The Harmony Project Education Podcast

In the second episode of our podcast series on the future of education, The Harmony Project's Director, Richard Dunne, is joined by former Secretary of State for Education, Justine Greening.

In the first of our new podcast series on The Future of Education, The Harmony Project's Director, Richard Dunne, is joined by flexi-schooling advocate Sian Goodspeed, who is also Founder of Flying Start Tuition and a former primary school teacher.

In this episode, Richard Dunne speaks to Advisor to The Harmony Project, Professor David Cadman.

During the podcast David discusses his upbringing as a Quaker, the lessons he learnt during his time at boarding school, the evolution of his career in estate management and his work with HRH The Prince of Wales (following the Toxteth Riots of 1981), which led to his ongoing work with The Prince's Foundation.

Richard asks David about his understanding of Harmony and his new School of Love: "Harmony is constantly fluid and flowing and in movement from and towards. It is always seeking to find a point of equilibrium even if we don't rest upon it for very long" explains David. "The shaping force of that moment is love".

David is also a visiting professor at the University of Maryland, USA, a Harmony Professor of Practice at the University of Wales Trinity St David, a fellow of the Temenos Academy and Harmony Advisor to The Prince's Foundation. David has most recently been writing a trilogy under the pseudonym of William Blyghton, the first part of which was published in 2017 under the title of The House by the Marsh.

In this podcast, Richard Dunne talks to Pramisha Thapaliya - a passionate climate justice and sustainable food systems advocate from Nepal. Pramisha shares her experiences growing up in Kathmandu and the changes that have taken place in her own lifetime. She describes the need for an education system in Nepal which prepares young people for the real world challenges that they will face, particularly in terms of climate change, and explains why she believes that an understanding of food systems is such an important part of this transformation.

In this episode, Richard Dunne speaks to the founder of Square Food Foundation, Barny Haughton.

Barny is a chef, teacher and food educator who believes that food education should be playing a central role in health and education policy both at local and national government level: "if we want resilient food systems, we need resilient communities and if we want resilient communities, we need a food educated society" says Barny.

Barny opened his first and organic restaurant Rocinantes in Bristol in 1988 and went on to run two others, the third of which was Bordeaux Quay – a grand statement in eco-gastronomy and a huge lesson in the difference between what it takes to run a large business with a £3.5 debt and being an uncompromising idealist. During his restaurant years however, Barny instinctively and inevitably became a cookery teacher; to his chefs, then to children at his own children's primary school and then, more formally to adults and families. Barny founded Square Food Foundation in 2011, a community cookery school which teaches people from all backgrounds and of all ages and abilities to cook good food and to better understand the role food plays in every aspect of life.

"From one person's relationship with the food they eat to global strategies for a sustainable world future, never has food education had a more important role to play in what it means to be human" [Barny Haughton, May 2015]

In this podcast Richard speaks to Catherine Smith, Headteacher at Damers, a large first school with specialist provision for children with complex communication needs, which sits at the heart of the Duchy of Cornwall's Poundbury development in Dorset. Damers introduced the Harmony principles to their curriculum two years ago and are now beginning to embed these principles into all areas. Catherine shares her journey to Headship, which was driven by her own experience of the power of education as a means to overcome barriers and her three decades of teaching and advisory work, both at local and national level. Her passion for inclusion and her determination to 'find the learner' within every child, regardless of their background or starting point, is evident in every aspect of Damers' provision.

In this week's episode, Richard Dunne speaks to co-founder of the Eden Project, Sir Tim Smit, about his personal experiences of education and fascination with the natural world, as well as what lessons he learnt from the restoration of the Lost Gardens of Heligan and creation of Eden. "There is no greater vocation than to be a teacher" says Tim, as he shares his wish for a radical new way of teaching and learning based on Nature's principles of Harmony.

During this podcast, Richard Dunne speaks to Serena Murdoch, a 16 year old from Kent, passionate about climate justice and environmental activism. During the podcast, Richard and Serena discuss the future of education, as well as Teach the Future's demands for a reform of the education system - repurposed around the climate emergency and ecological crisis. "In an ideal situation we would have a whole generation of people who would prioritise other peoples lives and the environment and know how to deal with a problem like the climate crisis in an efficient and creative way".

In this week's podcast, Richard speaks to Professor Yoshiyuki Nagata, Vice Director of the Sacred Heart Institute for Sustainable Futures (SHISF) in Tokyo. During the conversation, Yoshi shares his reflections on the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development - including its successes and some of the barriers to change. He also talks about the shift from Education for Sustainable Development to Learning for Sustainable Lifestyles and what this means for the future of education.

In this episode, Richard Dunne speaks to Tessa Willy, the Co-Programme Lead of the Primary PGCE at UCLs Institute of Education, about the benefits of creative learning environments, re-energising teachers and what the 'new normal' might look like in relation to education as children return to the classroom. "Teaching is the ultimate responsibility we can have as adults, and we must be prepared to give our all to children" says Tessa.