Learning in Playful Environments

The bus Singapore Ian Tymms On a school excursion to "The Cement Works" Drove down the Sides of an open-cut Mine to the Bottom Where we found ancient Shark's teeth. Now I live in a Concrete tower looking Down on the trees and Earth below. Cranes on every horizon Are emblems Of a desire to rise Above the complex History of this Place. But there are still Shark's teeth in the walls.

Most of my posts to-date have focused on blogging and teaching. This post takes a very different direction; it’s the potatoes to add a little variety to my overly meat-rich diet. The United World College movement has just turned 50. The power and pervasiveness of Kurt Hahn’ s original vision constantly surprises me as it finds expression in unexpected places. One recent voice to contribute to this conversation is Mikhail Gorbachev , a figure who, in my mind, stands in significance with the likes of fellow Nobel Prize winner Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Ghandi for the positive impact he has made on 20 th Century politics. It is thus humbling and surprising to find Gorbachev taking the time to address the UWC community directly. In his letter to the UWC movement , Gorbachev writes: Dear friends, Please accept my congratulations on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of United World Colleges. During the years of its existence your movement has been able to considerably influence sev...