I attended the Michaela debate on Saturday 23rd April. The debate on ‘No excuses discipline works’ had me thinking the most, with the barrister-esque Jonathan Porter speaking against the wise and fatherly John Tomsett. It was a brilliant debate. They have both since posted their transcripts online, and other prominent bloggers who were present have offered their responses; this has in turn produced a lotofreaction from people not present for the debates.
All this has shown sharp divisions in the first order debate: people’s opinions and interpretations of ‘no excuses’ discipline and what it means. Yet it’s clear from the sharp divide that there are serious second order issues: what a behaviour system is for, and what values ought to underpin it.
It’s increasingly clear that big ethical questions pervade and underlie this entire discussion. For example, both sides grapple with the idea of fairness:
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The Echo Chamber 