WPN Forum - Any topic, all welcome! 

Looking for an enjoyable journey of the mind? check out http://academicearth.org/  - free world class learning via video. Makes you wonder about the future of education. Errrr...where is the UK equivalent? Oxford/Cambridge/LSE/Imperial etc? 

MPs may not be flavour of the month but an important enquiry is going on behind the scenes to examine why there are not more women in the House of Commons and your views are sought. A parliamentary conference has launched a public forum to learn from your experiences and, ideally for many, one can contribute anonymously. Your contribution will help them get a clearer picture of what's really wrong with the system and what can be done. They are also looking at the under-representation of people from ethnic minorities and people with disabilities.   

BE WARNED, the way the polls are going, there may be no change to the number of women in the House of Commons after the next election. 

As the headlines continue to be dominated by economic gloom, back stage is an issue that deserves closer attention. An article in Foreign Affairs "The Logic of Zero" sets out the importance of a major new commitment by the US and its allies to verifiable nuclear non-proliferation given the threat from nuclear terrorism. But despite Barack Obama's rhetoric in Prague (youtube speech excerpt), in the preparations for next year's conference to review the key treaty, which happens only every 5 years, the US is delaying progress (RCW article, see paragraph 5 onwards). This is a dangerous ball to drop.

The Logic of Zero argues Washington must lead the way to a world that is eventually without nuclear weapons by dramatically limiting the U.S. nuclear arsenal's size and purpose, negotiating a comprehensive nuclear-control regime for all fissile materials and building a worldwide coalition of support starting with close allies such as the UK. It is an article worth reading and we recommend it to all our supporters and site visitors. Please do not hesitate to add your views on the issue to the forum or review the further articles we link to on the subject.

Girls in Afghanistan on their way to school have had their faces sprayed with acid for going to school. For seeking an education. BBC news article  They were walking to school and were sprayed with acid by two people on a motorcycle. We can only hope that the manifest horror of acts such as these deplete the ranks of the extremists, that they are poisoning their own pot. Dream on WPN, the attacks continue (27 April article).   

Good teachers are the number one factor for excellence in student achievement but next comes high-quality leadership. Governments must do more to recruit and train the best people to run schools, according to a recent OECD publication.

Read latest view from Cambridge re the price we pay for poor quality teaching (full article may require registration).

Education reform is of great interest to WPN. All our children deserve good teachers and a good quality learning experience, and the future prosperity and wellbeing of our society depends upon it. We recommend the report More Good Teachers from the UK think tank Policy Exchange and welcome your views on our forum. Or take a look at the innovative KIPP network of schools in the USA, giving children who would normally never get to college the chance to make it. Read the recent news re parents' attempts in England to find a decent school.

Latest news re Academies - losing their independence since Ed Balls became Children's Secretary.

One of the highlights of parliamentary debate last year was the brilliant speech by Diane Abbott MP in the 42 days debate (video link, speech text) in the House of Commons. She lifted the lid on the "bone-crunching pressure" and shady deals from the Government to secure a majority of votes they didn't have, "driving a coach and horses through our civil liberties for mere short-term political advantage". 

More women in UK politics? If you thought there might be a breakthrough at the next general election, think again, according to research (pdf) by the Electoral Reform Society, which concluded that significant progress is impossible. Their earlier report (pdf) on the local elections was more of the same.  Progress at a snail's pace. Britain was once at the forefront of democratic progress in the world, with our "mother" of parliaments, now we're 60th in terms of the % of women in the lower house (world stats). 

This is 2009! not 1908. It appears that many selection committees around the country do not realise that they are helping to kill off any chances of a healthy parliamentary democracy in this country, by ensuring the Commons remains unrepresentative of the society it deems to serve. As the world continues to globalise, our dear beloved institution is in danger of becoming an anachronism. There will be MPs retiring before the next election, from safe seats. If you are a selector, or know someone who is, do please reflect on what's at stake, don't stand for it!! you can choose!!    

According to Conservativehome, men have been in selected in 85% of recent Conservative Party candidate selections. MPs have launched a year-long (assuming there's no election) cross-party Speakers Conference to investigate the disparity between the profile of current MPs and the population at large, looking at gender, race, disabilities and sexual orientation. It will operate like a Select Committee, chaired by the Speaker, with 17 MPs. The record of previous Speakers Conferences is mixed, though have in the distant past led to significant electoral reform including the enfranchisement of women. WPN will be watching developments with great interest, especially, as the numbers currently stack up, there may be no increase in the number of women MPs in the next parliament.

Keep an eye on future trends that will impact us all with this excellent 8 minute updated version of the "Shift Happens" video clip, re education and the future, a WPN policy focus.

WPN supports the recent royal call to highlight the urgent need to halt the destruction of the world's rainforests (BBC news). Deforestation accounts for about 20% of all greenhouse gas emissions. Read here about the World Bank's Forest Carbon Partnership Facility. Hit pic for video clip. Calculate your carbon footprint.

One of WPN's policy concerns is the lack of good teachers. A current WPN research project looks at the serious problem of too few suitably qualified maths and science teachers. Imperial College is supporting WPN in its survey (link left column) of maths and science graduates. If you know any such graduates (at any age) who do NOT work in education, please encourage them to take the survey. It's quick and straightforward and their contribution will help shape policy.

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Our ongoing online research gathering continues on preventing nuclear terrorism, the future of e-learning, and international conflict prevention. Don't hesitate to email us your thoughts, references, contributions, feedback. 

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