John Simkin
-
Posts
15,705 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
1
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Store
Posts posted by John Simkin
-
-
Whereas the Manic Street Preachers lyrics reflect a 19th century view of education, the Pink Floyd’s is a much more a recent cynical view. I am a supporter of the Manic Street Preachers position. Of course education can be manipulated to support the dominant ideology. However, history shows us that there are always enough teachers with integrity to make sure this does not happen in a democratic society. As you know, I am the eternal optimist.
-
The BBC Radio 2 is currently holding a poll for the best first line in a popular song. One suggestion is from A Design For Life by Manic Street Preachers.
"Libraries gave us power"
Any other suggestions?
Maybe we could ask the students currently taking part in the international debate to join in.
-
It has just been announced that Blair will making a statement after George Bush announces his views today on the merits of an independent inquiry into WMD. Blair is obviously waiting for his orders from Bush. The situation is not the same in America and Britain. Bush did not use WMD as his main arguments for war. Anyway, Bush will be attempting to head off the trouble he is going to get into when the Senate Intelligence Committee publish its report in March. This is the same committee that exposed the American government’s Executive Action policy (a plan to remove unfriendly foreign leaders from power). They also discovered how the secret services worked with the Mafia in attempting to assassinate foreign leaders. They also exposed the methods used to smear progressive political figures such as Martin Luther King.
Of course we have been hear before. Here is a secret taped conversation between Lyndon Johnson and J. Edgar Hoover seven days after the Kennedy Assassination (released in 1995).
Lyndon B. Johnson: Are you familiar with this proposed (Congressional) group that they're trying to put together on this study of your report...
J. Edgar Hoover: I think it would be very bad to have a rash of investigations on this thing.
Lyndon B. Johnson: Well, the only way we can stop them is probably to appoint a high-level one to evaluate your report and put somebody that's pretty good on it... that I can select... and tell the House of Representatives and the Senate not to go ahead with their investigations...
From taped conversation with his friend, Richard Russell, we now know how they selected the committee to make sure the Warren Commission would rubber-stamp the FBI report (all based on blackmail – the famous Hoover files).
However, the situation is not the same in 2004. The Senate Committee has already started taking evidence. Edward Kennedy has already said that he believes the evidence was manipulated. This has been backed up by leaks from David Kelly type figures who were involved in this process.
Bush plan, like that of Blair with the Hutton Report, will be to dismiss any critical comments from these Senate committees with statements that the American people will have to wait until the official report is published. (Blair used this tactic all the time, even with things that were outside the remit of the Hutton Committee). Bush will no doubt put people on the committee that he can blackmail into provided the right sort of report. However, like Hutton, it will be dismissed as a “whitewash”. For that reason, he will try to make sure the report is published after the next election.
Blair has a different problem. He has already organized one whitewash, can he get away with a second. Blair is now aware he made a mistake by limiting the range of Hutton’s Inquiry. He should have called for one straight away (just like Johnson (Warren), Macmillian (Denning), and Thatcher (Franks and Scott), did – of course they were all far more sensible than Blair).
If Blair aggress to have an independent group of people to decide on the committee and if it is held in public and on television (important in allowing the public to judge who is lying) I will admit that maybe I have misjudged Blair. However, I think we all know what route he will go down. Let us hope that politicians have caught up on their history studies and will not agree that a Blair nominated committee will be an independent investigation.
-
I teach a group of about 20 students in a subject called International relations. They are fairly grown ups, it’s their last year of studies at our school. I think that some of them would be interested to participate in debated forum debating international politics. How far has the planning for this forum come? Will this debate forum be opened in February as suggested? Will the forum be open one? I would like to have voluntary participation of all my students at this debate forum. Not just only 2 chosen students. This will enable me to spread the debate ideas to a large group (not everyone has to debate, it’s often enough to take passively part in order to enhance knowledge) and at the same time allowing the most interested student to take part and discuss the debated topics. I do feel that my students (in the same way as Marco pointed it) will feel uncomfortable in using English language in a rather difficult context.
It was made clear at the beginning that this debate would be restricted to two high ability students per school (except for the case of International Schools that have the ability to provide students from different countries).
Details of these two students should be sent to Richard Jones-Nerzic. He will then arrange for them to be registered for the debate.
If you want a whole class to be involved in another debate you will need to make the necessary arrangements with Richard.
It was also decided that the first debate would take place in February. The reason for this was that Australian schools would not be able to take part before then. Richard also had a preference for the debate to be started in February. I will consult with Richard about the actual date when we will start.
Read the message that I posted earlier.
-
Austen, you argue your case well. The Jews do have a strong historical and legal case for living in the Middle East. The problem is that Arabs also have a strong case for living in the same region. The current reality of the situation has little to do with political and legal arguments. Israel is the dominant military power in the region and to a certain extent can impose its will on surrounding countries. The problem for the Israeli people is that some Arabs feel so strongly about the rights of their claims that they will use any methods, including suicide, to undermine the power of Israel.
As you know, since the Second World War there have been several conflicts between groups using the latest technology and others using fairly primitive weapons. What we have discovered in that the latest technology does not win wars. You have to win the hearts and minds of the people you are trying to control. As the Americans found in Vietnam.
Nations in western Europe have been fighting over territory for centuries. In 1945 we realised this had to stop. One of the most important features of this new policy concerned the way we treated Germany. This was a case of politicians learning from history. The realised that the harsh treatment suffered by the defeated nations in the First World War led to disaster. This time the defeated countries were rewarded by being given large sums of money. (I agree there was another motive behind this – it was feared that the defeated countries would become communist states).
