medida, tranquilizador saber que un alto porcentaje de los encuestados lo considera un aspecto importante».

Además, añadió que, en los tiempos que corren, en los que los hechos se han visto relegados a un segundo plano, resulta «absolutamente fundamental» que la gente vuelva a escuchar a los expertos ya que las personas que no comprenden la dimensión de un problema pueden adoptar posturas peligrosas en cuanto a directrices y política.

«Consideramos que una sociedad libre es aquella que se define a través de instituciones sólidas y autónomas que se autorregulan en el seno de la ley pero fuera de la influencia gubernamental», indicó. Por otra parte, manifestó que la presentación del informe supone el inicio de un debate más amplio sobre el concepto de libertad de cátedra y cómo deben defenderlo las universidades, una reflexión en la que el UCU espera que se implique el sector al completo.

Antecedentes

El informe incluye encuestas a miembros del UCU y académicos de los otros 27 estados miembros de la UE. La mayor parte de los datos legales/constitucionales del informe se recopilaron en el marco del proyecto Marie Curie con financiación de la UE titulado «Proteger la libertad de cátedra en Europa», sobre la base del artículo «Libertad de cátedra y su protección en la legislación de los estados europeos: medir un derecho humano internacional», publicado el año pasado.

*Fuente: www.ei-ie.org

Comparte este contenido:
Leer más »

Why Minecraft: Education Edition is Microsoft’s most important video game

Christopher Dring

By: Christopher Dring

 Xbox lays out its vision to transform the education system globally.

I have two younger brothers.

All three of us began our working lives as video game testers at the same company.

I always loved the writing, so I found my way from there into journalism. My middle brother discovered a knack for management, so ended up pursuing a career in business development. Meanwhile my youngest sibling was fascinated by the science and coding of games. He’s just found his first programming job at a major studio.

It’s the latter Dring that has had the most challenging of the career paths. Not only is computer science a difficult subject to master, you’re simply not taught it at school. I learned writing at a young age (as most of us did), but my brother had to teach himself the basics of coding, and strolled into university with little prior understanding of what he was about to study.

In the UK, Computer Science has recently been worked into the school curriculum, which is good news for our industry. But it’s hard to implement, because first you need to teach the teachers; they weren’t taught programming at school, either.

That’s why what Microsoft has been doing with Minecraft is so important. The Education Edition has been used in schools to teach a broad range of subjects, but with the introduction of Code Builder this month, it’s now a means for teaching kids to code – even from as young as six years-old.

1

Deirdre Quarnstrom, Minecraft’s head of education

«One of the top things we hear from educators is that they want to be able to use [Minecraft] for coding,» says Deirdre Quarnstrom, head of education for Minecraft.

«They see the enthusiasm and engagement that they have with Minecraft, and coding is both top of mind as a critical skill, and something that feels inaccessible to educators who don’t have the technical training in it. Sometimes the students even have a point-of-view that coding is boring. The idea is to solve those issues through Minecraft, which is an environment where students can feel comfortable and confident. So there has been a tonne of excitement around that.

«We were in Brussels last week for a Microsoft event, and there were two classes that had been using it for just two weeks, and the level of competency that they have with it was just amazing. They had taken it, they’ve learned it, and they were actually building a future environmentally-friendly version of their city using Code Builder.»

2

Minecraft Education Edition now features a Code Builder

Learn-to-code software – such as Scratch, for instance – has been utilised in schools for some time. Quarnstrom says that Minecraft: Education Edition doesn’t necessarily replace these services, but can actually augment them.

«You can connect Scratch into Minecraft, so you can take that Scratch world, and the sprites and commands that are available in that, and then it opens up and expands to all Minecraft commands and inventory items,» she tells us. «You take that basic experience, which is a very good learn-to-code experience, and you expand it out to a full 3D Minecraft world, then all of a sudden they’re using their imaginations and creativity, because the toolset they have is so much bigger.»

James Protheroe, a Minecraft Education Edition mentor and an assistant headteacher agrees: «It is all about making that link. I know from my own use of Scratch, and coding with the children, it is difficult sometimes to get that wow factor. But when you connect that to the 3D environment within Minecraft, and see the impact of the coding that they have actually done, it is just amazing. It has such an impact.»

«If we can take a generation of Minecraft players and encourage them to become content creators and software engineers, that would be amazing»

Deirdre Quarnstrom

And of course, this coding education will hopefully (at least from Microsoft’s perspective) create a new generation of programmers and game designers.

