This week began with a walk with grandchildren in London's Highgate Woods where I was surprised how much damage the recent storm had caused. \u00a0Despite the debris (mostly oak), it was a great place to run around.<\/p>\n
A Linkedin update the other day showed me all the skills that some of my contacts had newly developed.\u00a0 These included:\u00a0academia, \u00a0agriculture,\u00a0 climate change,\u00a0 training,\u00a0 conservation issues,\u00a0 environmental awareness <\/span>\u2026 (it goes on). \u00a0In what sense are these \u201cskills\u201d?\u00a0 Does Linkedin not keep an eye on what people are claiming?<\/p>\n I got an invitation recently (well, it was an email saying I should get an invitation ...) to the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee launch of\u00a0EAUC's<\/a> Enabling The Future We Want: Education for Sustainable Development in the UK<\/em>: a manifesto for dialogue, collaboration and action post Rio+20 \u2013 this is something that I had a vanishingly small part in developing (I commented on comma use policy, I recall). \u00a0I shall be accepting, even though I'm somewhat doubtful that the world needs another manifesto, as it will allow me to spend more time in Westminster Hall<\/a> under its hammer beam roof \u2013 one of the world's great structures.<\/p>\n The survey on the future form and function of the National Student Survey [NSS] closed on Wednesday. \u00a0There has been a campaign from the \"ESD Community\" to have a question on sustainability inserted into this, and you can see why many would see this as a sound strategy as the NSS concentrates the minds of university leadership like nothing else. \u00a0My sense all along has been that QAA would be reluctant to see an explicit reference to sustainability within the survey as this is a significant act of commitment on their part. \u00a0Being part of a group that produces guidelines that no one needs to take any notice of is one thing, but sticking your head above the parapet is another. \u00a0In a similar sense, it's absolutely fine for them to say that ESD should embrace Quality, as that's not controversial (everything has to embrace their view of Quality), but they don't think it's ok to say (as I suggested they should) that Quality should embrace sustainability; that is, that thinking about Quality should come to terms with the world as it is now becoming. \u00a0More mainstream thinking on all this suggests that it's too soon for such a focus in the NSS in that the survey ought to reflect current reality, and not attempt to change it. \u00a0So much for dynamic social change.<\/p>\n A week ago, HEAQAA held a consultation on its draft guidelines for ESD learning outcomes. \u00a0There was considerable publicity (within the \"ESD community\") about this, and those lucky enough to go, got to see the draft text. \u00a0I was able to follow something of the event on Twitter \u2013 very intermittently. \u00a0The organisers felt it went well despite the fact that none of the very people the guidelines are meant for (that is, \"the non-ESD community\") actually turned up. \u00a0How these poor benighted folk are to be reached, let alone influenced, remains a mystery. <\/span><\/p>\n Thursday was Kindness Day\u00a0UK<\/a>,\u00a0when we're asked to be kind to someone in order to make kindness a greater part of day to day life. \u00a0This seems a worthy goal, and it really is good for you, it seems. \u00a0By happy coincidence, Matthew Reisz in this week's\u00a0THE<\/a> asked, does bitchiness serve any useful scholarly purpose? \u00a0I'm in, typically-male (I'm told), two minds about this question: a one polite, and one not quite that. \u00a0These days, as far as individuals are concerned, I tend to try to season my scorn with pity (which is why I'm not mentioning the breathless email I got detailing what turned out to be trifling \"ministerial backing for ESD\". \u00a0Corporations and Quangos are quite another matter, and it was sad to see the nonsense about \"new pedagogues\" that emerged from the HEA a day later.<\/p>\n Then there was the new exhibition in Devizes of Wiltshire's gold from pre-history. \u00a0There's not much of it, but it is<\/em> fine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This week began with a walk with grandchildren in London's Highgate Woods where I was surprised how much damage the recent storm had caused. \u00a0Despite the debris (mostly oak), it was a great place to run around. 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