We all know teachers should have high expectations of pupils. Teachers who think their pupils can learn and do lots set more challenging work than those doubting their capacities and this leads to more progress. Nobody – quite rightly – argues against high expectations. Officially you can’t even be a teacher if you don’t have them – they’re in the Teacher Standards. But high expectations aren’t the same thing to everyone. Given the huge variability in our education system how could they be? Different teachers and schools demand different levels of effort and have differing standards on accept ..read more

Inclusion is a continuum. Things are hard to talk about when people don’t have a shared understanding of the words they use. In most cases words and terms can’t mean anything on its own – abstract positions are only given meaning through practical example. Two people – for example – both thinking they work at “warm-strict” schools can find differences in how they interpret the phrase mean their disciplinary systems have very little in common. Discussion of “inclusion” is affected by this ambiguity, because the people using it often mean very different things, and it doesn’t mean anything in ..read more

This is part 3 in a series of 5. Part 1 can be found here, and Part 2 here. Designing any system perfectly meeting everyone’s needs is impossible because the interests and preferences of individuals are often opposed to each other. Trying to meet them all usually means nobody getting what they need. The most able and knowledgeable children may prefer to learn independently, but given how children are organised into classes allowing this for them means allowing it for all, and this has a negative effect on other children, and particularly those who find learning hardest needing the most direct ..read more

Things are hard to talk about when people don’t have a shared understanding of the meaning of words they use. Even the difference between formative and summative assessment can lead to chaotic discussion if there isn’t an agreed definition of the two terms. The problem is further complicated by how a term can’t mean anything on its own – abstract positions are given meaning by practical examples. Two people – for example – both thinking they work at “warm-strict” schools can find differences in how they interpret the phrase mean their disciplinary systems have very little in common. Discussio ..read more

Adam Boxer has annoyed me. His most recent blog post unpicks the issues caused by unwise group level announcements and I found it challenging. A lot of what he identified as problems is present in my teaching, and it made me see there are issues I didn’t know I had. That’s annoying because it requires a response.   Here’s a few things I say to classes in lessons and the reasons that aren’t necessary. (As a class enters the room) “No talking once you’re in the room, please.” (They know this) (As the class sits down) “Answer the Do Now questions.” (They know this) (As a class works on a p ..read more

“Hope” is the thing with feathers – that perches in the soul – and sings the tune without the words-  and never stops at all – We are here. We got there. It’s Christmas. Are you OK? Am I? Are we? These days it is hard to tell, because so often it feels as if we are thinking with other people’s thoughts – even my questions rhyme with a meme I’ve seen somewhere online. The twenty-four hours news cycle is now an every second news cycle. Social media means we experience the thoughts and feelings of others more than we have ever done before. It can be hard to know whether what we think and how we ..read more

Soon I begin teaching the history course Crime and Punishment for the first time. I really should read the textbook. I really should read the past papers and look at the mark scheme. I should read the history books sitting on my desk at home. I know that if I did these things teaching this new course will go so much better. My planning will faster and better. My Do Now quizzes tighter and more focused. My explanations crisper and more purposeful. I know if I do these things, I’ll enjoy teaching this more and that my class will benefit. Yet because there is no deadline, I find it hard to get t ..read more

Five or so years ago schools began talking about misconceptions more than before. It was a part of the greater focus on curriculum. It became an on-trend word – appearing on documents, lesson plans, quality assurance, lesson observation forms and lots of other places too. It still pops up everywhere. What misconceptions will children have and how we can identify them? How can we correct and pre-empt them? How do we head them off? But there are issues with the word ‘misconception’ – a misconception of misconceptions if you like, and it’s a particular problem in history. The first problem is peo ..read more

Of all the banes of education overcomplication is the worst. It drives workload and shifts focus away from things that make a difference to children and onto minutia that doesn’t. Class context sheets. Much data input and analysis. Standardised PowerPoints. Target Grades. Meetings and meetings and meetings – how much do these things and a thousand other things really impact on the children who sit in our classrooms? The point of a lot of what we do is to create a narrative that’s more pleasing than what’s actually happening so other adults will approve of our work. Regrettably, a lot of this ..read more

“Have you really got twenty years of experience?” The inspirational speaker asked the room, then paused for dramatic effect. “Or have you just got one year of experience repeated twenty times?” He smiled as if he’d said something very profound. The speaker – hired by a school I worked for more than ten years ago – was saying we should be suspicious of experience because those with decades of it may be as novice as someone with fewer years under their belt. It is an attractive message to those who haven’t been in their field that long – particularly if they are responsible for leading those wh ..read more