194. SHOULD THE STATE CARE ABOUT PRIVATE SCHOOLS? - On the Meaning of Independence

November 04, 2024 by DaN McKee in Education, Ethics, Obligation, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Politics, School, Teaching

“the conversation around VAT on independent schools being a conversation purely based around money, costs and affordability, instead of it being a serious public conversation around education and what a good education should look like is a conversation that fails to address what really ails the current state school system and what the advantages of going to, or working in, the independent sector actually are. “

168. IT'S NOT JUST THE KIDS, IT'S US - Why It's Important for Teachers to Look in the Mirror

November 06, 2023 by DaN McKee in Communication, Culture, Education, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Pop Culture, School, Technology, Teaching

“in a world where there is a very real epistemological threat coming from falling down online rabbit-holes into algorithm-guided conspiracies, we teachers are spending a lot of our own free-time guided by those very same dangerous algorithms as we hunt and click for hours looking for the perfect clips for our students. We then normalise this behaviour to our students“

157. I WON'T MISS SIR - On Naming Our Teachers

June 11, 2023 by DaN McKee in Communication, Culture, Education, Gender, Identity, Meaning, Perception, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, School, Work

“Any time we approach an area of education with an attitude of it being too difficult or even impossible for someone to do something, we make it so through a process of self-fulfilling-prophecy.“

151. INSTITUTIONALLY AFRAID - On The Importance Of Acknowledging Institutional Prejudice

March 27, 2023 by DaN McKee in EDI, Education, Gender, Justice, LGBTQ, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Politics, Punishment, Racism, School

“When we refuse, as Rowley has, to acknowledge the institutional nature - the structural nature - of the racism (and misogyny and homophobia) that permeates an organisation we are refusing to fully grasp the nature of the problem, or fully see what such prejudice looks and feels like for those who experience it.“

140. SABBATICAL - On The Importance of Taking a Break

December 12, 2022 by DaN McKee in Christmas, COVID19, Education, Free, Mental Health, Mindfulness, Perception, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, School, Work

“It shouldn’t be surprising to realise that, for an animal which literally shuts completely down every night and knocks itself unconscious as a means of essential restoration, stopping is good for human beings.“

124. WHEN DOING PHILOSOPHY ISN'T DOING PHILOSOPHY - Exams Aren't Everything

July 04, 2022 by DaN McKee in Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, School, Mind, Education

“I wrote that phrase on the board: “Metaphysics of Mind”. I then made a lame philosophy joke: “let’s see if the innatists are right. You haven’t been taught any of next year’s content yet but do you already know what philosophy of mind is?”
The task they are then set is to simply “do philosophy” to try and work out what they think next year’s course will cover, simply from the phrase “Metaphysics of Mind”. I give them a blank sheet of A3 paper and ask them to fill it with all the questions, issues and answers they think they will be studying from September.“

109. QUITTING MY JOB - The Thought Behind Making A Change

February 14, 2022 by DaN McKee in Education, Ethics, Free, Mental Health, Obligation, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, School, Work

“I told my form on Friday that this would be my last year at the school. I hadn’t been keeping it a secret, but there also hadn’t really been a relevant opportunity to bring it up.“

106. WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS - On Our Failure To Communicate

January 17, 2022 by DaN McKee in Education, Epistemology, Meaning, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Communication

“Often we hear people say something that they didn’t think they said at all. They might accuse us of not listening, or being ignorant of certain things, but the fact remains that if you say X and I hear Y, then you did not communicate X to me, you communicated - whether intentionally or not - Y.“

86. I'VE TOLD YOU BEFORE - On the Potential Deception of Knowledge Transfer

June 14, 2021 by DaN McKee in Education, Epistemology, Justice, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Politics, School

“If the relationship of knower to supposed transferee is asymmetrical and hierarchical, abuses can happen.“

66. IF A POST FALLS IN THE WOODS - When Is A Post Not A Post?

November 30, 2020 by DaN McKee in Obligation, Mental Health, Education, Philosophy Unleashed, Philosophy, School

“And yet this post exists…”

