Monthly Archives: July 2013

I’ve always thought it interesting how, as a profession, we find the ideas of cognitive psychologists so beguiling and persuasive. As a recently qualified teacher, I first heard of the work of Howard Gardner at an INSET day in the … Continue reading →

Originally posted on heavy metal leadership:
http://youtu.be/eBIa0o36pPo Senior leadership. It doesn’t matter who you are, or where you work, there will always be difficult conversations to be had, unpopular decisions to be made and other staff will resent you for…

Originally posted on Teaching: Leading Learning:
Dear Chris, It’s 1997, and you’re about to start your teaching career. In May, as you were completing your PGCE, Tony Blair led the Labour Party out of 18 years of opposition to win…

Originally posted on Horatio Speaks:
There are certain concepts that become so much part of the language and the cultural assumptions of one’s profession that they go unnoticed. In education, one of the most prevalent – and pernicious  – is…

Lately, I have been thinking more about SteveH’s experience of an elementary teacher dismissing his young son’s knowledge of geography as “mere facts” because I have steered my family’s educational boat even more towards the classical model over the last … Continue reading →

The author is a teacher. Joe Baron is a pseudonym.   11am   ‘F**k off!’ he shouts. John is typical of many of our kids: stunted, undernourished and utterly feral. ‘Come here, please,’ I reply, consciously controlling the tone of … Continue reading →

Originally posted on Great Education Secretaries:
Michael Gove is currently 8th in the longevity stakes however he’s only a fortnight away from overtaking Kenneth Baker and stealing 7th place* (UPDATE: By time he left, he got much further). The winner…

Originally posted on cherrylkd:
The Guardian recently printed a research project which found that teachers who read for pleasure are more confident, have better knowledge of books and are calmer in the classroom. The research concludes that trainee teachers should…

Here’s a question I’m often asked: Now that we have Google and smartphones are becoming less expensive, isn’t the Core Knowledge approach obsolete? For anyone who knows that (1) cognitive science shows that having some relevant knowledge already stored in … Continue reading →