2014-15 Ebor Lectures Series 9
Theme: Lighting the Fire: Character and the Practice of Education in the Public Life
‘Education is not the filling of a bucket but the lighting of a fire’ - William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)
Education is an increasingly contentious subject in contemporary public life. Austerity brings with it the need to control costs in state education, whilst at the same time improving learning and skills to compete in a global market and train a productive workforce to generate business, industry and the future wealth of society. However education is not just about economic outcomes; it forms individuals and shapes their lives in society and it makes contributions to every spectrum of life, by informing philosophical, socio-political and ethical conduct.
The 2014-15 series of Ebor lectures, Lighting the Fire, explores the foundation, character and practice of education with a special reference to contemporary Britain. Invited experts in their fields help us to understand and contribute to the debate about learning in the twenty-first century.
Education is an increasingly contentious subject in contemporary public life. Austerity brings with it the need to control costs in state education, whilst at the same time improving learning and skills to compete in a global market and train a productive workforce to generate business, industry and the future wealth of society. However education is not just about economic outcomes; it forms individuals and shapes their lives in society and it makes contributions to every spectrum of life, by informing philosophical, socio-political and ethical conduct.
The 2014-15 series of Ebor lectures, Lighting the Fire, explores the foundation, character and practice of education with a special reference to contemporary Britain. Invited experts in their fields help us to understand and contribute to the debate about learning in the twenty-first century.
Speakers
N.B. Biographical details and lecture descriptions were those written in advance of the lectures and have not been updated since.
Professor Richard Pring - Senior Research Fellow, Department of Education, University of Oxford
'What counts as an educated person in this day and age?'
17 September 2014, Temple Hall, York St John University
'What counts as an educated person in this day and age?'
17 September 2014, Temple Hall, York St John University
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Professor of Educational Studies and Director of the Department, University of Oxford, 1989 to 2003; Lead director of the Nuffield Review of Education and Training 14-19 for England and Wales, 2003-2009; previously Assistant Principal, Ministry of Education, teacher in London comprehensive schools, lecturer at Institute of Education, Professor of Education at University of Exeter. Most recent book: The Life and Death of Secondary Education for All (2013).
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Fiona Millar - Writer and Journalist
'Schools for One Nation'
18 March 2015, York Minster
'Schools for One Nation'
18 March 2015, York Minster
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Fiona Millar is a writer and journalist specialising in education and parenting issues. She started her career on the Mirror Group’s graduate training scheme in Devon then worked on the Daily Mirror and the Daily Express, as a news reporter, lobby correspondent and freelance feature writer.
Between 1997 and 2003 she worked at Downing Street as a special adviser. She now writes a column in Education Guardian and regularly takes part in television and radio debates about education policy. In 2004 Fiona wrote and presented a film, The Best for My Child, about parental choice for Channel Four. Between 2003 and 2010 she was chair of the Family and Parenting Institute, a leading centre of expertise on family policy in the UK. Fiona is co-founder of the Local Schools Network website and a member of the steering group of Comprehensive Future, which campaigns for fair admissions to English schools. Recent publications include The Secret World of the Working Mother and A New Conversation with Parents about parents and the school accountability system. Fiona is a governor of two North London schools and is chair of the National Youth Arts Trust. |
The Very Revd Professor Martyn Percy - Dean of Christ Church Oxford
‘Not Joining The Dots: Education as Love, Life and Liberty’
7 May 2015, York Minster
‘Not Joining The Dots: Education as Love, Life and Liberty’
7 May 2015, York Minster
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The Very Revd Professor Martyn Percy is Dean of Christ Church, Oxford. He was formerly Principal of Ripon College, Cuddesdon (near Oxford) from 2004 to 2014. A member of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Oxford, he is also a Professor of Theological Education at King’s College London, and Professorial Research Fellow at Heythrop College, University of London. He writes on Christianity and contemporary culture, education, and modern ecclesiology. Recent books include Thirty-Nine New Articles: An Anglican Landscape of Faith (2013) and Anglicanism: Confidence, Commitment and Communion (2013). He was recently described in in the journal Theology as the British theologian who is closest to being a ‘missionary anthropologist’.
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Rt Hon Frank Field MP - Labour MP for Birkenhead
‘Give me a child until they are 4: toughening up the Jesuit teaching on shaping children’s life chances’
10 June 2015, York Minster
‘Give me a child until they are 4: toughening up the Jesuit teaching on shaping children’s life chances’
10 June 2015, York Minster
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Frank Field MP has served as Member of Parliament for Birkenhead since 1979. In 1990 he took up the chairmanship of the Social Security Select Committee. He was Tony Blair’s first Minister for Welfare Reform. In 2010 he was appointed by the Prime Minister to lead the Independent Review on Poverty and Life Chances. Frank also chaired the Modern Slavery Bill Evidence Review and the Committee of Both Houses on the Modern Slavery Bill.
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Rabbi Baroness Neuberger, DBE - Member of the House of Lords and Senior Rabbi to the West London Synagogue
'Learning to live a life, ready for death’
1 July 2015, York Minster
'Learning to live a life, ready for death’
1 July 2015, York Minster
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Rabbi Baroness Neuberger DBE was educated at Cambridge and Leo Baeck College. She served the South London Liberal Synagogue 1977-89, chaired Camden & Islington Community Health Services NHS Trust 1993–1997, was CEO of the King’s Fund until 2004, Chancellor of the University of Ulster 1994-2000 and Bloomberg Professor of Divinity at Harvard University 2006. She was a Trustee of the Booker Prize Foundation, and a founding trustee of the Schwab Charitable Trust, in memory of her parents. Created a life peer in 2004 (Liberal Democrat, but now a Cross Bencher) she was Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s Champion for Volunteering 2007-2009 and chaired One Housing Group and the Advisory Panel on Judicial Diversity for the Lord Chancellor 2009-2010. Rabbi Julia is a Trustee of the Van Leer Group Foundation and Van Leer Jerusalem Institute.
Last year she was appointed by the Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb to chair a Review of the Liverpool Care Pathway for Dying Patients, which was published in July 2013. Among her books is Not Dead Yet – a Manifesto for Old Age (Harper Collins, 2008), and Is That All There Is?’ (Rider, 2011). Rabbi Julia is a social commentator and writes and broadcasts regularly on a variety of social and religious issues. |
