Monthly Archives: February 2015

We are number two but we try harder: the underdog narrative of progressivism

Originally posted on Othmar's Trombone:
“It can be good to start with a shipwreck. Your ideal authors ought to pull you from the foundering of your previous existence, not smilingly guide you into a friendly and peaceable harbour.” Christopher…

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The Bananarama Principle

Reinventing the wheel. It’s one of those phrases that we hear all of the time in teaching and a cliche, like many, that is a bit misleading and tired. While I’m all for sharing successful resources and approaches to avoid … Continue reading

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Cheque out

The last #28daysofwriting comes back to the fundamental question of educational values, and from a phrase @pivotalpaul -Paul Dix – used during #LFE2015. Paul, along with Sue Cowley, was discussing issues of behaviour management in school. Towards the end of the session, Paul … Continue reading

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The core idea

Just a short one from me tonight. Today I’ve been in London on a course designed to help create more challenge in the KS4 classroom. Regular readers (do I have regular readers? If so, hello and thanks!) will know that … Continue reading

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The fire of guilt burns

I’ve been teaching for 4 years and before this I always worked full time. My absence record has always been something I’m proud of (and mostly what I get told off for!).  Cold, sore throat, aching and generally needing to … Continue reading

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Knowledge Vs Skills: Seeking a little wiggle room

Originally posted on Stepping Back a Little:
I’ve written this post as a contribution to the Feb 2015 #blogsync topic of ‘Knowledge Vs Skills’ (posted just in time!) The ‘Knowledge Vs Skills’ debate is real. You may not have been…

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Books that caused me to think about my teaching- Part 2

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Teaching – A new career: Taking the metaphorical bull by the horns

Teaching – A new career: Taking the metaphorical bull by the horns: I try to always use a metaphor as a title for my reflection and in this week’s English lessons I introduced the use of them with my class’s…

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ISOLATION: The Desolation of the Head – Part 2

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Which knowledge?

Best bets I often ask pupils at family lunch at Michaela what their favourite subject is. Many of them reply, ‘I love every subject, sir!’ What we choose to teach plays a big part in how much our pupils love … Continue reading

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