In 2004 it never enters the head of people in Europe going to war with other countries over territory. Each country still has a small percentage of people who still retain their hatred of other nations. Research suggests that the main reason for this is that they suffer from an inferiority complex. In some cases, such as the United States, governments have manipulated these emotions for short-term gain. This was brought to an end by peaceful pressure groups, led by people like Martin Luther King. (Although the antics of Bush’s supporters in Florida suggest that this racism has not yet been completely cleared out of the system.)
Although you will not like to admit it, the situation in very similar to the situation in South Africa after the war. The whites held control and they had plenty of legal documents to justify this situation. At first the blacks tried to use peaceful methods. Eventually, like the Arabs in the Middle East, some blacks resorted to terrorism. This of course included Nelson Mandela.
Most nations in the world supported the view that the all adults living in South Africa should have equal rights. It was clear that if all nations joined together and impose economic pressure on the white racist government in South Africa, the regime would have collapsed. Unfortunately, the United States, with the support of countries like Britain, were very worried about the type of government that would emerge if democracy was installed in South Africa (the same worries that the Americans have about Iraq). All the evidence suggested that a democratic election in South Africa would install, Mandela, a committed Marxist, in power. (Also the same reasons why the United States would not allow free elections in Vietnam).
Eventually the world nations did get together and impose economic sanctions and eventually white leaders entered into negotiations. The result was Nelson Mandela became leader of the country. Did Mandela take revenge on the whites? No. Mandela had also learnt the lessons of history and it is the main reason he is recognised as the greatest statesman of the last 200 years.
Today most of the world believes that the Israelis treat the Arabs badly. Most countries in the UN would like to impose economic and military sanctions on Israel. As you know the United States always vetoes these resolutions. It appears that the United States does not favour democracy when it is likely to be outvoted.
The reason that the USA behaves in this way is that it sees Israel as its representative in the Middle East. This is of course the same way that American saw the white South Africans as their representatives in Africa.
Eventually, I think the United States will eventually elect a president who understands foreign affairs. They will then apply political and economic pressure on Israel and they will be forced into meaningful peace negotiations.
I would be interested in hearing how you think this situation will develop. Do you think that Israel will be able to overturn the rules of history?
-
This is the Georg Eckert Institute URL http://www.gei.de/english/index1.shtml
It is an excellent site and shows the way that German historians are trying to deal with a conflictive and bloody past in Europe.
It would be an excellent idea if somebody of the Institut could contribute to this forum and tell us about their work.
Ulrike, could you get in touch with them?
I agree. I will give them a plug in today's Teaching History Online. I will also contact them about joining the Education Forum (I always do when websites are featured in my two email newsletters).
-
Anyway - how do you describe 'good teaching'? What makes a good teacher today? When I was at school the sign of a good teacher was a quiet classroom and everyone knowing their times table!!!
Any takers on this question?
What makes a 'good teacher'?
What makes a 'good' teacher in an online or ICT enhanced classroom?
John Mayo posted this on another thread in the Forum.
http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=205
It is based on research with students.
http://www.gillmacmillan.ie/ECom/Library3....c7?OpenDocument
Students' perceptions of 'good' teachers
'Good' teachers
Get angry sometimes, when there is a reason
Listen to all sides
Stick to the rules
Treat all the children fairly
Say sorry when they have done something wrong
Give interesting lessons
Always have things for the pupils to do
Always mark classwork and homework
Ask the children what they think
Are on time for lessons
Stop children behaving badly
Deal with bad behaviour quietly (do not shout)
Are the same way every day
Try to make children understand
-
Reading the biographies section it seems we now have members from Britain (61), France (11), Spain (7), USA (6), Sweden (5), Netherlands (5), Canada (4), Australia (3), Greece (3), Italy (3), Finland (2), China (1), Brazil (1), Denmark (1), Belgium (1), Germany (1), Poland (1), Serbia (1), Belarus (1), South Korea (1), Sudan (1), Ireland (1) and Austria (1).
-
Whitewash is another interesting word. As David Chapman has pointed out: “Whitewash applied carefully and thinly, will last years. Too thick and it will flake off in no time.” The Warren Report was of the thin variety, the Hutton whitewash has indeed been painted far too thickly.
-
Richard,
Did you receive my e-mail with my two students' names and e-mails addresses? I am having lately serious problems with my e-mail and I don't know if you receive them.
The first 'warm-up' topic matters less. How about some general educational/schooling issues?
What makes a good/bad teacher?!
Is school relevant?
Should we abolish exams?
I have received your email Juan Carlos and have passed it on to Richard.
As these topics are very student friendly they will probably not need to be started by a teacher. However, the previous Toulouse debate suffered from a series of very short contributions. Maybe someone has got a good student to make an initial posting that is fairly substantial. Otherwise we might get a series on one liners.
-
Newsletter 4
Membership
We now have 290 members. So far 162 members have made postings (a total of 1,431 at the time of writing).
Reading the biographies section it seems we now have members from Britain (61), France (11), Spain (6), USA (6), Sweden (5), Netherlands (5), Canada (4), Australia (3), Greece (3), Italy (2), Finland (2), China (1), Brazil (1), Denmark (1), Belgium (1), Germany (1), Belarus (1), South Korea (1), Sudan (1), Ireland (1) and Austria (1). This is only 118 people out of 270. If you have not done so, please post your biography on the forum. This enables us to find out where our members are coming from.
http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=189
Quoting Posts
Displayed above each post in a topic, there is a 'Quote' button. Pressing this button will allow you to reply to a topic, and have the text from a particular reply quoted in your own reply. When you choose to do this, an extra text field will appear below the main text input box to allow you to edit the content of the post being quoted.
