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The nail in Growth Mindset’s coffin?

As I'm sure everybody already knows, mind sets are beliefs about the nature of characteristics like intelligence. The theory is that students with growth mindsets believe their ability can be changed with effort and therefore do better academically than their peers who have fixed mindsets. Given the appeal of this theory, it's small wonder that schools around the world have rushed to intervene with their students in order to mould their mindsets. In January last year I wrote one of my most popular blog posts to date, the controversially titled, Is Growth Mindset Bollocks? In it I detailed the reasons for doubting the efficacy of what [...]

2019-01-25T13:50:03+00:00March 6th, 2018|psychology|

The problem with ‘unconditional positive regard’

If you're a parent and your child misbehaves in public, what do you do? If you're not a parent, and someone else's child misbehaves in public, what would you like the parents to do? Adults are predisposed to like children, and it comes as something of a surprise when they’re unaccountably brattish and unpleasant. When children behave badly in public, people dislike them. We know it's unreasonable, but most of us find public tantrums and rudeness irritating. If a child that's behaved badly goes unpunished or ignored, we reserve our indignation for their parents; why don't they do something? We finish [...]

2018-11-11T08:00:28+00:00February 27th, 2018|behaviour|

12 rules for schools: Rule 8 Tell the truth – or, at least don’t lie

This is part of a series of posts adapting Jordan Peterson’s book, 12 Rules of Life to the context of eduction. You can find my thoughts on the rest of his rules here.  The Truth is a commodity in short supply. The world around is objectively real and packed with immutable facts, but it is also a never-ending conveyor belt of spin, fake news, advertising, self-promotion and bullshit. It can often seem hard to distinguish between the two. In a world where so much of our information is second - or third - hand, how can we work out what's true and what's not? We [...]

2020-07-28T15:23:25+01:00February 26th, 2018|Featured|

12 rules for schools: Rule 7 Pursue what is meaningful (not what is expedient)

This is part of a series of posts adapting Jordan Peterson’s book, 12 Rules of Life to the context of eduction. You can find my thoughts on the rest of his rules here.  Doing what's easy is, well, easy. Certainly a lot easier - and usually a lot more fun - than doing what's hard, which goes a long way to explaining why so many of us spend so much time prevaricating, procrastinating and generally goofing off instead of cracking on with what we know we ought to do. The ability to delay gratification - to put off what will bring us immediate pleasure until [...]

2018-02-19T19:17:00+00:00February 19th, 2018|Featured|

When do novices become experts?

It's a fairly well established principle of cognitive science that experts and novices think differently. Being aware of these differences can make a big difference to teachers. For instance, if we assume that most children in most situations are likely to begin as novices this could help point the way to more effective instruction. Here's a summary of some of the main differences between experts and novices. One of the most interesting findings to come out of the research into Cognitive Load Theory is the finding that experts and novices both experience cognitive overload, but experience it differently. Novices, by definition, [...]

2020-02-17T19:59:30+00:00February 17th, 2018|psychology|

Handwriting matters

Some years ago, during the interview for a role as Head of English in a secondary school, all the candidates were asked to speak about what we would prioritise if we were to get the job. I have no memory of what I said, but I vividly recall one of the other candidates saying he would focus on improving students' handwriting. My bland inanities resulted in me getting the job; he didn't make the cut and was sent home after lunch. How we laughed. At the time it struck me that focussing on improving students' handwriting as a secondary English teacher [...]

2018-02-13T14:09:04+00:00February 13th, 2018|psychology, writing|

12 rules for schools: Rule 6 Set your house in perfect order before you criticise the world

This is the sixth installment in a series of posts adapting Jordan Peterson’s book, 12 Rules of Life to the context of eduction. You can read the rest of posts in this series here.  Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, [...]

2018-02-08T12:47:41+00:00February 7th, 2018|Featured|

“Anyone who disagrees with me is a neoliberal racist!”

I've spent much of last year or so feeling baffled at the unpleasant depths to which debate in education has sunk. The approach to which I've always tried to aspire is to advance an argument based on the quality of an idea, and to discuss my (inevitably partial) view of the evidence supporting the that idea. I can often descend to dogmatism but never, I hope, do I completely insulate myself against reality. When someone engages with my argument and advances a convincing counter-argument, I try hard to suppress the negative effects of cognitive dissonance and think about their views. Sometime [...]

2018-02-05T12:08:49+00:00February 4th, 2018|Featured|

What every teacher needs to know about teaching for social justice

The marvellous Teach Secondary magazine continue to publish my articles on a regular basis but don't hold that against them; there are loads of other excellent reasons for reading. Here's a link to my latest. The world is not a fair place. Some children are born into advantage; others are not. Many children in many schools have been raised in an environment where there is access to books, where their parents value reading and education, where there are middle class dinner table conversations about current affairs and abstract concepts. Such young people have an educational advantage from the start – this [...]

2019-10-29T09:05:45+00:00February 3rd, 2018|Featured|

12 Rules for Schools – Rule 5 Do not let your children do anything that makes you dislike them

Welcome to the fifth installment in a series of posts adapting Jordan Peterson’s book, 12 Rules of Life to the context of eduction. All the posts in this series are collected here. This is not intended to be an accurate summary of Peterson’s views, it is merely what I reckon. Navigating the world is tough enough when people like you. It's nigh on impossible if everyone dislikes you. Peterson explains that not teaching children how to make friends and avoid irritating others is the cardinal sin of parenting. No one will love your children like you do, so, if you struggle with some of [...]

2018-02-27T10:07:54+00:00February 2nd, 2018|behaviour, Featured|

12 Rules for schools – Rule 4 Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today

This is the fourth in a series of posts adapting Jordan Peterson’s 12 Rules of Life to the context of eduction. All the posts in this series are collected here. This is not intended as an accurate summary of Peterson’s views, it is merely what I reckon. The idea that we should only compare ourselves against a personal yardstick is good advice. As Max Ehrmann says in Disiderata, "If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself." Who wants to be vain or bitter? But, as with much good advice, [...]

2018-07-23T10:03:45+01:00January 26th, 2018|Featured|

12 Rules for schools – Rule 3 Make friends with people who want the best for you

This is the third in a series of posts adapting Jordan Peterson’s 12 Rules of Life to the context of eduction. I'm linking all the posts in this series here. This is not intended as an accurate summary of Peterson's views, it is merely my hot take. Not everyone is well disposed towards us. The higher you strive, the more you seek to put your stamp upon the world, the more likely you are to attract the opprobrium of the envious and bitter. This isn't a lot of fun, but it can be managed. Usually such people broadcast their antipathy in no uncertain terms [...]

2018-01-24T21:45:50+00:00January 24th, 2018|Featured|
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