"Ridiculously interesting!" That was the comment made by the proof reader of my forthcoming book, "Free Schools??? - That's The Spirit!"

I wonder whether she was referring to the quotes from one Frank Murlin. He it was who inspired the more transcendant aspects of the book's content. Over to you? What did you find ridiculous, interesting or ridiculously interesting in educational institutions? Examples please! Send them to Frank Murlin himself, here

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Director(s) sought for SilverLight Academy

DIRECTOR(S) SOUGHT

The new SilverLight Academy, (part of INaSENSE) seeks experienced educators with a passion for putting heart before head, experience before explanation and keeping love of Soul central in all circumstances.

This innovative role would best suit those with a passion for Self Discovery seen as central to all educational provision together with students' personal contributions to both local and global concerns. If you are interested in helping to devise cutting-edge and pioneering courses on healthy whole-person learning programmes, have you:

- Quality time to spare – unpaid until results bring rewards?
- Tried and tested experience in assembling training programmes on personal development?
- Knowledge of how to achieve all-round accreditation for qualifications gained by students?
- Interested in training other trainers to add further professional qualifications for those working not only in education but also with those with health issue (physical and/or psychological) excluded pupils and their families; prison inmates of all ages?

IF YOU OR SOMEONE KNOWN TO YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN EXPLORING THIS OFFER, PLEASE CONTACT Susan here

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Update

As a director of INaSENSE, I'm celebrating the launch of our new website here. I'm also happy to report that my latest book, "Free Schools ??? - That's the Spirit!" has been accepted for publication by Vanguard Press, part of the Pegasus group. The latest it might appear is next May but hopefully it may be sooner. Any reader of this post bursting to give their views on free schools and/or faith schools please let's share thoughts.

Dead Brainy?

Is standardised good grammar potentially too generalised to facilitate individual expressiveness - like fundamentalist dogma?

A Quaker lady, not known to me, is reported to have suggested that the word "god" was more a verb than a noun. Any comments? After all, Toby Young's West London Free School is proposing all children learn Latin up to the age of 14. Is this an imposition on the free will of students? How can a dead language help us to be more alive in the 21st Century, let alone lead you to free expression?

Free Schools?

Thanks Marcus. Sorry, can't remember you surname, only your face, just about. Buzzing after hearing your message. You're now about the third person who has spent three paragraphs praising my novel "Alice in Welfareland". Given that Alice, like Luther, is a reformer in my book; given again that the equivalent of the boss of Ofsted is characterised as Humpty Dumpty and yet again given that my Alice like thousands of current schoolchildren has become a refusenik. It's when she truants that she meets the Fat Educator on his wall, too fat to see the writing on the wall below his bulge. He takes a fancy to Alice but not to tract. Again, like Luther, she's banging on about the need to chage oppressive systems, mainly of course prescriptive education limiting love of learning and love of making choices and watching their consequences.

As a sequel to "Alice" I have now written "FREE SCHOOLS ??? - THAT'S THE SPIRIT". Thinking of one of my many playshops, the one entitled "ASTRAL ALICE, THE FIRST INDIGO CHILD?" This approach, inspired by Lewis Carroll and his love of fun and fantasy in "lessens" has been amplified and updated by me, as in the novel. Anyone out there interested in a Lewis Carroll type approach to education in or out of schools, colleges, universities and hopefully not free schools, please let's share more fun through creativity in a collegiate way that won't exclude anyone for any reason. If love is inclusive, why should we?

Free Schools. A good or bad idea?

Is it time for pupil power along the lines of a junior version of the rebellion in the Arab countries, namely a grass roots uprising? Alternatively as with the schisms that happen within all religions, will individualised mission statements lead to élitism? And if so is the whole process in danger of becoming fundamentalist? So far a "one-size-fits-all" system is failing to nurture uniqueness and encourage specialisation. Can the ideal education system ever be achieved by politicians allowing more personal freedoms?

All creative comments welcomed.

Poetry

I asked Christopher to select some of his poetry for publication on this blog and conducted a brief interview with him about his choices. His answers are very revealing!

RS: Christopher, you write a lot of poetry, from where do you get your inspiration?

