The Nazis hid their crimes behind the famous legend that ‘Work makes free’. Indeed! But both agreed that extermination was the only suitable outcome.   Nigel Pocock   It has long fascinated historians and others how such an apparently sophisticated society as ancient Rome could also be so barbaric, an […]

By ‘stereotyping’, we refer to labelling a person or culture with particular characteristics, whether ‘good’ or ‘bad’. In education, it is said that the student becomes ‘what the label denotes’.    Nigel Pocock   The label therefore becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. A student labelled an ‘idiot’ becomes one. There are […]

Namely that a ‘growth mindset’ approach to educational and social change is an extremely powerful tool, especially as regards the needs of areas of long-term deprivation.   Nigel Pocock   I defined a growth mindset as one marked by openness, a commitment to learning, and a belief that the brain […]

“Housmans bookshop” is a strange delight, among the now affluent, ‘regenerated’, shop fronts around King’s Cross.   Steve Latham   Together with Bookmarks, it is one of the few remaining radical book stores left in London. The ravages of property prices, together with the decline in the left-wing market, put paid […]