October 26, 2012 Here is an update on the susension of Ian Parker from Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU)—asking us to call on MMU to at least make public what the charges being brought against Ian are. MMU has now decided that a disciplinary hearing will go ahead on the two charges that...
October 24, 2012 On day about a month ago I was shocked by an email about the suspension from Manchester Metropolitan Univesity in the UK of my friend Ian Parker. I had just seen Ian over the summer at a Marxism and Psychology conference we both participated in in Morelia Mexico....
October 17, 2012 “Schools for growth—ones where developmental learning occurs—are much more like theatrical stages than classrooms." I wrote those words, in 1997, as the opening sentence of my book, Schools for Growth: Radical Alternatives to Current Educational Models. Fifteen years later, I believe it even more strongly. As school becomes more...
October 12, 2012 Contrasts! Two pieces in the New York Times early this week— “Attention Disorder or Not, Pills to Help in School” and “Invitation to a Dialogue: A Student’s Call to Arms.” The first is a prominently placed article (by Alan Schwarz, October 9, 2012). The second is a Letter to the...
September 24, 2012 Today I’m going to do some more promotion for Performing the World 2012 (PTW 2012)—because I’m so excited about it! The opening reception on Thursday evening October 4 will be a community welcome to New York—featuring food prepared by dozens of New York City friends; greetings by myself and...
September 13, 2012 It's the last few weeks leading up to the 7th Performing the World gathering taking place October 4-7 at the All Stars Project headquarters on 42 St in NYC. Amidst all the details and fine tuning of schedules and staffing, there's the bigger picture—the historicity of the activity,...
[caption id="attachment_1329" align="aligncenter" width="224"] Poster of the Japanese Society of Developmental Psychology Workshop in Tokyo[/caption] September 10, 2012 “You said performance is an untapped human resource, but Japanese people are reclusive…how can we work with that?” Can we redesign public schools to be ZPDs?” “If little children aren’t aware they’re performing and adults are,...
September 5, 2012 Ian Parker, a critical psychologist and practicing psychoanalyst, is professor of psychology at Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK. He’s also a long-time friend and colleague of mine and the East Side Institute. Ian and I have participated in many conferences and events together, along with the late...
[caption id="attachment_1319" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Opening Plenary Ceremony[/caption] August 14, 2012 The Second International Conference on Marxism and Psychology last week in Morelia Mexico was packed—about 700 participants, a good half of them Mexican university students and activists. It was challenging and fascinating to be part of the gathering of academics and activists,...
August 6, 2012 How many times have you thought of Burundi in the past month or even the past year? I confess I had not thought about it at all until last week when I received three applications for the East Side Institute’s International Class from citizens of that African country...