CG: Conceit! I refuse to be puzzled by things that seem complex so I have a little chat with my Higher Self and ask for clarity to arrive. I then empty my mind and just listen. Lo and behold, a first line arrives. After years of writing the inner bit of you knows words that are likely to yield lots of rhymes.

RS: Is it important that your poetry rhymes?

CG: Rhyme and rhythm are universal. Everyone responds to the beat, as in music, and similar sounds as you get in rhyme. That's why nursery rhymes never go out of date and even new children's games will often use rhythm and rhyme together with chanting or singing. Better still, if you have some movement with it, like skipping.

RS: So do you advocate skipping to your own poetry?

CG: It's interesting that when talking about classical music we talk about Movements. Skipping could be seen as another form of dancing. When I hear rapping I feel I want to tap dance along to it. Nothing better for full health than the enjoyment of sound and movement in unison.

RS: You've chosen three poems, what made you write Inner Sense?

CG: My friend Susan coined the phrase to indicate that everyone has intuition or an inner voice that some people might call conscience. I so agreed with that I thought I'd write Susan a poem using that title and in so doing, explore and or discover my own feelings about what I intuitively felt was true for everybody. DISCUSS.

RS: And Many Faiths, One Future?

CG: The title's not new. In London I used to attend at the Friends' Meeting House in Euston meetings based on this subject. Amazingly it was run by a teenager. I'd now like to know how many other youngsters out there are interested to learn and share more about the very varied belief systems that already exist and maybe suggest better ways of celebrating our spirituality.

RS: And Gender?

CG: That was written in response to a lecture that I felt was too narrow and prejudiced in its outlook. For me, in terms of inner certainty, I often do feel isolated. Conceited or not, I deeply know that reincarnation is a fact for all that exists. Given that applies to every solitary soul, if true, it's the most dazzlingly simple way of understanding the reasons for our own existence.

RS: What has this to do with gender? Let's get to the point!

Good comment. Do you believe in reincarnation? If the answer's no, then I'd say "You've lost the plot, mate". Seriously, the plot is like a pre-birth blueprint and there has been enough reearch on this topic, as in the book, "Life Before Life" by Helen Wambach, to indicate the validity of pre-natal planning. Part of that includes gender. Souls under guidance will discuss or decide independently which gender next time on earth will speed up their learning. When I say learning, I mean about the totality of truth in human form. Interestingly, angels are always experienced and or illustrated as being androgynous. My poem intended to address these issues.

RS: Thank you, Christopher


CG: Thank you! All comments are most welcome, especially from those who would like to discuss or argue any of the issues I've covered.

Inner Sense

Above all physical horizons are the heavens
Life on earth evolves through multiple sevens
The itch of consciousness servant of Soul
Hints more truth and beauty beyond each pole.

But when Masters say LOOK within
How often did we try to begin
To raise consciousness by going deeper
Arousing Soul the earthly sleeper?
Or raise consciousness by going higher
While paying attention to saving Gaia?

To integrate all levels with earth
Pay Soul’s debts by seeking self-worth;
Love all along so lessons won’t repeat
With Soul’s clean sheet inner sense
The journey’s soon complete –so forward hence!

Many Faiths, One Future

The Higher we rise all might agree
The higher the prize and more to see.
But stay above all, refusing to fall,
Will not complete human harmony.

Many Faiths, One Future and one past,
Which Faiths still linger, which will last?
As energies change, and extend our range,
Let all flags wave from one tall mast.

Above, below our elderly Sun,
Angel of Youth till Kingdom Come
Let arrows of youth still aim for more truth.
All God's Words welcome one big pun.

From Cause-effect, free-will and all,
Through sunlit harvests, rains and squall,
As all life begun with All in the One,
Let all Creation heed one call.

GENDER

In every hu-man heart
from the very start
Soul’s fire has no fender

Returning to Its start
pure Soul has no gender
like God some people say.

No hu-man’s built one way
being both tough and tender
morphing through many lives
till husbands make good wives.
Whether as man or as a maid
love’s laws must be obeyed.
So make each mistake the mender
karma soon sent back to sender
role-play God’s most loving blender