For the Monday group and an invitation to colleagues:

5.00-7.00 1WN 3.8 15^th January 2006.

Looking forward to shared each others news from the week including the pleasure in Karen's and Simon's communication that "Our baby daughter Sophia arrived one week early on New Year's Eve at 06:30, weighing 7lb10oz". After we've checked in I'm hoping that we can focus on Eden's original insights about 'guiltless recognition' and 'societal reidentification' in the context of his doctoral research programme into:

STRATEGIES THAT WORK FOR US.

HOW DO I IMPROVE MY PRACTICE?

CREATING A DECOLONISING LIVING EDUCATIONAL THEORY THAT EMBRACES AND EXTENDS OUR HUMANITY INTO NEW RELATIONSHIPS THAT CARRY HOPE FOR HUMANITY

Eden may be too busy writing to meet the 31 January deadline for the submission of this doctorate, to come on Monday, but Marie and I have been reading Eden's draft thesis and will be able to explain how Eden's writings are helping to form and extend our understandings of an African Cosmology with Ubuntu.

I think you will be moved by a story John has sent through from a Chinese student that communicates what a passion for education can move someone to do. It is called 'Liehuo's sister .... and the pig' and you can access it at http://www.jackwhitehead.com/monday/Liehuo.htm . I think the qualities expressed in the story resonate with Moira's commitment to sustainability in her work in China (Moira hopes to be with us on Monday 26 February, before taking up an appointment at Ningxia Teachers University as Professor for Life). In the BERA Practitioner-Researcher SIG 2006-7 e-seminar Yaakub has explained why he values so highly the social theory of Peter McLaren. I've enjoyed Fassbinder's review of 'Rage and Hope' at http://edrev.asu.edu/reviews/rev499.htm and we could start our educational evaluations of McLaren's social theory with this review, before moving on to some of McLaren's original work.

The proposal for a keynote symposium at BERA 07 has been submitted to meet yesterday's deadline, with Alana, Maggie and Jack as presenters, Jean as discussant and Je Kan as Chair.

The title is: Generating Educational Theories That Can Explain Educational Influences In Learning.

The overview to show the coherence of the symposium proposal is at:

http://www.jackwhitehead.com/bera07/jwajmf400words.htm

and the supporting statement is at:

http://www.jackwhitehead.com/bera07/jwajmf600wordabs.htm

Alan's originality in forming the idea of inclusionality as a relationally dynamic awareness of space and boundaries as connective, reflexive and co-creative together with Marian's emerging living theory of an inclusional and responsive practice, provide the primacy of my perceptions in contributing to the symposium proposal.

Jean is in South Africa this week working on the development of action research masters programmes at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University and tutoring a masters programme in the black township of Khayalitsha.

The deadline for symposia and paper presentations in the main BERA conference is next Friday (19^th). I'm wondering if the symposium proposal with Nigel, Marie, Chris and me might be best submitted for The Practitioner Researcher day on the 8^th September?

Looking forward to this Monday evening's conversation – any more news do just e-mail it in.

Love Jack.