Finding Material
We are aware that the amount of information on the Education Forum has grown considerably over the last couple of weeks. This has made finding material more difficult. We currently include details of all sections on the home page. This means that it is a very long page. However, if we transfer some of these sections to a second layer, it will result in those sections being visited far less in the future.
Today’s Active Topics
Near the bottom of the home page you will find Today’s Active Topics (next to the Moderating Team). If you click this you will get details of the latest postings. This is what I do every time I visit the forum. This is the best approach if you are a regular visitor. If not, you will probably just go to the sections that interest you.
Search
At the top of the home page (in small text0 is the search facility. The search feature is designed to allow you to quickly find topics and posts that contain the keywords you enter.
There are two types of search form available, simple search and advanced search. You may switch between the two using the 'More Options' and 'Simple Mode' buttons.
Search: Simple Mode
All you need to do here is enter in a keyword into the search box, and select a forum(s) to search in. (to select multiple forums, hold down the control key on a PC, or the Shift/Apple key on a Mac) choose a sorting order and search.
Search: Advanced Mode
The advanced search screen, will give you a much greater range of options to choose from to refine your search. In addition to searching by keyword, you are able to search by a members username or a combination of both. You can also choose to refine your search by selecting a date range, and there are a number of sorting options available. There are also two ways of displaying the search results, can either show the post text in full or just show a link to the topic, can choose this using the radio buttons available.
Debates
At the moment, the following issues provide opportunities for good debate. I would welcome your contributions to these and other debates taking place on the forum.
What is the Purpose of Education?
http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=299
Bullying
http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=174
Pastoral Care in Different Countries
http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=235
Do Politicians Still Resign?
http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=283
The Middle East
http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=293
Dealing with Terrorism
http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=125
Blended Learning
http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=246
Do We Live in a Democracy?
http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=243
Teacher Training
http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=251
What makes a good teacher?
http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=205
Science Coursework
-
A friend of mine did an assembly the other day where he argued that the "Holocaust Memorial Day is counterproductive, as by institutionalising the day we either (a) brush it under the carpet or ( Have a tendency to focus on the Nazi Holocaust of Jews and label it as a "German" crime. In other words, it breeds prejudice and bigotry in a minority, and apathy and complacency in the majority - exactly the sort of thing which helps to create the conditions for another one."
It sounds like a stimulating assembly. I am not sure I fully agree with it but he was clearly right to question this process. He definitely gave the students (and staff) something to think about.
Many years ago I started a PhD (I later turned it into a MPhil) into the role that school plays in the development of political consciousness. This include a study of school assemblies and the way they impacted on the students. My research showed that the vast majority of students did not listen to the assembly. (Although they liked them as they saw it as a gentle introduction into the school day.) The main message they got from these was that morality was about obeying those in authority.
However, I discovered that some assemblies did make them think deeply about issues. In most cases this involved assemblies given by someone who rarely gave them. If they used a different approach, especially if it included drama, they did take note. I have always thought that schools underestimate the ability of students to think deeply about moral issues. However, before you can do that, you have got to let them know that you really are interested in what they have to say in the issue. Lectures are totally ineffective in this process.
-
I'm pleased to see the forum debating the election for NUT General Secretary and am more than happy to contribute now and again myself.
I am also encouraged that some of your contributors are supportive of my approach that a "teacher's leader should be on a teacher's salary". Certianly it is an idea that receives a lot of backing in staffrooms and union meetings alike. However principled you are, it is difficult to maintain your link with the members who have elected you if you are on a salary three times greater than they are! (The same goes for some of my opponents who also have had little or no experience of teaching in the classroom this side of the introduction of the National Curriculum. My most recent experience was Year 10 Single Science a few hours ago (Friday afternoon - always a favourite slot in the timetable!).
Welcome to the Education Forum. It is good to see someone up for election who is willing to debate his ideas with others. If you win, and I hope you do, it would be good to see you do this once in office.
I have no problems with your policies. My main concern is over how you plan to motivate members into action to defend education in this country.
Surveys of opinions in the profession show that the majority have sensible ideas on education policy. They have rightly been consistently opposed to things like SATs, Ofsted and league tables. However, the same polls show that when it comes to the crunch, teachers are unwilling to take action to defend or change our education system.
Before becoming a teacher I was a print worker. I was also an active trade unionist and we had little trouble persuading members to take action in order to defend living standards and the quality of the work that we performed (a major factor in why we took union action).
However, as soon as I entered the teaching profession I realized the unions faced a serious problem. Nearly all teachers have followed a similar route into the profession. They were successful school students themselves. They discovered at an early age that you are rewarded for obeying those in authority. Some went through a rebellious stage at university but once back in the school system they reverted to their roles of people fully conditioned into the idea of doing what they were told. Schools, unfortunately develop authoritarian personalities. They contain very few people willing to question those in authority. Those who were willing to do this, were usually late entrants to the profession and had experienced life outside educational institutions.
For example, soon after I entered the profession I was asked to be the school’s NUT representative. This was a sensible decision as no one else on the staff was willing to ask the head difficult questions in meetings.
A few months later a woman from the office told me that her husband, the school caretaker, had been told that he was suffering from a complaint that appeared to have been brought on by contact with asbestos. What is more, the doctor told him that the previous caretaker had died as a result of the same medical complaint. The doctor suggested that there was probably exposed asbestos in the school. With the help of the caretaker I inspected the school. We indeed found exposed asbestos in the boiler room. We also found evidence of it in the boy’s toilets.
