Why I'm optimistic about the new Chief Inspector
Guardian journalist and ex-teacher, Michelle Hanson thinks education in the UK is "going down the pan". In this article she tells us the memory of working as a teacher still makes her "feel a bit queasy" whenever she so much as walks past a school. I can only imagine what kind of horrors she might have endured and I have nothing but sympathy for the many thousands of teachers who, like Michelle, [...]
Can phonics help us spell better?
Children's author and high-profile opponent of phonics instruction, Michael Rosen recently wrote this blog casting doubt on the idea that learning phonics could help people spell. He was writing in response to an article written by Debbie Hepplewhite in Primary Matters. Here's the extract with which he takes issue: The job of teaching and applying the English alphabetic code for spelling is NOT done by the end of the infants - it [...]
Seven tools for thinking #7: Beware of ‘deepities’
This is the last of my posts on Daniel Dennett's tools for thinking outlined in Intuition Pumps. You can read the others here. Everyone wants to find meaning in their actions and the events which surround them; the idea that stuff just happens and there is no deeper meaning can be alarming. As such we are attracted to the profound. The Barnum effect - named after the American circus entertainer P.T. Barnum [...]
Seven tools for thinking #6 Don’t waste time on rubbish
Argue with idiots, and you become an idiot. Paul Graham Science fiction writer and critic, Ted Sturgeon coined what's become known as Sturgeon's Law: "Ninety percent of everything is crap." This is sometimes taken to be an excuse for throwing up one's hands in disgust at the paucity of original thought and beauty in the world, but that's not what Sturgeon intended. Speaking at a science fiction convention in 1951, what [...]
Seven tools for thinking #5 Occam’s razor
All things being equal, the simplest solution is usually the best one. William of Ockham You've probably heard the old adage that if you hear the pounding of hooves echoing through the Wiltshire countryside you shouldn't assume a herd of zebras is on its way. The simplest explanation for a phenomenon is the likeliest and in this case you're probably safer to expect to see some horseflesh any moment. Of course, this isn't [...]
Seven tools for thinking #4: Answering rhetorical questions
Always the beautiful answer who asks a more beautiful question. E. E. Cummings Everyone likes a rhetorical question, don't they? Do they? Think about it. Try answering it. Do you think everyone really does like rhetorical questions? Some people do, but everyone? Maybe some people hate them? You can see where this kind of thinking can take you. It might result in navel gazing, but, equally, it might help us spot some [...]
Seven tools for thinking #3: The “surely” klaxon
Rumack: Can you fly this plane and land it? Striker: Surely you can't be serious? Rumack: I am serious. And don't call me Shirley. Airplane, 1980 It's natural to want to build consensus. We're all guilty of sometimes assuming that what we think is true or reasonable will be thought true and reasonable by everybody else. Often though, what we decide is true is just wishful thinking. Sometimes this is [...]
Seven tools for thinking #2: The principle of charity
Ah! What a divine religion might be found if charity were really made the principle of it instead of faith! - Percy Bysshe Shelley A few weeks ago I wrote about the philosopher, Daniel Dennett's recommendation that we value our mistakes, learn from them, and never make the same mistake again. The second of Dennett's seven tools for thinking from Intuition Pumps is to respect your opponent. This is something I really [...]
Top Gun for Teachers
On March 3, 1969 the United States Navy established an elite school for the top one percent of its pilots. Its purpose was to teach the lost art of aerial combat and to insure that the handful of men who graduated were the best fighter pilots in the world. They succeeded. Today, the Navy calls it Fighter Weapons School. The flyers call it: TOP GUN. As I'm sure you know, [...]
The limits of growth mindset
What's the difference between success and failure? Effort, of course! As everyone now knows, all you need to ensure you're a success is a shed-load of hard work and the belief that you can do anything you set your mind to! Yay! I want to be an astronaut! This is mindsets-lite: the undifferentiated and naive belief that the right kind of thinking leads to wonderful things. Like most well-intentioned educational fads, there's [...]
Why I think table top mats are better than wall displays
A couple of days ago I posted an article exploring why I'm not keen on teaching being expected to spend time putting on displays in their classrooms. This made some people happy 🙂 but a few people were sad 🙁 . One criticism was that some displays contain important information that can be covered up so that students can be tested to see whether they've memorised it. This is the Bananarama [...]
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