Author Archives: James Murphy

thinkingreadingwritings It was a hot, noisy, dusty building site. I was working on a construction project in Wellington during the university summer holidays. There was more concrete pouring due soon, and the carpenters and labourers were all busy. I was … Continue reading →

thinkingreadingwritings How hard can it be? At first sight, there may seem to be little relationship between mental health and acquiring the skills to read well. In fact, the problems engendered by poor reading permeate all areas of one’s life. … Continue reading →

thinkingreadingwritings It’s the time of year when we farewell Year 11 students, with a mixture of relief, anticipation, and sometimes a tinge of regret. For some, the promise of what they will do with their lives is so beautiful it … Continue reading →

thinkingreadingwritings The latest issue of Best Evidence in Brief continues a long-standing trend in the business of teaching children to read: namely, to flail about looking for anything that might shore up student reading, without having to go to the … Continue reading →

thinkingreadingwritings Although nearly everyone would subscribe to the ideal of universal literacy, there are plenty of pragmatists in education who believe that in reality, we must accept that a certain proportion of students will leave school illiterate to some degree … Continue reading →

thinkingreadingwritings We haven’t posted much for the last few months because we’ve been putting our energies into a book that we hope will be helpful to secondary teachers in understanding why many of their students are struggling, and what can … Continue reading →

Originally posted on Horatio Speaks:
There is something more in this than natural, if philosophy could find it out. – Hamlet I have of late been haunted by an image from Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. In a post-apocalyptic world, starving…

Originally posted on Horatio Speaks:
If it be now, ‘tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now . . . – Hamlet He gazed past the gleaming stainless steel, through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows to…

Originally posted on Horatio Speaks:
OPHELIA: The king rises! HAMLET: What? Frighted with false fire? CLAUDIUS: Give me some light! Away! – Hamlet  In Act Three of Hamlet, the troubled prince hatches a plan to prove the king’s guilt. He…