I then called a meeting of the staff association and reported what we had found. The staff was appalled and called for immediate action to be taken. I then had a meeting with the head, the local union representative and officials of the local council. At this meeting I was told that the asbestos problem would be dealt with during the summer holidays. I complained that it should be dealt with straight away. This they refused to do. Nor did I get any support from the local union official. At a private meeting I told him that if immediate action was not taken members of the staff would go to the local press with the story. He smiled and told me that the newspapers would not print the story (he was right). He said that asbestos was a problem all over the country (it had traditionally been used in all school buildings) but the government did not have the money to sort it out. In order not to cause mass panic, newspapers had agreed not to publish stories about this problem.
I then called another meeting with the staff. They remained united in trying to get this sorted out and insisted that the head addressed them on the issue. This he did. The head and the first deputy launched an attack on the professionalism of the staff. This was mixed with threats about the possible consequences of taking unofficial action. After being harangued for fifteen minutes they stormed out.
The staff then voted overwhelmingly to drop the issue. I realised then that teachers were completely incapable of standing up for their rights when under pressure from their masters. The problem still remains. Unfortunately, I don’t know how you are going to change that.
-
I am interested in finding recent research on the impact that including ICT has had on student's learning. Any suggestions on where to start. Needless to say I have done Google etc and come up with a forest, glut and plethora of junk. How about authoratative information?
The Fischer Family Trust have carried out some scale research into this. For example, it has just carried out some research to see if online revision results in higher GCSE grades. Researchers analysed data on more than 80,000 pupils, of which 31,000 had been using the revision programme SAM Learning, which teaches pupils to mark their work using the same techniques as examiners and reveals how they can score points even when they do not know a full answer. The research concludes that this revision scheme can raise the proportion of pupils who gain five good GCSE grades by at least 5 per cent.
-
The Fischer Family Trust has just carried out some research to see if online revision results in higher GCSE grades. Researchers analysed data on more than 80,000 pupils, of which 31,000 had been using the revision programme SAM Learning, which teaches pupils to mark their work using the same techniques as examiners and reveals how they can score points even when they do not know a full answer. The research concludes that this revision scheme can raise the proportion of pupils who gain five good GCSE grades by at least 5 per cent.
The report is not due to be published until next month. However, you will eventually find it here:
-
I see that Microsoft is attempting to create an Educational Forum for ICT teachers. However, it does not appear to be very busy. Nor does it tell you how many people have registered. Despite its resources it is not a patch on this one.
-
A team of psychologists led by Peter Smith at Goldsmiths College has just investigated the cases of more than 5,000 adults who have been the victims of bullying.
The researchers discovered that the victims of adult bullying were usually bullied at school. They came to the conclusion that certain types of people were vulnerable to bullying. This included low self-esteem, disability, physical weakness, shyness, maternal overprotection, lack of friends and social rejection of peer group.
Smith discovered that the least effective coping strategies for bullied children include crying and fighting back. The most successful responses are to tell a teacher or friend. The theory is that bullying tends to thrive in environments where bystanders collude by not intervening.
However, I would argue that adults that are bullied tend to rely on the strategies that they developed as children. This is a mistake. The only way to deal with bullies as an adult is to verbally stand up for yourself (especially in public situations). Adult bullies always find it difficult to deal with this situation. This is especially true of senior members of staff in a school.
-
These two extracts on the invasion of Finland got me in trouble with the Finnish government.
(1) Oleg Rzheshevsky, Europe 1939: Was War Inevitable? (1989)
Finland's war preparations and its anti-Soviet policy at home and abroad were a threat to both the Soviet Union and Finland itself. Britain and France took advantage of Finland's anti-Soviet policy to frustrate Soviet efforts toward establishing a collective security system. During the Anglo-Franco-Soviet talks Britain and France first refused to give guarantees to the Baltic states and Finland and then came out against extending such guarantees to the eventually of indirect aggression against them. This played its role in the Finnish government's decision to seek closer relations with Germany. Therefore, on June 20, 1939, that government declared that it refused all cooperation with the Soviet Union in case of German aggression against Finland and would regard any Soviet assistance as aggression. The Soviet Union's efforts toward providing Finland with a collectiove guarantee against fascist Germany ended in failure. The blame for this lay with the Finnish reactionaries but also with the British and French leaders making common cause with them against the Soviet proposals.
(2) Konstantin Tarnovsky, Illustrated History of the USSR (1982)
Faced with the threat of war, the Soviet government proposed that the USSR and Finland sign a mutual assistance pact and the border between the two countries on the Karelian isthmus be moved westwards as a compensation for which the USSR would cede to Finland a far larger territory of South Karelia. But prompted by Germany on the one hand and by Britain and France on the other and relying on the strong defence belt on the Karelian isthmus - the Mannerheim line, the Finnish government rejected the Soviet offer. On November 26, 1939, Finnish troops attacked. Soviet territory with artillery fire. Red Army troops crossed the border and broke through the Mannerheim line. In March 1940 the Soviet border was moved 150 km from Leningrad to Vyborg under an agreement signed at the Finnish government's request.
-
An Indian textbook published in Bombay in 1986. The author is Toni Patel.
The incident which occurred at Jallianwalla Bagh on 13th April, 1919 will ever remain in the memory of all Indians as an eloquent symbol of British tyranny in India. The massacre of unarmed Indians, which left four hundred dead and twelve hundred wounded, aroused a universal surge of indignation against the British rulers. The tragedy prompted Poet Rabindranath Tagore to resign the knighthood conferred upon him by the British Government.
Indians hated Major General Dyer, the chief perpetrator of the crime. Cinder mounting pressure the British Government was forced to censure him. But for many Britons, Dyer was a hero who had saved the British Empire. The House of Lords justified his heinous act as "preventive massacre". Sir Michael O'Dwyer urged "The Morning Post" to launch a fund collection drive for Dyer in which the British ladies took a keen interest. The British-owned "The Times of India" contributed Rs. 20,000 to this fund. The fund totalled £ 26,317. In 1940; Udham Singh shot Sir Michael O'Dwyer to avenge the Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre.
