Monthly Archives: August 2016

Part 1 – What’s the difference between a bad teacher, and a good teacher in a bad system?   Here’s what we do every time a child is born in the UK:   But you’ve got to picture it with millions … Continue reading →

  Here’s one for you:  “What is energy?” Even if you have a degree in physics, like me, you’ll probably struggle to answer that (like me).  Even if you’re a science teacher, I’d take a bet that you struggle in … Continue reading →

  No.   I found myself reading over many articles on the issue this morning, and just wanted to throw another voice into the mix.  I won’t say much, because better people have already said it better than I could … Continue reading →

  It’ll be useful It’ll allow you to access higher level content It’ll help you make sense of the world   I think we linger around 1 and 2.   It’ll be useful ‘When will we ever use this?’ is … Continue reading →

Yes. See here for how (How we Learn: What Works, What Doesn’t) But how is this different from programmes and language like ‘Learning to Learn‘ or ‘Building Learning Power‘? Programmes such as these seem to sit more in the affective domain, than … Continue reading →

Agreement about needs, then, depends upon agreement about values. An adolescent, you may say, needs freedom to express himself; I may say that he needs to consider other people’s feelings. To claim, therefore, that education should ‘meet the needs’ of … Continue reading →

On Wednesday I wrote this. In it I wondered when and how we ended up steeped in a rhetoric of need: ‘Children are needy, and all their needs must be met.’ People rattle off the words today without a thought … Continue reading →

I read something recently: …having their needs met. The line related to the engagement of pupils in an activity that their school had paid for, in order to help them.  The assumption was that some pupils would find it harder to engage, … Continue reading →