«Absolutely,» begins Quarnstrom. «If we can take a generation of Minecraft players and encourage them to become content creators and software engineers, that would be amazing. We think about Code Builder as a means to the end. The activity of coding is not the thing you are investing in, the thing you are investing in is to become a game developer.

«We launched Minecraft Hour of Code Tutorial programmes two years ago. We did two of those, and they’ve had over 59m play sessions. That to me is unbelievable. It introduces students and helps teachers with the process of: ‘What is a command? What is a variable? What is a function? What is an event? And how does that work?’ They can go as slowly or as quickly as they want. That provides a great introduction.

«The challenge is that it is visual programming language, so you are kind of limited over what you can do there. With Code Builder you can switch from a visual programming language to javascript, and then back. So it provides that next step. It has typically been a pretty big gap from a visual block-based programming language, to actually writing code in a more professional environment. So we are excited to see how this encourages players.»

3

Minecraft Education Edition is being used at both Primary and Secondary School level

Much like a lot of things in Minecraft, the original idea for an Education Edition came from the community.

«Since early on, Mojang saw that Minecraft was an amazing environment for teaching and learning,» Quarnstrom continues. «People were going into an open world, with no instructions and no rules, and figuring out how to do things. They were teaching each other, creating videos and tutorials. Teachers saw that too – it was teachers who started to see that this was an amazing toolset that inspires creativity. Two teachers actually created a mod for the original Java edition of Minecraft, called Mincraft EDU. They developed this passionate following of early adopters. These were educators who were bringing technology into the classroom and investing in game-based learning.

«About two years ago, when Mojang and Minecraft became part of Microsoft, I said I wanted to work on this education opportunity. I went over to Stockholm and sat down with the team and to find out their vision for education». They said they wanted to change the world.» So I was like, ok that is overwhelming and maybe a bit naive. But we talked about it in that initial conversation, and discussed the fact that the next generation of world leaders are growing up playing games. They are playing Minecraft, learning about consequences and rules of society and how people work together. So it is incredibly powerful.

«Everyday since then, I have become more passionate about it. Generally educators will enter into it with some scepticism and anxiety. They are anxious about it because, generally, the students know more than they do. Every single student in that class is generally more comfortable in a gaming environment than the teacher is. School administrators have some concerns, but when we show them some examples of classes using Minecraft, they come out, almost universally, wanting to learn more about it, wanting to bottle it, package it and take it into their classrooms.»

Protheroe is a primary school teacher and he talks about how Minecraft in the classroom has encouraged communication, collaboration, problem-solving and also confidence.

«We brought it in specifically for one project a couple of years ago, and immediately you could see the potential it had for developing these skills,» he explains. «We have our digital leaders within the school, and very soon they were training staff on using the controls. So really it is pupils who were leading and supporting the teachers. I feel that working with the students in this way helps me unlock the potential of what they can do. Because of the demand, we’ve invited people in to show people what we’re doing in school. So the children said: «We have people coming in to see us work, maybe we could go out into their schools.» So they set up as an enterprise business, and they go out to work with the students and the teacher in their own classrooms. It is very much an introduction to work, but from a child’s point-of-view.»

It’s not just for primary school, though. Microsoft is keen to point out this is for all ages.

4

Minecraft Education Edition is being used in schools from over 100 different countries

Quarnstrom explains: «We see really interesting applications across primary and secondary school. Often in primary school, people will use it to introduce technology and the concept of digital citizenship. We learn very young in the playground that if we push one of our friends there are consequences to that. People get hurt. But in a virtual environment, sometimes those lessons aren’t as obvious. So educators are using Minecraft really effectively to teach, reinforce and encourage that concept of digital citizenship and responsibility in an online environment. They’re also teaching how to move around with a mouse and keyboard and navigate a 3D environment. And we usually see Minecraft brought in for specific subjects. It can be really effective for students with different learning styles, maybe they’re more visual learners.»

The big challenge now is to encourage more teachers to come on-board. Protheroe was convinced by his students to use the game, and now he’s one of 60 Minecraft mentors who are going around speaking to educators. Quarnstrom says this is key as teachers prefer to speak with their peers. «They speak the same language,» she says. «They understand the needs of the classroom.» There are now 30,000 educators who have created profiles on the Minecraft community site, with schools in 100 countries (including the likes of Tanzania) using the title.

