I recently went to visit my youngest daughters nursery school to speak with her Teacher about how she was settling in. My wife and I were impressed with the warmth and openness of the school and the availability of inspiring materials and options to stimulate our daughters young and active mind.

On the way out, we left through the main hallway of the primary school and on the walls were pictures of rocket ships each with a written statement in the children's hand writing declaring goals they each had for the year ahead. Things like, I want to spell better, I will read ten books by the end of the term and so on. One, caught my eye, and while I know it exhibited the child's knowledge of complex and technical writing skills, it also made me wonder about the statement and the approach to Teaching, it said: “I want to become a more creative writer by using connectives and conjunctives.” The problem is, as I see it, using connectives and conjunctives does not make you a more creative writer, it makes you a more technical writer. I believe what makes you a more creative writer is imagination and inspiration, daydreaming and experiencing, and the understanding of the Universe in which we live.  The technical aspect of course, is important, but I believe that without the other elements what you have is the technical information on how to change the wheel on a car or how to install a piece of software.

I looked up ‘Conjunctive’ in the dictionary and there was nothing in the definition which spoke of creative writing.

I believe that children are full of imagination and creativity and for the most part, lack the fear of embarrassment later exhibited when we become adults, to document the world they experience through writing, painting, acting, sculpting and all of the art forms available to them which express their ideas of how their world is.

It seems to be a common thread at the moment which is picking up steam that part of the solution to a child's education is allowing them space to discover how they learn best. What is the environment which sparks their interest and inspires them to want to learn more. There are programmes being put in place where Practitioners from different disciplines work hand in hand with Teachers in order to bring the element of experiential learning to the subject. An example of this would be to employ a person who has been an Actor to work with a Drama Teacher. While the Actor may not be an experienced Teacher they will bring with them their real life experience of working in Theatre for a living and while the Teacher may not have had that same experience they will know how to bring that to life in the classroom in order to make it accessible to the Pupils. As a team they bring a balanced approach to the lessons. 

My big fear  is that someone in upper management somewhere, will have the wrong idea that this kind of learning can be turned into a formula and then taught in the same way that Maths or English are being at the moment. (Which is not working for many children I hasten to add). The issue with this of course is that it then becomes a 'One Size Fits All' and we are back to where we started, with a system that does not work for many of it's Pupils. The best thing that can happen to this revolution is we give it back to the Teachers and Pupils so that they have the ownership. Trust that they will do what is needed and then give them the room to grow.

Live Passionately, ask why! 

John Locke Changed my life.

It’s strange the way ones life unfolds, one minute I was leaving the Army, the next I’m living in America. Then suddenly 25 years later I’m back home again in England.

Like many of my generation I have had several careers along the way. Military. Restaurant Manager. Sales and some other odds and sods. And like many, my life seemed to be a succession of near misses with what my dreams really were. One day in 1995 a young Franchisee I worked for, went into complete breakdown over a $15 mistake. The fact, that it was that significant and her happiness and wellbeing had come down this, made me reconsider what it was I wanted to do with my life and I quit on the spot. I should say that was the only time in my life I have ever done that.

You could say that she changed my life and maybe at that point it was the case.  At least it redirected it very quickly. While searching through the want adds I ran across a notice for a Musical Theatre Group that was holding open auditions for Guys and Dolls. (I know a lot of people are laughing now) I took a chance and got a part. It could be said, that was the changing point of my life, as I then went on to study Acting and Acted professionally for ten years. (Not something my wife thought was a great idea given the salary I was on as a Senior Manager.) It did have a huge impact on my life.

All of these and many more experiences had a significant effect on my life, but there was one thing missing. Permission! I don’t mean permission like when your mom says you can stay out late for the first time or when your partner says it’s okay to have a boy’s night out (but don’t come home to late). No, the permission I received from John Locke was of a very different nature and that is what has changed my life.

Many people my age have gone through life wanting something more and never quite being able to get there, I know that from past experience. For me it was just slightly out of reach and I didn’t know why. Many times as a young boy I was told that my writing was very good and was encouraged to write more. The problem was, I was a product of the 1960s British Education System. I’m sure some of you remember; it was the, ‘you’ll never amount to anything generation.’  But in 1996 when I finished my Acting Training the writing bug kicked in again. The love of writing I had as a kid had been revitalized and I was off. I wrote poetry and essays (Before blogging was popular) I wrote short plays and began and un-began books. I had found the passion in writing again and I had thousands of ideas.

Enter John Locke March19, 2013: Don’t worry John I’m not a stalker.

