Between Past and Future

"This is my favourite book by far, and it the one which has influenced my own writing the most. It’s a compilation of essays written by Hannah Arendt, the most interesting of which is called ‘The Crisis in Education’. The essay is about how this is something which is endemic to modern life. She argues that education is affected by the difficulties society encounters in trying to strike a balance between the traditions of the past and the needs of the future. In education you continually come across the argument that the old is bad; we have an obsession with novelty. Almost every government policy document opens with the statement that ‘we live in a rapidly changing world’, and goes on to imply that everything we have done in the past is useless. This is a destabilising process, particularly for education. The result is that education ceases to have an intergenerational dynamic, where older generations communicate their insights with the young. Support Five Books Five Books interviews are expensive to produce. If you're enjoying this interview, please support us by donating a small amount . This is a very difficult question. I do know, however, that I’m reasonably optimistic. I mix quite a lot with students at university where I teach, and I have a 14-year-old kid, and I constantly see that young people are just as clever, idealistic and open to new ideas as they always were. I think that the key thing in setting education on the right track is to get rid of all the gimmicks, to stop hiding behind interactive whiteboards and PowerPoint, and simply start talking to young people in a serious way."