philandbill-blog1

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A Long Overdue Change in Education

A Long Overdue Change in Education

A while ago I promised a group of year 10 students that they could have a debate once they’d finished some work. They did and I wrote a simple statement on the board: “We live in a capitalist democracy.” I explained what both words meant and then, underneath it, I wrote: “So why aren’t economics or politics on the curriculum?”

I was interested by their response as much as anything; I wanted to…

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10 Ways to Improve Education

10 Ways to Improve Education

As a challenge, I’ve made a list of ten things that I think students need to understand in order to take part in contemporary society, most of which are only brushed over by the current system:

An understanding of the political process – including a broad understanding of the core ideals of the major political parties, and the responsibilities of MPs. I cannot believe that we can expect to run a…

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How to fix education on the cheap (and why no-one’s talking about it)

How to fix education on the cheap (and why no-one’s talking about it)

The British education system is currently the third highest funded in the world, our teachers work the longest hours in Europe, and yet we’re still lagging behind on the Pisa rankings. On the back of this data, it would be reasonable to assume that the problem has nothing to do with funding, or the effort put in behind the scenes.

The truth is that the problem with British education has nothing…

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For Sale, Baby Shoes, Never Worn

For Sale, Baby Shoes, Never Worn

http://circleandtriangle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/For-Sale-Babys-Shoes-Never-Worn.mp3

For Sale: Baby Shoes. Never worn. That’s what the advert said, and that’s exactly what we needed.

I was expecting my own newborn in less than a month, but what kind of a world was it coming into? It was thoughts of the future that possessed me as I rode to collect the shoes.

We weren’t badly off, my…

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When the Land Was New

When the Land Was New

This was the first poem I ever wrote, looked back on and thought Holy shit! I wrote that. I was 14, and, given the nature of the poem, that’s kinda hilarious!

25 years later, I’ve pretty much grown into who I was afraid of…

When the land was new, and the mountains were made out of patterns in sand with a bucket and spade; when the trees were just sprouting, the beasts were just made, and the…

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Going Back To School

Going Back To School

This poem was written from someone who loves teaching, but can’t stand the desperate way we approach kids. We threaten them into learning instead of helping them to grow, and it often makes good teachers apologetic as opposed to assertive; scared as opposed to confident. As a result I often dread going back to school…

Monday comes creeping like some terrible slug; All greasy and slimy and…

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An Appointment with Dr Draper

An Appointment with Dr Draper

Dr Eileen Draper’s eyes were so thick with the desire to sleep that the lab appeared strangely blurred, her mind was almost weightless and her limbs were heavy and sluggish. For a long time she’d had a strange feeling of being outside herself, but she worked on all the same.

The darkness of the tropical night, and the bright light of the Floridian days passed by without her noticing anything more…

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Why I don't write...

Why I don’t write…

Again, we come back to the silence.

After days of being aware of the computer sitting there; days of me faffing around and dragging out mundane tasks because I wouldn’t know what to say, and pretending that the weeks don’t pass, I’m finally back, staring at the page and writing whatever first comes to mind.

It’s strange that this kind of writing used to be what I was best at. It’s what I…

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Music

With music as my basis, I travel distant places, My mind’s a distant dream My darkness falls in flames While the world still plays its games And I’ll always be the same: A soul without a name, A dream without an aim, Desperately searching for love Without the obligatory shame.

Music is special, It melts the mettle we cover our emotions with, Brings barriers down; A smile can quickly turn to frown,

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The opening...

The opening…

Hi there, I need a bit of advice.

I’ve written a book – it’s freely available – but I’m not sure what to do. It’s my third novel, so I’m not a numpty, but I’ve tried to write something that feels important. I mean, I love it for the same reasons, so I’m desperate to get some feedback.

The story is kinda obvious: It’s the life of Jesus, but he’s sent by the Devil and he becomes a rock star.

But I…

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We Live as Once We Did

We Live as Once We Did

This poem’s written in the voice of a teenage girl from a kind of post-apocalyptic tribe of Native-American type people – think like a hippy version of Mad Max…

We live as once we did, Together amidst the trees. A people protected by sheets of green, with roots that reach deep and stay strong.

The rise of the moon brings the safety of night. The chance to hide away, Deep in the forests

Where our…

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Films For Schools: Watership Down

Films For Schools: Watership Down

Given the new version of Watership Down that’s currently airing on BBC this is a post from a while ago about the original film….

One of the keys to introducing kids to big ideas is making them accessible. There really is no point in going to a classroom with Thomas Aquinas if they’re left scratching their heads like WTF?

But that doesn’t mean big ideas can’t come into the classroom – in fact…

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Father Christmas

The snow fell gently that night. A wind chime tinkled. Rainbow coloured lights blinked and winked, illuminating a single line of footprints that led down the side alley of the house.

The rusted lock had been opened with ease – the intruder had the key and grease he’d needed – and the tangle of bikes and garden implements had been silently avoided, even in the darkness.

He’d slunk across the…

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Perspective

A short story revealing five different perspectives over a young girl's death...

Audio from Opening Lines, Brighton, December 2018

Just a little reminder to take care this Christmas… xx

The Victim There’s a blackness so deep it almost glows. And that’s all there is. I’ve an awareness of myself, but nothing more. It’s as though I’m surrounded by an emptiness, a vacuum, that draws me outward to fill it, and it stretches me so thin I almost don’t feel like I exist; and I…

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Hello again...

Hello again…

Right. Blogging.

The best blogs are these kind of constant streams of thought that let you into someone’s world. The ones that make you feel like you’re listening to an honest friend who’s whispering into your ear.

I keep trying that. I’m so angry though, and I don’t know where to start.

Is it the world? Is it Trump – who’s become exactly the kind of bogieman that I think he’s always…

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Hello World...

Hello World…

So… I’ve had a blog for a while, but I’m not sure I was really ‘doing it right.’

I’ve always written – I’m 40 now – and over the years I’ve gathered together forty or fifty short pieces that I’m really proud of, written two novels and some plays. I guess I thought that I’d stick some of them online and an adoring world would come running. That didn’t happen, obviously, and I became a little…

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Why I write…

To learn to write about myself But not become a bore, To learn to look into the heart of myself But feel no shame for what I saw; To create another’s biography That’s honest and deep and aware, But hide the preliminary autopsy, The self-conscious autobiography, And create another who’s self-unaware.

Strip back the layers of manners, Pull down the Floydian wall, Create a knowing self-consciousness