Michael Newman: Dismay, Anger, Hate & Love

Having written books such as Defining The Enemy and Teaching Defiance it's no surprise that Michael Newman advocates a passionate and politically positioned role for adult educators. If we are educating to bring about social change he argues we must deal with strong emotions such as anger, hate and love. He also maintains we must acknowledge tensions in our beliefs; we may recoil from violence but we can't deny that sometimes it works to bring about change for the better. Far from being a firebrand Newman believes these strong emotions are the basis of a moral and principled approach to how we go about our role in activist and union education. He explored these ideas in a talk to union educators at the 2009 Trans Tasman Union Educators Conference in a large echoey room at Union NSW, Sydney.

Download podcast: 64kbps mp3 or 128kbps mp3

Michael Newman Aspects of Learning Podcast

Amongst the highlights of the 2009 Trans-Tasman Union Educators Conference were the two addresses from Michael Newman. Michael's talk were thought-provoking and, sometimes, controversial - in particular his comments about the place of hate in union education. Many of us found his talks inspiring and a catalyst for reflection on our practice as union educators. Many thanks to Michael for agreeing to have his talks recorded and made available on-line.

This is the first of two recordings. This talk on Aspects of Good Learning was delivered on the opening morning of the conference.



Download podcast: 64kbps mp3 or 128kbps mp3

Michael Newman Aspects of Learning

Unions On-Line Wiki

In conjunction with the workshop I co-presented at the Trans-Tasman Union Educators Conference in Sydney in November I have started a wiki as a collaborative space for union educators who are interested in supporting and encouraging on-line union engagement and activity.

The wiki is Unions On-Line. If you join you can edit and add content to the site. The principle behind the wiki is the same as the inspiration and purpose for this blog. However, I hope that the wiki format will encourage participation and collaboration amongst union educators. At the conference we utilised the wiki as a place to create a plan for an education module on introducing union members to twitter. One of the hopes I have for the wiki is that more of this type of sharing will occur. The wiki also allows for the working and philosophy of the development of education for on-line activity to be open and up for discussion. Please visit and consider joining to add your ideas.

This blog will remain as space for my musings on union education and on-line union activity.