In the Punk Learning manifesto, it is more about putting students back at the heart of what we do -” day in, day out -” than about rebellion. This very act may seem rebellious to some. I am reminded of an Elvis Costello quote about his song -˜Tramp the dirt down': -˜if you say it's subversive then it isn't, this song isn't subversive, it straight out says what it wants to say'.
Like the song, this book isn't subversive, it simply says what needs to be said.
Punk learning is very much a way of building a classroom culture that can enable students to see, and then fulfil, their potentials. To do this, Tait urges us to relinquish our hegemony on power within the classroom and to engage in the adult to adult conversations that not only show respect to our students, but also help them learn.
-˜Student centred' and -˜student driven' are not the same as -˜leave them to it'. Tait reveals some of the craft behind creating this culture and is full of sage advice along the way. Tait has realised, from Graham Nuthall's research, that students not only learn the content of the lesson but that how they learn is inseparable from it, and uses this to create opportunities for his students to develop into inquisitive, passionate and independent thinkers and learners.
Tait doesn't demand that you take this on board because he says so. He allows his passion that it is their education to persuade us; that, and some cool quotes from punk's finest.