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Yearly Archives: 2012

Project Based Learning: I did it my way

2012-09-23T21:17:38+01:00September 23rd, 2012|English, learning|

I've finally managed to cobble together my first post since starting back in September. What with starting a new job, teaching A level for the first time in over a decade and languishing in post-publication blues after the release of my (hopefully) first book, I've not had much headspace for writing and I've missed it. Hopefully, this post marks a welcome return to the blogosphere. There's so much going on that it's been hard to pick what to write about but I've settled on detailing how I've gone about solving the age old problem of what to do about everyone's favourite [...]

The GCSE English "fiasco" – Why shouldn't all have prizes?

2012-09-02T13:30:28+01:00September 2nd, 2012|English, literacy|

Lots of folk have had lots to say about what went on behind the scenes at the various exam boards this summer and throughout it all I've largely kept my peace. Having absorbed the various arguments and counter arguments I feel I've arrived at some sort of opinion. In a nutshell, the issue seems to be that the prevailing (political?) opinion is that since the GCSE was first examined in 1988 (incidentally the year I took my exams) standards have steadily declined whilst grades have inexorably risen. For the past 24 years this orthodoxy has been if not unchallenged, at least [...]

Special needs children, moving up to secondary school

2012-08-29T17:53:02+01:00August 29th, 2012|SEN, transition|

Another guest post on a pastoral issue about which I don’t know enough… If your child’s time at junior/primary school comes to an end this summer, then you need to start preparing them (and the rest of the family) for the move to secondary school. Moving from primary to secondary school can be a particularly stressful and a worrying time for any child, more so for one with special educational needs. Concerns all parents have Both you and your child are likely to worry about the provisions the secondary school will make for them and whether staff will understand your child’s [...]

The role of the form tutor – the importance of WHY

2012-07-22T11:26:28+01:00July 22nd, 2012|Featured|

Today’s post is that rare beast – a guest blog by someone other than me. This should come as a welcome and refreshing change. Not only that, it’s a post on a pastoral issue which is something I’ve always shied away from as someone who is largely bemused by such things. Thankfully, there are those among us qualified to pontificate on such matters. Sarah Ledger, Head of KS4 in a secondary school and known to Twitter as @sezl, thoughtfully explores the role of the form tutor in a manner which chimes happily with my own stubborn determination to root out unthinking [...]

Making feedback stick

2013-08-27T21:44:58+01:00July 16th, 2012|English, literacy, training|

There's really no argument about the fact that feedback is pretty important. It sits right at the top of the list of strategies which make the biggest impact on students' progress. If we're not giving students feedback on their learning then, frankly, what in God's good name are we doing? There is nothing else which should have a higher priority in your teaching. OK, with that off my chest, it's important to acknowledge that there a couple of problems to be aware of. All, sadly, is not rosy in the feedback garden. Firstly, most of the feedback students get comes from [...]

A year in the life of an English teacher

2014-06-03T18:38:36+01:00July 12th, 2012|reflection|

What a lot can happen in a year. It was only this time last July that I began my experiment with Twitter and blogging. I think it's fair to say that my professional life (and at times my personal life, but that's another story) has been transformed. Even I don't recognise myself. After a couple of knocks in my bid to be promoted, I began the blog back on 11th July 2011 as a way of invigorating my teaching and with the intention of reflecting on my practice. I wanted to use it as an aide memoire for all the interesting stuff [...]

The art of failing

2017-03-15T09:19:13+00:00July 6th, 2012|learning|

Why on earth would we ever want to fail? Failing’s bad, right? Obviously getting something wrong, performing poorly and making mistakes is uncomfortable. But these things are a part of life. An important part. Apart from all the stuff about failure being character forming there’s the more important consideration that if we only ever experience success then maybe we aren’t trying very hard? So why are we so seduced by the tawdry allure of success? TV screens are crowded by attractive idiots who are held up as contemporary models of success but really don’t seem to have tried very hard at [...]

Some thoughts on silent reading

2012-07-01T16:21:23+01:00July 1st, 2012|English, literacy, reading|

Is silence is golden? "And Johnny, what makes you think that is suitable for silent reading?"  "Because Sir, you really would not want me to read it out loud" Jim Smith, The Lazy Teacher's Handbook Apparently silent reading hasn't been around as long as you might think. The 4th Century church leader Saint Ambrose's reading habits were unusual enough for Saint Augustine to note in Book 6, chapter 3 of his Confessions that: When [Ambrose] read, his eyes scanned the page and his heart sought out the meaning, but his voice was silent and his tongue was still. Anyone [...]

Planning a 'perfect' lesson

2012-06-30T11:41:36+01:00June 30th, 2012|training|

How long does a decent lesson take to plan? Ofsted have recently made clear that they're not interested in over complicated lesson plans noting that "excessive detail within plans causes teachers to lose sight of the central focus on pupils' learning." So, who are we putting all that effort into planning for? Our students? Our selves? John Tomsett writes Over the past twenty years we have made tremendous progress in teaching and practice in our state schools has never been better; however, over-planned lessons are a curse. One candidate for a post at Huntington had a lesson plan a full nine pages [...]

Why we should strive for perfection

2014-03-26T13:08:45+00:00June 26th, 2012|learning, training|

This article was first published, in a slightly different form, on the Guardian Teacher Network TEACHERS ASSEMBLEhttp://venspired.com/?page_id=2127 Is there such a thing as the perfect lesson or the perfect teacher? Well, no, probably not. At least, not that I'm aware of. There is no magic bullet that can turn us into amazing teachers overnight; being outstanding is not, I think, a matter of charismatic delivery. It's about hard work and effort. It's about thorough planning based on sound assessment for learning. And it's about consistently being there and having high expectations of, and belief in, the kids in front [...]

Slow Learning – allowing students to achieve mastery

2012-06-24T22:08:05+01:00June 24th, 2012|learning|

Of all the sessions I attended at The Festival of Education on Saturday the one I was most looking forward to (and most disappointed by) was entitled Slow Education: making time for deeper learning. Disappointed because I had high hopes and because...well, the presenters didn't really say anything interesting or useful. They rehashed Maurice Holt's manifesto on The Nature and Purpose of Education (even to the point of using the same slow food metaphor) and didn't really add much else. Admittedly that may be because they didn't have much time and had to rush. Oh! the irony. What was I hoping for? Well, [...]

The best laid schemes of work & learning

2012-06-09T22:15:48+01:00June 9th, 2012|learning|

The best laid schemes o' mice and men gang aft agley. Robert Burns Ah, the scheme of work. We've all got 'em. but what are they for? To spell out the structure of each lesson in advance? Or to act as a guide through the objectives to be covered during a term? Are they a crutch, a straitjacket, a sign post, or a waste of everyone's time? Consider this analogy. Does buying a cook book make you a good cook? Certainly having a recipe to follow increases the likelihood that the meals you serve aren't awful. But's what's more important? The [...]

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