Archive for the ‘News’ Category
Of smacking and schools; a story of odd class alliances in British politics.
Posted by: melissabenn on: January 31, 2012
- In: Musings | News
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How depressing that the debate on smacking children, like that of a woman’s right to choose and sex education ( which never seems to go away ) has reared its head once more. I was astonished, and somewhat appalled, to hear a discussion on the Today programme recently about whether poor children were becoming too [...]
Considering Ed’s Question…..
Posted by: melissabenn on: October 26, 2011
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Is it time to set up a movement to save our state schools from the many changes proposed by government? Read my latest post on the LSN website…..
Some more debate……
Posted by: melissabenn on: August 27, 2011
Some of my recent articles, largely debating the issues that arise out of School Wars. New Statesman: round up of left thinkers’ views on the riots and family values Prospect magazine: debate with Rachel Wolf, director of the New Schools Network, on the merits or otherwise of free schools. Financial Times: commentary on Toby Young [...]
Draft dodging…….
Posted by: melissabenn on: January 5, 2011
Just a note to all my loyal blog readers to say that I am currently ( early 2011) immersed in writing a book – provisionally entitled: School Wars; the Battle for Britain’s Education – to be published by Verso later this year, and so will not be posting until the first draft is finished in [...]
Rozsika Parker
Posted by: melissabenn on: November 18, 2010
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I was sad to hear of the premature death of Rozsika Parker, the writer and psychotherapist, author of the important feminist book, ‘Torn in two: the experience of maternal ambivalence’ published by Virago. I first spied Rosie when I was a rather serious young student revising for my finals and swimming very early every morning [...]
Free Schools: not for turning.
Posted by: melissabenn on: August 27, 2010
Below, an amended version of Melissa Benn’s latest blog on the Public Finance website So it looks like only a handful of Free Schools will be opening in 2011, and some high profile projects like Toby Young’s West London Free School might be delayed for a year or two. Following on from the PR disasters [...]
On Burma and Bigotgate……..
Posted by: melissabenn on: April 29, 2010
Read Melissa Benn’s latest pieces on the web. Further comment on ‘bigotgate’ in Public Finance, and a piece on one of Burma’s most celebrated activists, the poet and comedian Zarganar, recently sentenced to thirty five years for criticising the government’s handling of cyclone Nargis in 2008, on the Guardian’s Liberty Central section of Comment is [...]
Election matters, and why this election matters so much
Posted by: melissabenn on: April 28, 2010
Two excellent pieces today on separate aspects of the election campaign. Francis Gilbert has written a cogent piece on Comment is Free on why Tory policies for schools will spell disaster for our education system. In the main paper Natasha Walter analyses the deeper reasons for the absence of women from the front line of [...]
Politics between the covers
Posted by: melissabenn on: November 22, 2009
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Listen to Melissa Benn, one of several contributors to Mark Lawson’s recent Radio Four programme on the representation of politics in fiction and the arts.
Latest news and views…………….
Posted by: melissabenn on: November 12, 2009
- In: News
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Listen to an interview with Melissa Benn on the website of poet and writer James Nash……………….and later this month, on November 21st at 8pm, Melissa is one of a number of contributors to a special programme on Radio Four, written and presented by Mark Lawson, on the representation of politics in fiction and the arts. [...]
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