57. IT’S HARD TO FOLLOW THE LOGIC ON COVID 19 - Though It's A Little Easier If You Follow The Money

September 21, 2020 by DaN McKee in COVID19, Culture, Economics, Education, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Politics, School, Work

“As a philosopher it’s hard to follow the logic around Covid policy because in many cases there simply isn’t any. There is only the illusion of logic. A symbolic nod to a vague sense of health and safety which doesn’t dare follow its own argument to a conclusion for fear of what that conclusion might say.“

51. SNAPSHOTS OF WHITE PRIVILEGE - Why It Is Not Enough To Just Not Be Racist

June 22, 2020 by DaN McKee in Black Lives Matter, Culture, Education, Gender, Identity, Obligation, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Politics, Racism, School

“it is not enough to just not be racist (or sexist, or homophobic, or transphobic) in a world which has racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia built in to its very fabric. We have to do more.”

47. A LIFE WITHOUT SANCTIONS - Thinking About Consequences And Their Lack In An Age Without Punishment

June 01, 2020 by DaN McKee in Anarchism, COVID19, Culture, Death, Education, Ethics, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Politics, School

“Sanctions, punishments, threats…these may bring some short term sense of comfort that justice is being done, but true justice comes when we no longer need such threats to ensure good behaviour. When the logic of the genuine consequences of an action is enough to make people make better choices. When police aren’t racists and politicians aren’t liars because the obvious wrongness of being a racist or a liar, and its logical consequence in the death and suffering of innocent people, is sufficient to not want to be racist or lie. “

37. ELEMENTARY LOGIC - Why UK Schools Must Close Now

March 17, 2020 by DaN McKee in Education, Ethics, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Politics, School, Work, COVID19

“In the name of public health, but also sense and logic, we must close all UK schools now.”

29. THE VALUE AND LIMITS OF DEMANDING SILENCE - On Remembering Power’s Roots and Reasons in the Classroom

January 20, 2020 by DaN McKee in Education, Ethics, Free, Militarisation, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Politics, School, Work

“often neither students or teachers remember the justificatory roots for the powers, privileges and obligations which interplay within the classroom, and that this lack of awareness may well be the source of much student/teacher conflict at school.”

28. WHO ARE THESE CHARACTERS? - Questioning Using Teachers to Teach Our Children “Character”.

January 13, 2020 by DaN McKee in Education, Ethics, Identity, Philosophy Unleashed, Philosophy, Politics, School, Work

“are those of us in society who chose to be teachers within the current education system actually demonstrating good enough character to be suitable character “role models” for the next generation?”

24. BREAKING THE CODE OF POLITICAL SILENCE - On Why Teachers Ought To Share Their Political Beliefs With Their Students

December 02, 2019 by DaN McKee in Education, Ethics, Philosophy Unleashed, Philosophy, Politics, School, Work

“A teacher therefore has a duty to model democratic engagement to their students. A teacher not discussing an upcoming election or not having an opinion on the current political situation sends a negative message to their students that political engagement is not important.”

21. WHAT MUST WE REMEMBER? - On The Worth of Remembrance Day

November 10, 2019 by DaN McKee in Ethics, Philosophy Unleashed, Philosophy, Politics, School, War, Militarisation

“as long as we have had Remembrance Day and worn our red poppies, we have continued to have wars. If we truly want to honour those whose lives were lost saving the lives of others we ought to put every effort we can into ensuring the sorts of wars which cost them their lives are never fought again.”

16. THE CHINESE ROOM THEORY OF LEARNING - Can We Avoid An Educational Imitation Game?

September 30, 2019 by DaN McKee in Epistemology, Meaning, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, School, Work, Education, Qualia, Mind

“I think of the Chinese Room often as a teacher, especially around exam season, and wonder how much our obsession with testing has led to a Chinese Room approach to learning?”

10. IN DEFENCE OF WASTE - On the Essential Inessential

July 15, 2019 by DaN McKee in Philosophy Unleashed, School, Time, Work, Philosophy

“It is now my belief that the inessential, the waste, may be the most important thing in life for ensuring our true wellbeing. Furthermore, it may also ultimately have a knock-on effect of improving the productivity and efficacy of the essential.”