Times table – arise centurion
M names is Kristian and I am overly interested by time tables? I first taught Year 8 Maths to a low attaining set (5), as an experienced teacher (18 years) but novice Maths teacher with just two terms notice. I …
Jury is out on differentiation
“Differentiation” is used to mean so many different things the term is effectively meaningless. Most are hard to do, take a lot more teacher time/effort and are unlikely to benefit students. There is my opening statement and I’d be interested …
Meet MARGE and the rest of the book
There really is little more I can say, other than to reiterate Tom Sherrington’s encouraging words to grab a copy of Arthur Shimamura free ebook A Whole-Brain Learning Approach for Students and Teachers. Consume it in a couple of hour or so, it is well …
Communication – intent, delivery and language
We all have areas for professional improvement. I have been refining how / what I view communication to be, conversations in particular, and how we / I communicate at school for the past year as a developmental opportunity taken from …
Why give power away
The more power you give away – the more powerful you become. Yesterday I was talking with a special Assistant Headteacher. A former student who is working tremendously hard, within a challenging context, within a tricky leadership setup. I offered …
Rocks is back, are you coming…
Many thanks to the Teach Company for sharing – ahead of the ticket release of OneSchool #srocks19. Why you Should Head to Southern Rocks 2019 this February Fantastic speakers, numerous sessions, great coffee and tea…oh, and celebrating great teaching with …
Performance Reviews – think again (part 2)
Two weeks in and school is starting to find a rhythm. One of the few things new staff can be grateful for is, that for the most part, they will have already agreed their contractual terms and therefore there is no …
Performance Reviews – think again (part 1)
Cards on the table. I am highly critical of triennial performance reviews, performance management, of any flavour that casts dark skies over many schools up and down the country. I have been banging my very little drum, as loudly as I …