Thursday, 27 March 2008
Wednesday, 26 March 2008
why you should come on friday
The council introducing school children into the equation of the debate over the future of The Bethnal Green Centre is a cynical, transparent and futile attempt at diversionary tactics. Council property development officers get paid £56,000 a year, for this sort of money we can expect them to come up with some clever ideas of how to get their hands on a site worth millions. This is presenting Hobsons choice at the last hour.
To say we need to close classes at the Bethnal Green Centre to make way for a school for two years is a bit like saying we need to close the Fire Station to make way for the Ambulance.
The Bethnal Green Centre provides people with learning mental and physical disabilities with equality, empowerment and skill. Pensioners who remember spitfires in dog fights over Bethnal green, mix in workshops with pregnant mums and people from all races and classes in a friendly and safe environment which occupies their hands and minds and encourages community and unity.
Clair Hawkins cannot possibly have expected the tirade of furious anger that met her from the packed canteen of over 120 tutors and students at the Bethnal Green Centre last Thursday. One student, when pressing it’s importance said she couldn’t read before she came there. Wheelchair bound biker ‘Spike’ said via his Steven Hawkins style talking device that he “would be very upset if his class closed”. He brought along a beautiful carved wooden motorcycle as an example of his humbling skill and staggering patience.
Management have warned tutors they will face disciplinary action if they talk to the press without going through the council press office which will only give their side of the story and to keep secret from students the planned class closures in September . As tutors are on temporary contracts which say we musn’t bring the council into disrepute this is tantamount to intimidation and restricting freedom of speech, centre security have been told not to admit the press which is why I have put pen to paper and forwarded photo’s from students.
When students asked why the school children couldn’t be housed in the ‘Rich Mix’ centre, Clair Hawkins replied that there were ‘management problems’. It’s funny that Clair feels the management of the Rich Mix Centre are more important than the people who have made the Bethnal Green Centre their home. What’s wrong with the building opposite Rich Mix about to be demolished to make way for the 25 storey office block the council have approved. Clair also said she would hold regular meetings with the people of Bethnal Green Centre and that there were no firm plans for the sight once the school children had moved out. This smacks of either incompetence or fiction, as the building has loft apartments written all over it.
Some might say that funds should be made available for the rescue, expansion and preservation of the Bethnal Green Centre as the community centre that it is. And run properly by people commited to it rather than those who claim to manage or represent us. The Bromley by Bow Centre is an example to look at for inspiration. Current management forget to pay people, get the address & telephone number wrong in the course guide and vital health and safety equipment takes months to arrive. It’s a little known fact due to lack of out reach, that young people,under 19 can go to B.G.C for free, to harness their creative rather than destructive talents. Would we rather they were in B.G.C taking car maintenance, stained glass and weight lifting classes? Or on the street stealing cars, smashing glass and weighing out crack.
When the people of Bethnal Green talk about Brown, they’re not refering to the prime minister or the Stone Roses front man, they’re using the slang term for heroin, which has exploded in our community (see the councils own report “Heroin the Drug of Choice”)
Tony Blair told us “Things Can Only Get Better” yeah right! We’ve got Brown at the top and Brown at the bottom. They take the carrot and we take the stick.
This isn’t Bob Geldof trying to save Africa, we can win this one so act fast! spread the word!
In order to maintain anonymity, I must sign myself,
The Wizard of Boz
THE BETHNAL GREEN CENTRE SUPPORT GROUP
PUBLIC MEETING @ THE BETHNAL GREEN CENTRE 229 BETHNAL GREEN ROAD(BEHIND THE POST OFFICE) FRIDAY 28 MARCH 12.15
To say we need to close classes at the Bethnal Green Centre to make way for a school for two years is a bit like saying we need to close the Fire Station to make way for the Ambulance.
The Bethnal Green Centre provides people with learning mental and physical disabilities with equality, empowerment and skill. Pensioners who remember spitfires in dog fights over Bethnal green, mix in workshops with pregnant mums and people from all races and classes in a friendly and safe environment which occupies their hands and minds and encourages community and unity.
Clair Hawkins cannot possibly have expected the tirade of furious anger that met her from the packed canteen of over 120 tutors and students at the Bethnal Green Centre last Thursday. One student, when pressing it’s importance said she couldn’t read before she came there. Wheelchair bound biker ‘Spike’ said via his Steven Hawkins style talking device that he “would be very upset if his class closed”. He brought along a beautiful carved wooden motorcycle as an example of his humbling skill and staggering patience.
Management have warned tutors they will face disciplinary action if they talk to the press without going through the council press office which will only give their side of the story and to keep secret from students the planned class closures in September . As tutors are on temporary contracts which say we musn’t bring the council into disrepute this is tantamount to intimidation and restricting freedom of speech, centre security have been told not to admit the press which is why I have put pen to paper and forwarded photo’s from students.
When students asked why the school children couldn’t be housed in the ‘Rich Mix’ centre, Clair Hawkins replied that there were ‘management problems’. It’s funny that Clair feels the management of the Rich Mix Centre are more important than the people who have made the Bethnal Green Centre their home. What’s wrong with the building opposite Rich Mix about to be demolished to make way for the 25 storey office block the council have approved. Clair also said she would hold regular meetings with the people of Bethnal Green Centre and that there were no firm plans for the sight once the school children had moved out. This smacks of either incompetence or fiction, as the building has loft apartments written all over it.
