I was very excited to hear the accusation that I am (or might be) leading a ‘cult of personality’, whatever that means. To that end, and just in case anyone is interested, Dai Barnes has posted this interview with me on his blog (see also below.)
If you’re interested in joining any cults which I may set up in the near future, do please let me know. Oh, and any suggestions on what I might do to acquire a personality will be gratefully received.
_____________________________________________
I am David Didau and this is how I work
Current job: Currently Director of English & Literacy at Clevedon School but am about to start as Assistant Head at Greenwood Academy in September
Been a teacher since: 1999
Location: North Somerset
Current mobile device: iPhone
Current computer: Macbook Pro (we have an almost obsessive relationship)
School-issued devices: iPad (used mainly by my children!)
One word that best describes how you work: Unpredictably.
How do you manage your calendar/diary?
Badly. If I had a PA I could rule the world!
How do you manage your lesson planning?
I plan a lot of lessons in my head. I keep my medium term planning up to date and aim to focus each lesson on one particular student’s needs. I tell them that they’re my student of the day and that this is lesson is especially for them. Can be very powerful. Here’s a more extended discussion of my ideas on planning.
How do you manage your marking?
Marking is planning. I’m constantly marking – it’s (perhaps) the most important thing we do. Here are some of my thoughts on why marking is so important.
What’s your best tip for term-time weekends?
Don’t get too drunk. And never, ever, go out with Lisa Jane Ashes! Or Phil Beadle. I have, on 2 occasions, made the mistake of going out with both of them. This is absolutely to be avoided.
What do you do during school holidays?
Read. A lot.
What apps/software/tools can’t you live without?
What offline tools can’t you live without?
Red pen. It has to be red. I can’t bear all this nonsense about green pens being better for self-esteem. I would also struggle without my screwdriver.
What’s your main workspace like?
It’s a metaphor for my brain. Nuff said.
What do you listen to while you work?
My inner demons.
What’s your best time-saving trick?
Making sure that what I do is low effort, high impact.
What’s your favorite to-do list manager?
My wife.
Besides your phone and computer, what gadget can’t you live without?
Espresso machine? Nah, I’m not really that gadgety. I thought I’d love my kindle but I’ve lost the charger.
What everyday thing are you better at than anyone else?
I have the voice of an angel. Plus, I‘ve never met anyone who is able to mark a set of books more quickly.
What’s your sleep routine like?
Haphazard
Are you more of an introvert or an extrovert?
Hmm. I can be both. I’m very self-sufficient and spend a lot of time in my own company. But when I’m with people I find it hard to keep my gob shut! Apparently that makes me an ambivert.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Insanity is repeating the same mistakes expecting different results.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Blogging and Twitter is the best thing to ever happen to my teaching – I have grown massively over the past two years, and I’m not just referring to my waistline.
Who else would you like to see answer these questions?
I would like to I’d like to see Andrew Old answer these exact same questions. But he probably won’t, so I’d settle for Daisy Christodoulou.
————————
Other *This is how I work* posts are available here.
David, your writing and your ideas are always thought-provoking and inspiring. But I’d have to agree with James’ suggestion that there is a cult of personality surrounding certain bloggers/teachers which doesn’t do anything to promote discourse and debate. I think that your response to the suggestion is unnecessarily flippant. When we respond like this, it just seems like kids in the playground, pointing and laughing. It is very uncomfortable to see the amount of ‘ganging up’ and ridicule that I see on Twitter these days. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a #cultofpersonality hashtag arise for the purpose of further mockery.
Ha! I’ve already used #cultofpersonality! How prescient of you.
James, my wrist feels well and truly slapped but I can assure that I’ve not taken part in any in-fighting and the comment fromJames McEnaney rather came out of the blue. To my knowledge I’ve not had any interaction with him and he doesn’t appear to follow me on Twitter. Maybe he’s referring to another David Didau?
I guess if there was a serious point being made I might want to respond with something other than flippancy.
[…] Continued in This is how I work. […]