I was in ‘Waterstones Book Store’ looking for a copy of the ‘Children’s Writers and Artist’s Market.’ But what caught my eye instead was the Kindle display. In an instant I had one of those life-changing epiphanies. Technology was no longer a thing of the future it was the thing of now. We had become intertwined in the gadgets we used every day and our lives have changed forever. I love technology and how it has integrated into our lives (Mostly for the best) so I bought a Kindle Fire. I couldn’t wait to get this shiny little object home. At this point I have written and self published (The old fashioned way, don’t try this at home. NO REALLY!) three children’s books. They have become my children and I have seen them all come to life though self-publishing. However, they have had several birthdays without selling many copies. I have received a lot of nice feedback about the books and I am very proud of them, but sadly as John points out being self published and trying to compete in the major leagues is not an easy task. In fact it’s pretty near impossible. But in my hand I held the link that had been missing for me. As I thumbed through the options on Kindle and on YouTube trying to discover how to utilize this technology and finally I ran into John’s book, ‘How I sold I Million eBooks In Five Months’

It was not really about the amount of books, although that of course was a good motivation. It was the fact that another self-published Author had broken down the barriers and done it. Someone had overcome the stigma of being self-published of which the tidal wave will follow.

So I bought John’s book and low and behold he spoke to me and in the process of reading it my adventure was once again rekindled (Pun intended, hey I’m a Dad what can I say?) and John and I gave me the permission I needed. It’s not about the permission to write and be read, it’s the permission to say that one is a writer, and an Author. The permission to send you children out into the wide world and be proud of them and wish them luck, knowing that you may have made some mistakes along the way, but both will be okay. Permission to be wrong. Permission to be successful.

So I’m a Writer and an Author, it’s my passion. I’m a good writer, maybe not great but as John said, “I don’t suck.”

I am about to join the Army of self published Authors, get ready because here we come.

Today I gave my self permission to be the Author I always wanted to be and I gave one of my children permission to go out into the world and to live. 

 

A Life Without Judgement

As a child I was raised in a fragile environment which, by all accounts, could have gone one of several ways.  Being raised in my early years by my mother with an absent father, it was my grandfather who was my male influence. He was a kind and patient man but he had one major flaw; he was a racist and a chauvinist (a product of the era). Now in the 1960's we would not really have said that it was racism or chauvinism due to the fact that minorities were well, an extreme minority and women were, women (you know, a woman's place is in the home). I always found that odd as a little boy given that my grandma worked full time in a cotton mill (of course she was allowed to leave an hour earlier so that she could go home and cook my Grandfather's dinner). She got all the breaks. It was rare to see black people or openly gay or Chinese or anything other than white British people.

My Mother on the other hand, had great tolerance and empathy for everyone being, in a sense, a minority herself. As a divorced woman in the 1960's she was ostracized for her choice not to live in a violent home. When she went to open a bank account she was asked where her husband was. When she replied she did not live with her husband anymore the bank manager simply said, “don’'t be ridiculous woman, go away and come back with your husband.”

My mother learned first hand what it was like to be pushed to the edges of society in a male dominant world. What she lacked in resources she more than made up for in strength, character and dignity. She always took the side of the underdog and respect for others was the order of the day. She raised me to never judge others by the colour of their skin or by the education they did or didn’t have. She would always say that we are all equal irrespective of our nationality.

As I grew up I found it easy to get along with everyone no matter our differences and when I myself became a parent, I started to see it naturally in my children. My daughter Erin is always incensed when she experiences prejudice and racism in the world and has taught me the value of good character and respect. When Erin was six I was inspired to write a story for her called 'The Thing'. It was a combination of her love of family and friends and her indignation when people were treated unfairly; her desire to see justice even at that young age. I came to understand that hatred is not inherent it is taught. It is passed down from adult to child and it is based on fear. I believe that fear turns to loathing and loathing turns to hate and this is how wars are started.

Over the years that little book has been a reflection of how we try to live our lives, a life without judgment and a life with tolerance and empathy towards others. A life free of limitations placed on others due to their skin colour, their nationality or their sex.

www.leegwilkinson.com 

And So It Goes

I have just read another scathing report of how badly we are fairing in the worlds ranking of Education Systems:

The problem with our education system is not that it is good or bad, it is that it does not, nor has never, worked that well. It was born of necessity when the need to educate the masses was the demand. The industrial revolution had taken hold and the need to create a work force who could read, write and compute was tantamount to the success of the country. The fact that until this point there was no other model which could lead the way, so it was demand which created a system.

Until this point there had been no need to have mass education as most of the population worked as laborers on tasks involving the needs of a feudal system. A general assertion I realise but accurate enough. Suffice to say there was little in the way of mass manufacturing at the turn of the 18th century. The system which educated the masses was created in the model of the factory rather than as a desire to allow any who wished to obtain a well rounded education in the area of interest in which they had a passion.