The sacrifice of the martyrs of Jallianwalla Bagh resulted in further intensification of the struggle for independence. It turned millions of loyal supporters of the British Raj into nationalists. The Jallianwalla Bagh massacre thus became an important landmark in India's struggle for freedom.
-
Oliver Cromwell
(1) M. O’Siochfhrada, Cromwell in Ireland, a textbook published in the Republic of Ireland in 1945.
Cromwell was a dour, stern, pitiless man, but he was also a swift, conquering soldier. It was he who fought best against Charles in England and, when this campaign was over, the English Parliament sent him over to Ireland with a strong army to fight the Irish.
He landed at Rinn, near Dublin, in August 1649, with an army of 14,000 men. The towns around Leinster were still occupied for the Confederation, and it was these towns that Cromwell attacked first.
He first moved north to Drogheda. There was a strong garrison in that town, but it was not long before Cromwell's guns made breaches in the walls. The town was captured after a few days and the population, men, women and children, were slaughtered horribly and bloodthirstily. After that, all the towns around Drogheda were surrendered to Cromwell.
Then he moved south to Wexford. The town was fortified for defence, but through the treachery of a man named Sinnott. Cromwell's soldiers were admitted to the town and then the garrison and townspeople were slaughtered.
Advancing, Cromwell captured New Ross, Durgarvan and other towns until he went into winter quarters in Youghal. The slaughtering and conquering progress of Cromwell terrified his enemies and during the winter of 1649-50 most of the towns in Munster yielded to the Puritans. Among these towns were Cork, Cappoquin, Cashel, and many others.
After the winter rest Cromwell advanced again in January 1650. Kilkenny was yielded to him in March, and that finally scattered the Confederation. Cromwell turned towards Clonmel. It was there only that a worthy stand was made against him. Black Hugh O'Neill was at the head of the garrison. He was a nephew of Owen Roe O'Neill. Cromwell besieged the town from 29 April to 18 May, but did not succeed in capturing it. During that time 2,000 of his men were killed. The garrison's ammunition was by then exhausted and they left the town secretly by night.
On 28 May 1650, Cromwell sailed from Youghal to England. He spent only nine months in Ireland, but he had done enough during that time to realize that he must leave his officers to finish the war.
(2) J. Lkkes and J. A. Nonneskens, Second Anglo-Dutch War, a text book published in the Netherlands in 1951.
Cromwell died, and within a short time England had a king again, Charles II. He was no friend to our country.
Our trade was still greater than England's. The Navigation Act did much harm, but we continued to earn money in every part of the world. There was still growth - there was still prosperity.
John de Witt well knew that there would be another war with the British. He had a great navy built of new, strong and heavily armed ships, as good as the English ones, perhaps better.
In 1664 the English started it. Peace still reigned, yet they seized by treachery territories in Africa belonging to the Dutch Republic. They also laid siege to New Netherlands and New Amsterdam. But they did not have it all their own way! A fleet was sent out under a bold and skilful admiral, Michiel de Ruyter. He had risen from cabin boy to commander. De Ruyter threw the English out of our African possessions. Next he would have sailed to America… but war broke out in Europe as well, the Second English War, from 1665 to 1667. So De Ruyter sailed back to the home country. Before he arrived we had lost the first battle in the North Sea. Happily Michiel, the man from Flushing, then returned. Naturally the English had lain in wait for him: they wanted to take him prisoner. No fear of that! Michiel took a route which the English were not expecting. He sailed round Scotland and came into Delfziji. Great was the rejoicing. He was at once made commander-in-chief. He and John de Witt set about making the fleet ready again. The Grand Pensionary worked hard with him at the task: more than once
they went to sea together. Better wages were forthcoming for the seamen, and better conditions too. But above all the two leaders strove to make the units of the fleet work well together. No longer was each ship to fight on its own. Fight together and support one another, that was the new slogan.
And how much better did it go ! In 1666 De Ruyter fought the English fleet for four days off the North Foreland. Michiel won the famous Four Days' Battle. On his admiral's ship, The Seven Provinces, he was always in the thick of the fight, he and his subordinate officers Cornelis Tromp (son of Marten Tromp), Jan and
Cornelis Evertsen, Tjerk Hiddes de Vries from Friesland. All were brave and bold, but Michiel from Flushing was the greatest of them all. Yet he remained simple and unaffected. His sailors called him the " Best Tar " and they were ready to go through fire for him.
In 1667 peace negotiations opened at Breda. John de Witt wanted to end the war. A great new danger threatened, this time from the south, from France. That country had always been our friend: John de Witt wanted to keep her friendship.
There reigned in France a powerful king, Louis XIV. He was not content with his great power. France must be made greater still. First Louis wanted to add the Southern Netherlands to his country. They still belonged to Spain, now a weak
country.
France as a neighbour - that was something the Dutch did not want. Nor the Grand Pensionary either. So strong a neighbour would be dangerous in the extreme. Louis might well want to take some of the Republic's own territory. It was for this reason that John de Witt wanted peace with England. He could then
devote himself to the French King's plans of conquest.
The English were dawdling at Breda. We will put a little speed into them, decided De Witt. De Ruyter was sent out with a strong fleet. He sailed for England, he sailed up the Thames. On the Thames lay London, the capital of England. London threatened - that shook the British I Their warships were either
burned or taken and brought away.
This attack on Chatham was a heavy blow to England. They had never expected to see the Dutch so near their capital! Now they wanted peace too.
