"I was much further out than you thought And not waving but drowning." Stevie Smith 1. Getting our teachers back: The moment it hit home for me was when I heard that X had left teaching. I knew then with absolute clarity that we had a problem. Why in that moment? Because she was simply brilliant. … Continue reading Getting our teachers back. Getting our teachers’ back.
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Teamwork 3/ Characteristics of world class teams
This, the third of three blogs about teamwork, looks at the qualities of world class teams and what sets them apart. Here are the first two: Teamwork 1/ Building teams, building trust Teamwork 2/ Organising your team James MacGregor Burns, writing Roosevelt's biography, said: "Great teams happen when people engage with others in such a way … Continue reading Teamwork 3/ Characteristics of world class teams
Newts
Newts Tipton 1974: burnt rubber smell of factory along the canal, Empty of birdsong and trees. I search for newts, trail Towpath cinders in the tunnel. Scan The green-spotted slick surface Broken by bike-wheels and yellow-handled trolleys. Net-high ready for the joust. Waiting for wet bubbles And the dart-wriggle to the surface. Newt: Part-fish, part-eel. … Continue reading Newts
Pirates
Pirates Buckets full of crabs, Decent shrimp, bigger fish than we've a right to land With that children's bamboo net; and a baby eel. Satisfied, smug and sat, hands flat upon Four inches of warm waves and corrugated sand I'm braced against the unexpected sun As lazy, loud gulls wheel above my head. Secretly my … Continue reading Pirates
The healing power of Restorative Justice
In Louise Tickle's powerful article in The Guardian this week here, she looks closely at the approach to using Restorative Justice in schools. The article reflects on the number of children who have been permanently excluded across Gloucestershire, and across the UK, but then considers the impact of the technique of Restorative Justice on shifting the behaviour culture in our schools. It is a … Continue reading The healing power of Restorative Justice
The La La Land of good teaching
Having spent some half term time with the family toe-tapping at La La Land and weeping at Lion, here are my film-inspired thoughts on some of the elements of good teaching: 1. Command the classroom: really own it. Understand your physicality, presence and how you manage them room. No excuses: high expectations, coats, wires, posture, noise. If … Continue reading The La La Land of good teaching
Lessons from Zimbabwe
After a geography degree with some development economics thrown in, I flew to Zimbabwe and lived for two years working in a remote school on the border of Mozambique up in the Eastern Highlands. It helped me to grow up, find something that I believed in and that I thought I could eventually be good at. Since then I've … Continue reading Lessons from Zimbabwe
Done your homework yet?!
Homework at GA is now set as significant written or practical projects two times in each assessment cycle (each cycle one is 8 weeks long) for most subjects. These are intended to present extra challenge, really get our students to think in depth and to produce work of real excellence. Maths and Languages homework is … Continue reading Done your homework yet?!
The Last Post
The Last Post At 10.45am the students fan out along with the L-shaped lines of the new building, and across the tiered steps. The dazzle of sharp November sun, a playground half in sun, half in shade. I shield my eyes to see my deputy waving to me that we are all assembled and we … Continue reading The Last Post
Decluttering Teaching
teaching-declutter-and-repair