My grandparents generation finished their formal education at age fourteen and then went on to get a job in a factory. Some were lucky enough to become tradesmen and work an apprenticeship as a carpenter or electrician. The point of all of this is, the education system focussed on repetition of learning in a limited field of subjects so that a young man (typically) would the be able to work on repetitive skills in manufacturing.

Fast forward a couple of centuries and the world has become unrecognizable as far as this model is concerned, however the way in which we teach has remained pretty much the same. We still sit in desks in rows and we learn for the most part by rote. We have become so infatuated by trying to regain the leading foothold we had on the world stage of education that we have substituted results for learning and narrowed the field even more. If you are not a person who can learn by absorbing copious amounts of facts and figures you will surely appear to the system still in place to fit into the lower levels of the education system. Sadly many young people who would show to be just as intelligent (the definition of which is open to discussion) will be marginalized by this method of delivery of the education system.

Now fast forward fourteen years and my daughter just sent me a text to say that she just earned an ‘A’ in Physics. I’m thrilled, I’m a parent of course I’m thrilled, what kind of parent would I be not to be thrilled at a child's triumph? I would be even more thrilled if the same education system also nurtured her people skills that she so openly displays and her desire to make a difference in the world or to have classes in creative thinking and real world problem solving. How about a class in entrepreneurial studies or how to start a green business. All of these things still need all of the other subjects to support them, the difference is that the Maths and English would be attached to a real world reason for learning as apposed to ‘because the education system said so’ That reason is outdated and the youth of today don’t buy it any more. It’s time to revolutionize the education system and invent something exciting and current.

Live passionately, ask why!

The honour of Gay people serving their countries.

by Lee Wilkinson on Wednesday, 01 December 2010 at 10:47

On the subject of Gay people who are willing to serve and die for their countries: consider the comparison of the speech delivered by Shylock in Merchant Of Venice and substitute Gay for Jew or indeed any other human being willing to honour the dignity of service to others.

He hath disgraced me, and hindered me half a million; laughed at my losses, mocked at my gains, scorned my nation, thwarted my bargains, cooled my friends, heated mine enemies; and what's his reason? I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you poison us, do we not die? and if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that. If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humility? Revenge. If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by Christian example? Why, revenge. The villany you teach me, I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction.  

I would be mightily impressed that those who dislike a person for their lifestyle would stick by their sad set of morals if they were in a hole on a battle field with a leg missing and bleeding to death knowing you might never see your children again but for the aid of one of your team, now remember he's gay. Would you refuse that help knowing you would never be able to look into the eyes of those you loved? That little girl who sits on your knee at breakfast time to share you toast, the little boy who wants you to play with him in the first snow of the year. That beautiful woman who has given her life to you. All of this I am sure you would not give up because the medic who is about to give you a blood transfusion with bullets and shit flying everywhere. That brave soul who is willing to risk their life for yours irrespective of your beliefs....You should be ashamed of your so called morals and get on with your life and let others get on with theirs. Maybe they should be allowed to declare their choice of lifestyle on the battle ground prior to giving medical attention.

Live passionately, ask why!

The privilege of parenting.

It is not a parents job to instill in their children what may not be achieved, rather it is our privilege to walk beside them as they dream the visions of tomorrow. How many times has the cure for cancer been possible within our grasp through the fleeting life of a human being, only to be stolen by the limitations placed on us by well meaning parents, teachers and education systems. Those who have made great strides in the past had the power of dreams as their guiding light -  Einstein, Richard Branson, Thomas Edison, Newton, Leonardo Da vinci and Vincent van Gogh to name what amounts to a fraction of the people who dared to dream of something which was to many, an impossibility.
If the present was brought upon by giving up our dreams to someone else's reality then we should claim back our dreams and envision a better future. One in which peace is the norm and compassion is the commodity of the majority. 

Live passionately, ask why!

Lee

Kate Blewett, undercover hero..

A friend of mine is a very successful and influential documentary film maker she has brought about change in the world with her films in a way that few others have. Inspired by her I am starting off a path of film making which I hope will also make a difference. Last week I had the great pleasure (Thanks to Kate) to go and interview her on camera and talk about her life. Apart from a few technical mistakes I was taken by something that was even more inspiring to me. I took along my daughter Erin. Erin is fourteen and I thought that a meeting with Kate justified taking Erin out of school for the day.

As we started Kate and I thought that it would be a nice idea for Erin to take on the role of interviewer. We wrote down several questions to be asked and off we went. As a film maker and a Father I was taken by the way Erin stepped up to the plate. Suddenly this fourteen year old kid was no longer a kid she was an interviewer. She moved from the questions we had written down to questions of her own and began interacting with Kate with confidence and passion.

What I learned was that given a chance young people are ready for the task and they do care about what is going on in the world.

Here are parts one and two of the interview, I hope you will give it a look.






http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZx_OfWJkNo





Lee