Some might say that funds should be made available for the rescue, expansion and preservation of the Bethnal Green Centre as the community centre that it is. And run properly by people commited to it rather than those who claim to manage or represent us. The Bromley by Bow Centre is an example to look at for inspiration. Current management forget to pay people, get the address & telephone number wrong in the course guide and vital health and safety equipment takes months to arrive. It’s a little known fact due to lack of out reach, that young people,under 19 can go to B.G.C for free, to harness their creative rather than destructive talents. Would we rather they were in B.G.C taking car maintenance, stained glass and weight lifting classes? Or on the street stealing cars, smashing glass and weighing out crack.
When the people of Bethnal Green talk about Brown, they’re not refering to the prime minister or the Stone Roses front man, they’re using the slang term for heroin, which has exploded in our community (see the councils own report “Heroin the Drug of Choice”)
Tony Blair told us “Things Can Only Get Better” yeah right! We’ve got Brown at the top and Brown at the bottom. They take the carrot and we take the stick.
This isn’t Bob Geldof trying to save Africa, we can win this one so act fast! spread the word!
In order to maintain anonymity, I must sign myself,
The Wizard of Boz
THE BETHNAL GREEN CENTRE SUPPORT GROUP
PUBLIC MEETING @ THE BETHNAL GREEN CENTRE 229 BETHNAL GREEN ROAD(BEHIND THE POST OFFICE) FRIDAY 28 MARCH 12.15
Tuesday, 25 March 2008
One of the Oldest Adult Education Centres in the UK Threatened with Imminent Closure
The adult education centre based at Bethnal Green Road is being threatened with closure by Tower Hamlets Council. We, i.e. the students organised in "The Association of Dirty Classes" such as woodwork, pottery, upholstery etc., as well as members of staff and the public using Bethnal Green Centre, understand that the council wants to sell the property to change it into luxury apartments. We are protesting against abandoning the building and, with it, many existing courses which have been housed at this centre for over 40 years.
Some students still have memories of the courses offered after World War II, although the beginnings go back to the years after World War I, when the Bethnal Green Centre was used to re-educate and integrate returning soldiers with their local community. The centre is still to this date dedicated to adult learning. For example, many students use the service to re-establish links with their local community in addition to furthering their education. The service is utilised by adults with specific needs, young mothers embarking on training, older members of the community, adults learning English as an additional language (ESOL) or wishing to improve their literacy and numeracy skills, in addition to professionals who wish to take up an interesting hobby.
Among its more illustrious former occupants and students, Bethnal Green Centre can count a number of championship weight lifters, the Repton Boxing Club with its history of consistently producing local, national, international and Olympic level boxers, actor Jimmi Harkishin, better known as "Dev" from Coronation Street, and celebrity photographer David Bailey.
Some of the courses which are at risk now require specialist equipment and premises: woodwork, upholstery, silver jewellery, stained glass and pottery, all in addition to ESOL, literacy and numeracy offered by Tower Hamlets College. These are essential courses in our multicultural society and the people who will suffer are from impoverished communities, disadvantaged backgrounds, and are simply trying to improve their education and involvement in a vibrant society.
Some classes and students have been told they have only ten weeks left and then the future of their service is unsure. Immediate action to save Bethnal Green Centre is therefore required, and we call on Tower Hamlets Council to maintain Bethnal Green Centre as an adult education centre in recognition of its value to the community and outstanding historical record as being the first Adult Education Centre in the country.
The Bethnal Green Adult Education Centre is located at 229 Bethnal Green Rd, London E2 6AB, behind the post office.
Some students still have memories of the courses offered after World War II, although the beginnings go back to the years after World War I, when the Bethnal Green Centre was used to re-educate and integrate returning soldiers with their local community. The centre is still to this date dedicated to adult learning. For example, many students use the service to re-establish links with their local community in addition to furthering their education. The service is utilised by adults with specific needs, young mothers embarking on training, older members of the community, adults learning English as an additional language (ESOL) or wishing to improve their literacy and numeracy skills, in addition to professionals who wish to take up an interesting hobby.
Among its more illustrious former occupants and students, Bethnal Green Centre can count a number of championship weight lifters, the Repton Boxing Club with its history of consistently producing local, national, international and Olympic level boxers, actor Jimmi Harkishin, better known as "Dev" from Coronation Street, and celebrity photographer David Bailey.
Some of the courses which are at risk now require specialist equipment and premises: woodwork, upholstery, silver jewellery, stained glass and pottery, all in addition to ESOL, literacy and numeracy offered by Tower Hamlets College. These are essential courses in our multicultural society and the people who will suffer are from impoverished communities, disadvantaged backgrounds, and are simply trying to improve their education and involvement in a vibrant society.
Some classes and students have been told they have only ten weeks left and then the future of their service is unsure. Immediate action to save Bethnal Green Centre is therefore required, and we call on Tower Hamlets Council to maintain Bethnal Green Centre as an adult education centre in recognition of its value to the community and outstanding historical record as being the first Adult Education Centre in the country.
The Bethnal Green Adult Education Centre is located at 229 Bethnal Green Rd, London E2 6AB, behind the post office.
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