Minecraft: Education Edition is not free. It costs $5 per user per year, although there are offers available for bulk licences. It may not sound like a lot, and on the face of it it isn’t, but the pressures on school budgets have never been higher. Every penny counts and so even if we were to believe every word of Quarnstrom and Protheroe’s pitch, it’s not an easy decision to make.

«From an Xbox and Minecraft point-of-view, this work in education lends credibility to gaming»

Deirdre Quarnstrom

Furthermore, you can understand if there’s a bit of scepticism around Microsoft’s intentions here. Is this really a desire to help education, or more a commercial and marketing exercise?

«For me, I had spent three years as Chief of Staff for Phil Spencer and the Xbox business,» Quarnstrom concludes. «I played games when I was younger, but I hadn’t really played games for a long time. When I went into Xbox, I was amazed by all the things that went into games. The art and science, the narrative design, the creative process… the technical innovation. That doesn’t get enough credibility for what that contributes to society. So I developed this much deeper passion for gaming. However, so many of the games that were popular were first person shooters or mature games. So when Minecraft came along, I saw that this was something that was open for anybody, with any learning or play style. It is this very accessible level-playing field for people. We see girls and boys playing almost equally on Minecraft, and you just don’t see that with most other games.

Source:

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/?author=1573

Comparte este contenido:
Leer más »

Reino Unido: Pupils at London school asked to clean their classroom as cuts bite

Noticias

Reino Unido/Mayo de 2017/Fuente: The Guardian

Resumen: Una escuela primaria con dificultades financieras está pidiendo a los alumnos que pasen por las aulas al final del día porque no pueden permitirse reemplazar a la aspiradora, mientras que el esposo de la directora está haciendo la plomería gratis. Los ministros no han podido explicar dónde las escuelas encontrarán ahorros, dice el regulador. En un duro ejemplo de cómo los recortes de fondos del gobierno están golpeando escuelas en todo el país, la escuela primaria de Furzedown, en la ciudad londinense de Wandsworth, se ha visto obligada a hacer recortes para tratar de equilibrar los libros. Es una de las miles de escuelas que luchan por sobrevivir durante la crisis financiera. Miles de padres, maestros y gobernadores celebraron eventos locales como parte de un día nacional de acción para protestar contra los recortes, que verán que las escuelas en Inglaterra se enfrentan a una reducción en términos reales de 3.000 millones de libras una vez que se tenga en cuenta la inflación. La directora de Furzedown Monica Kitchlew-Wilson ha tenido que pedir a los alumnos mayores que limpien las aulas después de que uno de los limpiadores de la escuela haya mudado de trabajo y no haya suficiente dinero para reemplazarla. Su esposo Dave Wilson, un fontanero entrenado, ha sido redactado para hacer frente a los trabajos extraños, tales como reemplazar las trampas de grasa en la cocina, para ahorrar dinero.

A cash-strapped primary school is asking pupils to vacuum classrooms at the end of the day because it cannot afford to replace the cleaner, while the headteacher’s husband is doing the plumbing for free.

In a stark example of how the government’s funding cuts are hitting schools across the country, Furzedown primary school, in the London borough of Wandsworth, has been forced to make cutbacks to try to balance the books.

It is one of thousands of schools struggling to make ends meet during the funding crisis. Thousands of parents, teachers and governors held local events as part of a national day of action to protest against the cuts, which will see schools in England face a real-terms reduction of £3bn once inflation is taken into account.

Furzedown headteacher Monica Kitchlew-Wilson has had to ask older pupils to clean classrooms after one of the school cleaners moved jobs and there was not enough money to replace her. Her husband Dave Wilson, a trained plumber, has been drafted in to tackle odd jobs, such as replacing grease traps in the kitchen, to save money.

Parents are also contributing, replacing worn-out sports equipment and buying classroom materials.

The school’s struggle to make ends meet is replicated in primaries and secondaries across England. While the absolute amount of money in the national pot for schools is at record levels, once rising pupil numbers, inflation and running costs, are factored in, schools will have to cut approximately 8% from budgets by 2020.

Many schools also fear the introduction of a new funding formula that ministers argue will be a fairer way of allocating cash. Under current plans, almost 11,000 schools stand to gain but around 9,000 will see significant budget cuts on top of those they already face.

Headteachers want the funding crisis to top the political agenda in the run-up to the general election, warning that it risks bringing the education system to its knees. Thousands of headteachers in 14 local authority areas wrote to parents this month asking them to consider funding cuts when voting.