At Breda the war was brought to an end. It was a pity that we did not get New Netherlands back. But we got another piece of territory in its place. We had captured Surinam. That was worth more then!
As a reward for the attack on Chatham De Ruyter was given a magnificent gold goblet. Michiel from Flushing had earned it.
-
The Spanish Armada
L. Ortiz Munoz, The Glorious Spanish Empire (1940)
The greatest armada the world had seen was prepared. It was called invincible. One fine day in June 1588, it unfurled its sails before the wind in Lisbon harbour. There were ten squadrons with a total of a hundred and thirty sail, galleons, ships of the line, galleys, hookers, caravels, tenders and cutters. In command of the fleet was the Duke of Medina Sidonia, a loyal man of proud lineage and great wealth, but in no wise versed in naval science.
Aboard the fleet sailed seven army regiments numbering nineteen thousand men, and a further eight thousand sailors and two thousand oarsmen. It was the posthumous achievement of the genius of the Marquis of Santa Cruz, almost a floating city, with all its services marvellously arrayed.
The ships built in Antwerp by Farnese were to join this armada; and a part of the seasoned Regiments of Flanders, numbering twenty-six thousand men, were to join this army.
The ten squadrons of the Empire advanced upon the Atlantic with crushing impetus. But soon there befell that adversity which was to herald worse evils. A storm lashed the galleys in the latitude of Finisterre, and the Armada had to regroup in Corunna. Then again they sailed in imposing majesty and perfect formation to give battle to the British fleet. In England the news produced a thrill of horror. Greater still was the panic when at dawn on the 30th of July, in the Port of Plymouth, the sun showed on the horizon the splendid advance of those enormous galleons with their high prows, tall poops, billowing sails and waving standards. They moved on steadily. They formed a crescent and their line stretched for seven miles. The English squadron, smaller in number and size, but lighter and more agile, was anchored in the port. The Spanish admiral deliberated as to what was best to do. The most capable captains were hotly of the opinion that not a moment should be lost in taking advantage of the magnificent opportunity. This was the time to attack the enemy fleet and annihilate it. But the Duke turned down the idea. The King had ordered that the squadron should not give battle until the ships of Farnese joined it,
The opportunity and the initiative having been lost - even the favouring wind - the English fleet, seeing ours pass by, harried it cunningly, making use of its agility. Our ships suffered slight losses in this first skirmish. But at last the Armada made fast at Calais, where it awaited Farnese. This was the beginning of calamity. The English hatched a plot. During the night they sent in some ships which had been set on fire. The alarm was raised. Men began to think they were like the terror-ships laden with gunpowder which had been encountered at Antwerp. The Duke, hasty and inexperienced, dashed out to the open sea to fight his adversary.
A terrible wind from the south-east was stirring the waves. The rain began in a flood. Lightning and thunderbolts lighted the thick darkness. The hurricane beat upon the galleons and played havoc with them, delighting in scattering them and sending them crashing into one another, or against the coastal reefs, sweeping over them and sinking them. When dawn came, the fleet was broken and dispersed. Heroism did not suffice against the attack of the English ships. The storm came on again and the damage was made greater still. The Duke ordered a retreat, to save what remained of the vessels. But the way back was by North Scotland and Ireland, and the squalls there delivered the final blow and wrought further havoc upon the fleet.
The Invincible Armada of the Imperial Spanish Fleet was for the first time conquered. But not by the men, nor by the squadrons, it put out to fight. It was vanquished by the elements, against which valour and human daring are impotent, because it is God who rules the seas. Only against the hurricane and the gales did we lose, because the Lord wished it, the naval supremacy of the world.
-
Mao Zedong
(1) Su Kaiming, Modern China (1985)
To help artists and writers find some answers, the Communist Party in May 1942 held a forum on literature and art in Yan'an. Mao Zedong spoke twice at this historic meeting, in part summing up the thinking of the most progressive artists and setting forth conclusions reached through discussion and argument. He reminded artists that they had a very important role to play in the ongoing struggle. The revolution needed armed forces to fight the battle of the sword, but that was not enough. The revolution also needed a cultural army - fighters armed with pens - to educate and unite the people and promote the liberation of the country.
To accomplish this task, writers and artists must first shift their class stand and become one with the masses, seeing things from their viewpoint. No artist can write convincingly of what he doesn't know. "China's revolutionary writers and artists, writers and artists of promise," he said, "must go among the masses ... in order to observe, experience, study and analyze all the different kinds of people, all the classes, all the masses, all the vivid patterns of life and struggle, all the raw materials of literature and art." They must also learn the language of the masses. Only then can they proceed to do creative work.
(2) Qi Wen, China (1979)
At that time (1931) Wang Ming, who had assumed leadership of the Party Central Committee, pursued his policy of "Left" adventurism, causing great losses to the revolutionary forces: The Red Army soldiers were reduced from 300,000 to 30,000 and Communist Party members from 300,000 to about 40,000. Under these, circumstances, the Red Army had to move out. In October. 1934, it began its world-famous Long March from Jiangxi.
In January 1935, the Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee held an enlarged meeting at Zunyi in Guizhou Province. Militarily and organizationally it rectified Wang Ming's "Left" adventurist line and established Mao Zedong's leadership over the whole Party. From then on, the Chinese revolution advanced along a victorious road. In October 1935, the Red Army triumphantly arrived at the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region. Later it smashed the encirclement campaigns of Chiang Kai-shek. As the Chinese Communist Party fought for the establishment of a national united front against Japanese imperialist aggression, it established its base in the northern Shaanxi city of Yan'an.
