About this episode
The episode discusses the importance of oracy in education and the transmission of traditional knowledge through various methods.
Oracy - the ability to express oneself fluently - has been included in plans to modernise the national curriculum, with a new focus on equipping young people with the skills they need for life and work. In Radio 4's round-table discussion programme, Anne McElvoy and guests look at how you teach oracy and explore the value of passing on traditional knowledge using methods like songs and poems. Joining Anne are Reetika Subramanian is based at the University of East Anglia and is currently a researcher in residence with BBC Radio 4. She hosts the Climate Brides podcast and studies women’s work songs as records of environmental change Edith Hall, Professor of Classics at Durham University who champions the use of Classical rhetoric to foster oracy in schools Philip Collins, former speechwriter to Tony Blair Edith and Philip have taken part in Our Public House, a theatre performance staged by Dash Arts that builds on workshops with over 700 people nationwide who shared their visions for our nation's future. Stephen Batchelor, secular Buddhist teacher and writer and author of Buddha, Socrates and Us: Ethical Living in Uncertain Times, published by Yale University Press (2025). Tom F…
People in this episode
Host: Anne McElvoy
Guests: Reetika Subramanian, Edith Hall, Philip Collins, Stephen Batchelor, Tom F. Wright
Topics covered
- oracy
- education
- traditional knowledge
- communication skills
- cultural heritage
Keywords
- oracy
- education
- traditional knowledge
- communication
- cultural heritage
- skills for life
- environmental change
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: University of East Anglia, Durham University, Yale University Press, BBC Radio 4
Books & works: Buddha, Socrates and Us: Ethical Living in Uncertain Times
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