Schools across the country are asking parents to contribute everything from paper to toilet roll. Some have requested that parents set up direct debit payments to the school or make contributions as high as £600 per family.

Kitchlew-Wilson said that as a result of a combination of cuts, she was “looking at being down by £100,000. It’s a huge amount for a two-form entry primary. I’ve never had a minus in my life and I’ve been here 30 years but there are minus figures at the bottom of every column and we are looking to save money any way we can.”

Five members of staff are due to leave by the beginning of the next academic year – two are moving to better funded independent schools – and will not be replaced. The school is being forced to buy fewer books and reduce IT investment, along with the amount spent on essential services for children with behavioural and learning difficulties. If the new funding formula is introduced, the future looks even bleaker.

“We will have fewer teachers to support those who need extra help,” said Kitchlew-Wilson. “There will be children who need extra support who will not get it – they will get less teacher time and less quality teaching as a result of these cuts.”

In a bid to save money, parents have come in to the school to paint the ceilings and do the gardening, as well as donating equipment. “We are getting boxes of stuff from Amazon that parents are buying for us but it’s not right that families have to buy resources for the school. State schools should be funded by the state and that is what it’s about,” she said.

Treasury data shows that cash for schools has fallen from 5.9% of the nation’s wealth in 2010 and is headed towards 4% in 2020, the lowest level in 60 years.

Russell Hobby, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: “This election is a make-or-break moment. School budgets are at breaking point right now. More money for schools is absolutely vital. Whoever forms the next government needs to fund education fully and fairly.”

Fuente: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/may/27/pupils-clean-classrooms-tory-funding-cuts-bite

Comparte este contenido:
Leer más »

Scotland’s Education Minister Says Education System Is Focused on Skills and Experiences to Prepare Youth for Learning, Life and Work

Noticias

Scotland/23 may 2017/By: CMRubinWorld/Source:http://www.sfgate.com

There has been a significant period of curriculum reform in Scotland. Driving this change is the development of skills, insights, and confidence to respond to the challenges and opportunities of the modern world. In a recent interview with CMRubinWorld, John Swinney says it is hugely important that Scottish students are equipped with all the skills they need to succeed in the modern workplace. “And it is crucial that we give all of our young people the opportunity to help them fulfil their potential, whether that is by going to university or college, going straight into work or undertaking a modern apprenticeship. The key is giving them the options to follow that will lead to success.”

 “The curriculum in Scotland,” says Swinney, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, “recognizes that learning begins at birth and continues throughout our lives. We have a pre-birth to three framework, 3-18 curriculum, and national guidance and frameworks which support adult learning and community learning and development. Together, these form the curriculum in Scotland, which is designed to help learners develop the skills they need for learning, life and work in an ever-changing world.”
 Swinney further emphasizes that the role of teachers is critical. A large aspect of Scottish reform has been focused on empowering teachers “to ensure all children have the best opportunity to learn and succeed.”

Prior to his election as Westminster MP for North Tayside in 1997, John Swinney held a number of posts in the Scottish National Party (SNP) at local and national level. In 1999, he became Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Tayside North, remaining as the constituency’s MP until standing down from Westminster at the 2001 General Election. From 1998 to 2000, he served as deputy leader of the SNP, and then as party leader between 2000 and 2004. He was re-elected as an MSP at the 2011 Scottish Parliament election and appointed Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth. He was appointed as Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution & Economy in November 2014. In May 2016, he was appointed as Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills.

CMRubinWorld launched in 2010 to explore what kind of education would prepare students to succeed in a rapidly changing globalized world. Its award-winning series, The Global Search for Education, is a highly regarded trailblazer in the renaissance of 21st century education, and occupies a widely respected place in the pulse of key issues facing every nation and the collective future of all children. It connects today’s top thought leaders with a diverse global audience of parents, students and educators. Its highly readable platform allows for discourse concerning our highest ideals and the sustainable solutions we must engineer to achieve them. C. M. Rubin has produced over 500 interviews and articles discussing an extensive array of topics under a singular vision: when it comes to the world of children, there is always more work to be done.

Source:

http://www.sfgate.com/business/press-releases/article/Scotland-s-Education-Minister-Says-Education-11163332.php

Comparte este contenido:
Leer más »
Page 55 of 84
1 … 53 54 55 56 57 … 84