(3) Zhong Wenxian, Mao Zedong (1986)
Mao Zedong worked in Guangzhou as acting Head of the Central Propaganda Department of the Kuomintang, edited the Political Weekly and directed the Sixth Class at the Peasant Movement Institute. In November 1926 he was appointed Secretary of the Peasant Movement Commission of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee. Published between the winter of 1925 and the spring of 1927, his works Analysis of the Classes in Chinese Society and Report on an Investigation of the Peasant Movement in Hunan, dealt with the fundamental problems relating to the Chinese revolution and set forth some of Mao's basic ideas on the New Democratic Revolution in China. In these treatises Mao Zedong underlined the great significance of the peasant problem to the Chinese revolution and the paramount importance of the leadership of the proletariat over the peasant movement. Critical of Chen Duxiu the Party's principal leader at that time, for the compromises and concessions he made in dealing with the right wing of the Kuomintang Mao denounced Chen's Right deviation in denying the proletariat their rightful leadership of the Democratic Revolution.
In April 1928, he joined with the insurgent forces of Zhu De to form the Fourth Army of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army (later renamed the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army), with Mao Zedong as Party representative and Secretary of the Front Committee, and Zhu De as Army Commander. In January 1929, he and Zhu De led the main body of the Fourth Red Army down the Jinggang Mountains to southern Jiangxi and western Fujian, where more revolutionary bases were set up (these were later to become the Central Revolutionary Base Area). With Mao Zedong as their chief representative, the Chinese Communists proceeded from the reality of China. Conducting armed struggles in rural areas where the forces of reactionary rule were weak, the Communists opened up China's characteristic revolutionary road to the final seizure of the country's political power by encircling cities from rural areas and then capturing them.
(4) Zhou Enlai, Mao Zedong (1978)
During the Great Revolution, Chairman Mao was already aware that the peasants were the largest ally and that the people's revolution could not triumph without them. And sure enough, the revolution suffered defeat because his views weren't listened to. Later, when we got to the countryside. Chairman Mao saw that in order to carry out the revolution it is necessary not only to rely on the peasants, but also to win over the middle and petty bourgeoisie. As Chiang Kai-shek's counter-revolutionary treachery became further exposed, only the comprador-bureaucrat and feudal landlord classes supported him. But a group of people inside the Communist Party made "Left" deviationist mistakes and were very narrow in their outlook, holding that the middle and petty bourgeoisie were unreliable. They didn't listen to Chairman Mao, and the result was that the revolution suffered another setback and we had to march 25,000 li. Then Chairman Mao proposed that we unite with Chiang Kai-shek and other members of the upper strata to resist Japanese aggression. But some people said that if we wanted unity, there shouldn't be any struggle. Chairman Mao replied that Chiang and the others were our domestic enemy; we were uniting with them in order to fight the national enemy. But they were not reliable partners or allies, and we must guard against them; otherwise, they might turn on us. We took measures to avert Right deviations and to prevent unqualified compromises. During the present War of Liberation, "Left" deviationist mistakes were made in agrarian reform in the countryside. In order to eliminate the landlord class, landlords were given poor land or no land at all so that they could not eke out a living; or too many people were classified as feudal rich peasants or landlords. Moreover, on the question of executions, it was stipulated that no one should be executed except for those who had committed serious crimes, refused to mend their ways' and were bitterly hated by the people. But, sometimes, when the people were filled with wrath, these distinctions were not made, and the leadership did not attempt to persuade the masses, so too many people were put to death. This had an adverse effect on our united front with the peasantry, and particularly with the middle peasants. This mistake was also corrected by Chairman Mao.
(5) Deng Xiaoping, Mao Zedong Thought (1978)
Comrade Mao Zedong wrote a four-word motto for the Central Party School in Yanan: "Seek truth from facts." These four words are the quintessence of Mao Zedong Thought. In the final analysis, Comrade Mao's greatness and his success in guiding the Chinese revolution to victory rest on just this approach. Marx and Lenin never mentioned the encirclement of the cities from the countryside - a strategic principle that had not been formulated anywhere in the world in their lifetime. Nonetheless, Comrade Mao Zedong pointed it out as the specific road for the revolution in China's concrete conditions. At a time when the country was split up into separatist warlord domains, he led the people in the fight to establish revolutionary bases in areas where the enemy's control was weak, to encircle the cities from the countryside and ultimately to seize political power. Just as the Bolshevik Party led by Lenin made its revolution at a weak link in the chain of the imperialist world, we made our revolution in areas where the enemy was weak. In principle, the two courses were the same. But instead of trying to take the cities first, we began with the rural areas, then gradually encircled the cities. If we had not applied the fundamental principle of seeking truth from facts, how could we have raised and solved this problem of strategy?
-
Communism in China
Zhong Wenxian, Mao Zedong (1986)
It was around the time of the May Fourth Movement (1919) that Mao Zedong first came into contact with and began to embrace Marxism. In July 1919, he launched the Xiangliang Review in Hunan, and the following year he organized the Cultural Reading Society for the spreading of revolutionary ideas. In the autumn of 1920 he set up communist groups in Changsha. Himself a founder of the Chinese Communist Party, Mao Zedong attended the First National Congress of the Party which marked the formal inauguration of the Communist Party of China in July 1921. He was later made Secretary of the Hunan Regional Party Committee of the CPC and put in charge of leading the workers' movement in Changsha and Anyuan.
Qi Wen, China (1979)
China's industrial proletariat was born with the emergence of modem industry. Around 1870, industrial workers in modern China totalled less than 10,000. The number increased to about two million prior to the May 4th Movement in 1919. Though not very numerous, this industrial proletariat represented China's new productive forces and was the most progressive class in modern China.
