Trivium 21c

Martin Robinson worked for 20 years in state schools in London as a teacher, a leader and an advanced skills teacher. Now an education consultant, he works with schools and other institutions on curriculum development and a wide range of other issues. He is a regular on the conference circuit both in the UK and internationally.

• Contents include: Introduction: An Unexamined Life is not Worth Living A Trivial Pursuit? The Trivium Our Dramatis Personae: The Grammarians, the Dialecticians, and the Rhetoricians The Liberal Arts: A New Curriculum is Born The Rise of the Rational: The Fall of the Trivial? Trivium: A Clash of Cultures A Crack in Everything: The Imperfect Arts Grammar: From Rules of Language to Cultural Capital Dialectic: Logic, Dialectic, and Logos Rhetoric: Communication, Citizenship, and Community We Have a Montaigne to Climb The Professors The Grammarians vs. the Dialecticians The Contemporary Trivium

Martin Robinson sets out on a quest to discover the kind of education he wishesfor his daughter and we all learn a great deal in the process. I love his writing: wise, well informed, provocative, thinking-out-loud. Robinson engages his reader from first to last. A terrific feat.Melissa Benn, writer and author of School Wars: The Battle for Britain's Education Part reflective autobiography, part educational manifesto, Trivium 21c is both arichly erudite and engagingly relevant exploration of the purposes and philosophies underlying the enterprise of education. From ancient Greece through to contemporary controversy, Robinson draws resonantly on his experience as a student and a teacher to demonstrate that the 'trivium', the 'triple way', of grammar, dialectic, and rhetoric, still lies at the heart of a 'good education', albeit in new forms. With refreshing realism, he recognises that teachers in their work in the classroom often transcend many of the political storms about education. Citing almost every contemporary protagonist from our own era, he advances an approach which he describes as 'progressive traditionalism'. Trivium 21c is essential reading for all educators and observers of the seemingly endless public debate about education who wish to go beyond simplistic polarities and find a way to integrate and relate in a historical context seemingly contradictory approaches.Ian Bauckham Head Teacher and President, Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) 2013-14 In schools today, a focus on contemporary relevance too often trumps educationaldepth. Martin Robinson makes a compelling case that turning instead to the tradition of the liberal arts can open the minds of a new generation.Marc Sidwell, co-author of The School of Freedom, Managing Editor City A.M. This is a charming book which is fun to read; it is contemplative and self-reflective and at the same time it is well-researched, informative, and genuinely s