Blog
Like a bull at a gate: how do we ease problems in Education?
We have problems in our schools, and we need solutions. We;ve all suffered at the hands of ‘new solutions’ and ‘big initiatives’being implemented before the problems have been fully understood. This blog examines how best intentions aren’t always that helpful.
How useful is perfectionism in Education?
Can perfectionism be useful in education? Should we strive for perfection ourselves as educator? How about for our pupils, classes, schools? Or can perfectionism be destructive?This blog examines these questions.
Can young people with challenging behavior contribute positively to social change?
I want to provide education and personal support for young people, aged 11-16yrs who have been excluded from the mainstream secondary education system. The Problem: Mainstream schools are increasingly under pressure to gain high results and therefore funding. With...
Teaching students with Emotional, Behavioural and Mental Health Difficulties
I often get asked ‘How’ I work with young people who display such extreme and challenging behaviour - even by fellow teachers in mainstream. There is, of course, no one stop ‘How’ but in this blog I share some best practices for working with such students both in...
Miss, are you a lesbian?
This month is LGBT History Month in UK schools. I am an out teacher, and as it happens, no, I am not a lesbian - I'm bisexual. (although it's tricky sometimes to say the B word in front of 30+ teenagers - it has the word SEX in, and can lead a lesson astray for a...
Finnish Education: Balance for Better – Part 3
I returned from my month's Education trip to Finland a few days ago. The questions I am now being asked on a regular basis are: - Is it just amazing? - Do they have loads of resources and money? - Are all the students well behaved? Overall the answer is: well,...
Finnish Education: Part 2
With my second school visit under my belt, my head around the main points and differences between Finland and the UK, I have been able to find many surprising similarities, and have even found the odd thing about the British system that I think works better! Missed...
What on earth makes Finnish schools SO good?
This time last year I had a thought. I work with students with Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties - vulnerable people in our society who are segregated, excluded and marginalised. A group of people who, for some at a young age, were told in varying ways "you are...
Whose book is it anyway?
A mainstream memory. The year 10 books have gone missing.I taught a double research lesson with no books.How has this happened?Someone at the top of the hierarchy decided that new books were needed. New shiny books where no doodling or multi-coloured pens are allowed....
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the Classroom
"Inspiring workshop that has directly affected my planning and teaching. I am now thinking very differently than I did before this session. It really is a case of needing to walk in someone else's shoes to understand their issues. Thank you." - Teacher Participant...
Practical Pedagogies 2018: Realising you’re stuck in a fence
Cologne Nov 2018 Keynote speaker, Hywel Roberts, shared a picture of a cow stuck in a fence. “The fence is the stuff that stops you being the teacher you were going to be. We’re here to sort the fence out.” This conference gentley forced me to question my own...
As Subjects We Stand Together
“Elevating some disciplines over others only reinforces outmoded assumptions of industrialism and offends the principle of diversity.”[1] In addition, dividing subjects rigidly in education is impractical and unrealistic. In our day-to-day lives we do not function in...
The Dis-ease of Education
“When you find the places where a culture splits from a natural truth you have found a key, a way inside the dis-eases of the culture.”[1] I read this quotation recently whilst relaxed, in the sunshine during the summer holidays and yet it’s effect on me was that...
And breathe…
Alongside focus on content, learning and progress it is vital that our students know how to look after themselves and their wellbeing, especially around exam times. This blog shares my three main tools. To book a session with me on Exam Preparation Wellbeing then...
Education and Discipline
There are as many ways to combine these two concepts as there are students and teachers. In fact, maybe it’s more like students multiplied by teachers. The discipline for one student may not be appropriate for another. Discipline should be equal across the board –...
Open the Window
“If the conditions are right, people grow in synergy with people around them and the environments they create. If conditions are poor people protect themselves and their anxieties from neighbours and the world.”[1] During my 17 years of teaching I have asked students...
Free Writing for All
On more than one occasion I have had to justify bringing Free Writing into an English classroom. I have so much belief in, experience and evidence of the innumerable benefits of Free Writing in the classroom, that I have bent rules, wangled lesson plans and...
When learning stops
Inspiring learning quotes are useful, but a stark examination of when learning stops can help us release the blocks. Original article written for Always Possible. “We never stop learning;” “Never stop learning because life never stops teaching;” “Education is not...
