Some suggested New Year's resolutions
For I am full of spirit and resolve to meet all perils very constantly. Shakespeare, Julius Caesar Having read this post from Jo Facer (@readingthebooks), I am inspired. Particularly by these bits: We think we know our students, and in some ways, perhaps we do. But in other ways, we can never know them. We can never know the struggles they face, we can never know what their formative years [...]
Thinking with and about
There are mighty few people who think what they think they think. Robert Henri How we think is astonishingly complex and I don't want to pretend I have any real understanding of the processes involved, but It does seem clear that we can't think about something we don't know. If I wanted to think, say, about molecular biology, my thoughts will be strictly limited. I know molecules are very small [...]
A review of 2014
I wrote 125 posts in 2014 bringing the running total to 336 posts. Here are the ten most popular this year: Why do so many teachers leave teaching? (February 2013) The Cult of Outstanding™: the problem with ‘outstanding’ lessons (January 2014) Work scrutiny – What’s the point of marking books? (January 2013) Marking is an act of love (October 2013) Where lesson observations go wrong (July 2013) What is good behaviour? (January 2012) Slow Writing: how slowing down can [...]
New book: What if everything you know about education is wrong?
I beseech you, in the bowels of Christ, think it possible you may be mistaken. - Oliver Cromwell I haven't been posting much lately but that's not to say I haven't been busy writing. I'm delighted to tell you I've now finished my new book and wanted to take the opportunity to share the contents before it's listed on Amazon the whole thing is inevitably cheapened by sales figures. In it [...]
The Secret of Numeracy (across the curriculum)
A mathematician, like a painter or a poet, is a maker of patterns… The mathematician’s patterns, like the painter’s or the poet’s must be beautiful; the ideas like the colours or the words, must fit together in a harmonious way. Beauty is the first test. GH Hardy As some readers will no doubt be aware, I'm no mathematician. It might then seem presumptuous to take a view on the teaching of [...]
Revisiting lost learning by Gerald Haigh
In the practical use of our intellect, forgetting is as important a function as recollecting. - William James As teachers, we tend to do all in our power to prevent students from forgetting what we have taught them. This seems entirely correct and not open to debate: forgetting is clearly the enemy of learning. Well, according to Robert and Elizabeth Bjork, the way our memories work is a good deal more [...]
Why ‘triple marking’ is wrong (and not my fault)
You can't blame celebrity edubloggers for teachers' unreasonable workloads - Albert Einstein In his indefatigable efforts to get schools and teachers to recognise that much of what is done in the name of demonstrating progress for Ofsted's benefit is a pointless waste of time, apparently, Ofsted's National Director, Mike Cladingbowl has been blaming me for inventing 'triple marking'.[i] This is an accusation I refute. As I understand it, the phenomena of [...]
What I’ve learned about trust from arguing about driving
Those who trust us educate us. - George Eliot Neither a man nor a crowd nor a nation can be trusted to act humanely or to think sanely under the influence of a great fear. - Bertrand Russell The car seems to be a flashpoint. If my wife and I are going to argue about anything the likelihood is that the argument will take place in the car. And it will be, [...]
What if we started trusting teachers?
Who would not rather trust and be deceived? - Eliza Cook The only way to make a man trustworthy is to trust him. - Henry Lewis Stimson I've been out of the classroom for just under a year now. In that time I've had the privilege of visiting many more schools than I ever visited during the 15 years or so I taught. And in that time I've had the chance to [...]
Closing the language gap: Building vocabulary
But words are things, and a small drop of ink, falling like dew, upon a thought, produces that which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think. Lord Byron Like most teachers, as soon as pupils are sequestered in the exam hall I always used to race around trying to get my hands on the exam paper and anticipate how my eager charges will have coped. A few years ago I remember picking [...]
Are we fetishising marking?
When you make something a fetish, ashes and dusts will laugh at you, because they know even the most valuable fetishes will turn into dusts and ashes! Mehmet Murat ildan Last night I innocently posted the following tweet: This sparked something of a debate. A number of people got in touch to tell me this was 'bonkers' and a 'complete waste of money'. Other responses ranged from cautious interest to [...]
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