Just Slow Down!

Posted on | May 19, 2009 | No Comments

My conversation with Carl Honore

I had the great pleasure of having a conversation with Carl Honoré about getting our mind around the idea of slowing down!

Our lives seem to be perpetually fixed on fast forward! And to the benefit of whom?

Take Carl’s view on the of teachers getting certified in the UK.

News of more acceleration in schools – only this time it’s the teachers who are being sped up. The British government today announced that in future “able candidates” can train to become teachers in just six months instead of the traditional one year.

The aim is to attract clever people who have lost their jobs in the economic downturn, especially in the financial sector. Said one government minister: “We know there are a lot of fantastic mathematicians, for example, who would have once perhaps gone into the City but now actually might be more interested in a career in teaching.”

But is this the right way to beef up the teaching ranks? I’m not so sure. Teaching is a hard job and the best teachers have a real vocation: that’s why they put up with low salaries, pushy parents and red tape.

Who is benefiting from the speed that EVERYTHING seems to be happening and who are the big losers?

Sit back, SLOW DOWN and contemplate! What an I doing, why and do I need to be doing THAT THING or THINGS at that pace?

Likely not!

My conversation with Carl Honore

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