From the time of its birth the Chinese proletariat continuously fought against oppression and exploitation by foreign capitalism, domestic feudal forces and the bourgeoisie in various ways - political, economic, and otherwise. In 1917, the great October Socialist Revolution broke out in Russia under Lenin's leadership. It inspired China's advanced elements to study and publicize Marxism and the ideas of the Revolution. Consequently a group of intellectuals with incipient communist ideas like Li Dazhao and Chen Duxiu appeared, and these helped to spread Marxism in China. Under the influence of the October Revolution, the May 4th Movement - a great anti-imperialist and anti-feudal revolutionary movement - took place in China, at which the Chinese proletariat demonstrated its might for the first time. Meanwhile Marxism-Leninism spread and linked itself with the revolutionary practice of the Chinese people. In ideology and in training cadres, the May 4th Movement set the stage for the founding of the Communist Party of China. On July 1, 1921, Mao Zedong, Dong Biwu, Chen Tanqiu, He Shuheng, Wang Jinmei, Deng Enming and others, representing the communist groups in different places, met and held the First National Congress in Shanghai to found the Communist Party of China, the vanguard of the Chinese proletariat.
Su Kaiming, Modern China (1985)
In February 1923, Sun Yat-sen returned to Guangzhou where he immediately set up a headquarters of a new revolutionary government. Soviet Russia sent Michael Borodin (1884-1951) and some military advisers to help him, and a provisional central committee of the Kuomintang which included a number of Communists was organized.
The Chinese Communist Party held its Third National Congress in Guangzhou in June 1923, and the question of forming a revolutionary united front with the Kuomintang was discussed. The congress affirmed Sun Yat-sen's contribution to the Chinese revolution and resolved to help him in reorganizing the Kuomintang and establishing cooperation between the two parties.
The gap between Sun Yat-sen and the West continued to widen. When he threatened in December to seize the customs revenues in the port of Guangzhou, the powers staged a naval demonstration to preserve the status quo. Thwarted, Sun angrily stated, "We no longer look to the Western powers.
Our faces are turned toward Russia."
In January 1924, Sun Yat-sen called the First National Congress of the reorganized Kuomintang in Guangzhou. Among the Communists who attended were Li Dazhao, Mao Zedong and Qu Qiubai (Chu Chiu-pai, 1899-1935). The congress adopted the anti-imperialist, anti-feudal policy advanced by the Communists, agreed to absorb individual Communists and Socialist Youth League members into the Kuomintang, and decided to reorganize the Kuomintang into a revolutionary alliance of workers, peasants, the petty-bourgeoisie and national bourgeoisie. In this way, new blood was infused into the ranks of the Kuomintang and Sun Yat-sen became the leader of a revitalized revolutionary movement.
-
The Sino-Japanese War
Qi Wen, China (1979)
The years after the 1870s saw the transition from world capitalism to imperialism, from free competi tion to monopoly. In the scramble for markets, raw materials and export of capital, the capitalist powers stepped up their invasion of China. In 1884 France launched the Sino-French War against China and VietNam. In 1894 Japan started a war against China and Korea - the Sino-Japanese War. Throughout this time, the Qing government, defying popular sentiment, made repeated concessions and compromises and finally concluded the humiliating "Treaty of Shimonoseki" with Japan, whereby Japan received a large part of China's territory, a big indemnity and special privileges in making investments and building factories in certain Chinese ports. This treaty was a heavy shackle on the Chinese people.
After the Sino-Japanese War, the imperialist powers struggled among themselves for investments, leased territories and spheres of influence in China. They tried to carve China up and end its existence as a nation. For half a century, starting from 1850, tsarist Russia forced China to conclude a series of unequal treaties, extorting many privileges and slicing off a total of 1.5 million square kilometres of China's territory. In this intense rivalry, the United States put forward in September 1899 the so-called "open door" policy, whereby each power's "sphere of influence" in China was recognized, but within these spheres each was not to restrict the trade and navigation of the other powers. Thus, on the one hand, the other powers were to open their spheres of influence to the United States so that its monopoly capital could plunder and exploit the whole of China, and on the other, the sharp contradictions between the imperialist countries were to be mitigated for the time being. A political agreement for the joint partitioning of China was therefore reached among the imperialist powers.
Su Kaiming, Modern China (1985)
In 1894 Japan, with a modern army and navy, was prepared for military adventures. Short of resources, its leaders cast their hungry eyes particularly on Korea and the adjoining parts of China, including both the northeast and the Shandong peninsula across the sea.
In June of that year the Qing government was called upon by the king of Korea to send troops to help quell an insurrection in his country. Citing the Sino-Japanese Treaty of Tianjin signed in 1885, by which both countries had pledged not to intervene directly in Korea without informing the other, Japan dispatched troops, too. China sent 3,000 men, Japan 18,000. In July Japan set up a puppet government and demanded the withdrawal of Chinese troops from Korea. Without warning, Japanese troops began to attack Chinese forces, and war was formally declared on August 1, 1894.
This war lasted only about six months. While the various groups in the Japanese government were. united in the effort to win the war, the Qing government was rent by factional strife and intrigue. In the field, the Japanese army first drove the disorganized Chinese troops out of Korea; then its naval forces routed the poorly-led Chinese navy in the Yellow Sea. By February 1895, the Japanese forces had crossed the Yalu River into Chinese territory, conducted landings at the naval bases of Dalian ("Dairen" or "Dalny" in Japanese and Russian respectively) and Liishun ("Port Arthur" in British parlance) on the Liaodong peninsula, smashed the "powerful" Beiyang
Aviation
in Cross Curricular Cooperation
Posted
This is great news. We will be in contact with you soon.