Being pastorally responsible for a group of 30 children as their form tutor is perhaps the greatest privilege and source of joy that teaching can bring. At one stage in my career, I became the form tutor of a class of 11-year olds as they began secondary school. I vividly recall meeting them on their … Continue reading What Your Children Are Really Seeing in Group Chats
Education
Becoming Better People
Are your pupils more polite at the end of Year 7 compared to the start of Year 7? Do pupils in Year 8 work harder than pupils in Year 7 because their habits of working have improved over their time at school? Are your pupils in Year 11 better at taking responsibility for their actions … Continue reading Becoming Better People
Building Culture: how to shape character through daily interactions
First day as a Year 7 form tutor. "I want you all to be the kind of people who have integrity. I say, you say: "Integrity!" "Integrity!" the 11 year olds all shout back, with enthusiasm. What do I mean by 'integrity'? It means to do the right thing, even when no-one is watching. When … Continue reading Building Culture: how to shape character through daily interactions
Turn and Talk
'Turn & talk' is one of the techniques I use most in my classroom - perhaps 20 or more times in any given 50-minute lesson. I recently shared a clip of what this might look like on Twitter (click here). My strategy for explicit instruction involves asking questions in three phases. Phase 1 questions include … Continue reading Turn and Talk
Set Them Up for Success: Four Whole-School Strategies
Achieving 100% student attention is not easy. But there are lots of things school leaders and teachers can do to make it easier. In the first post in this series, I explained why 100% attention from 100% of students is important. In the second post, I discussed two key strategies for achieving this: 'All hands … Continue reading Set Them Up for Success: Four Whole-School Strategies
The Knowledge / Skills Debate: reflections
On Thursday 18th February, I hosted a debate / discussion with Ruth Ashbee, Nimish Lad & Amy Forrester on Clubhouse. This blog is partly a summary of the discussion and partly my added reflections (particularly things I would have said if I had more time). At the end of the post I explain a little … Continue reading The Knowledge / Skills Debate: reflections
Teacher Autonomy: Part I – Behaviour
How valuable is teacher autonomy? It seems like a no-brainer. But like with most interesting philosophical questions, nuance makes the answer more conflicted than first meets the eye. Whilst I've seen some discussions of teacher autonomy spiral into straw-man arguments and caricatures of robots ... I hope this sparks a sensible debate. In this post … Continue reading Teacher Autonomy: Part I – Behaviour
The influence of Michaela
I started teaching at Michaela Community School in September 2017. Learning about, applying to and joining Michaela has permanently transformed my view of education forever. Learning about Michaela has been like constantly learning new threshold concepts: my view of the world dramatically changes with each new embedded idea, and I acquire a new lens with … Continue reading The influence of Michaela
Workload: solutions part II – why do systems in schools fail?
Systems in schools often fail for two reasons. Firstly, the workload-to-impact ratio is unfavourable. Secondly, the culture in the school hasn't united staff to pick fruits from trees growing in the same philosophical soil. Both of these contribute to an increased workload that can be diminished; the second and third of my three Cs of eliminating … Continue reading Workload: solutions part II – why do systems in schools fail?
Workload: Solutions Part I
In my previous post of this series, I explained why high workload is not only damaging to a teacher and his pupils in a given year - for it forces him to spread his limited resources thinly - but is also damaging to his longevity in the profession. I expressed that a framework of ethical leadership … Continue reading Workload: Solutions Part I
Bunsen Blue 