Teacher/Educationalist Voices
Click on the links below to read some of our interviews with teachers, teacher training graduates and educationalists to find out why progressive education is important to them and how education could be reimagined for the 21st century.
1. David Hansen – PGCE Graduate and Psychotherapist
“If enough people start thinking about these issues then we can begin to figure out how to take things forward. Unless the problem is recognised and discussed, there can be no chance of overcoming it.”
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2. Sally Hall – PGCE Graduate
“More time should be focussed on building positive relationships between students and teachers, in which shared understanding can develop on both sides.”
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3. Fiona Carnie – Educationalist and Author
“Parents are generally not seen as genuine partners in their children’s education. Teachers often do not feel valued as professionals but feel more like cogs in a machine.”
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4. Kimberley Cooper – Teacher, Forest School Leader and Educational Consultant
“My vision is to see children inspired and engaged in their learning, and progressive education is a natural fit with that, as it maintains the freedom to challenge and proactively respond to research in practice.”
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5. Polly Cheer – SEN Teacher and Early Years Specialist
“Children’s Rights are discussed more and seen as ‘trendy’ but this is paid lip-service to, and children really don’t have much say in anything unfortunately.”
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6. Sheryl Morris – Former Montessori Teacher
“Montessori math materials leave teachers-in-training saying, ‘I wish I’d learned math this way!‘”
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7. Alice Khimasia – Qualified Teacher and Unschooling Parent
“In more recent years, I have come to appreciate unschooling as a social justice movement. It is about consent, children’s rights, respect for land and elders, anti-racism, feminism, freedom.”
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8. Josie Yeung – Former Primary Teacher and Home Educator
“Take away the rigidity of the current system and give schools more
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freedom to do things differently and I believe amazing things could
happen. I believe the potential and the will is there, it’s the system
that prevents it.”
9. Richard Fransham – Former Teacher and Youth Rights Activist
“I no longer owned the idea that self-directed education is the solution to numerous pressing problems. It owned me. I now knew irreversibly that we can trust young people to be the architects of their own learning.”
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10. Dr James Mannion – Former Teacher, Author and Director of Rethinking Education
“One size fits all leaves too many wearing ill-fitting clothes. We need to place the experience of each and every child at the centre of our thinking.”
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11. Ortal Green – Design Thinking Specialist, Educator, Innovator and Author
“It’s vital for us as parents to take proactive steps in our children’s education. Whether you’re homeschooling, unschooling, or utilizing traditional schooling, embracing innovative educational strategies is crucial. We need to focus on developing 21st-century skills such as creativity, collaboration, problem-solving, and critical thinking.”
Voices from the Sector
Read more personal stories here.