/ January 27, 2018 at 9:49 PM
321 views
I have so many anecdotes sent to me, as well as my own teaching stories to share, that I decided to put some into a book. It’s a mixture of opinion, ranting and humour, is available to download on kindle and…
/ January 5, 2018 at 1:12 PM
303 views
Happy New Year to you all. Here’s to 2018 being the year the government sees sense and listens to experienced educators. (See, I haven’t lost my sense-of-humour.) Short and sweet today, with apologies for leaving it so long since my…
/ October 26, 2016 at 5:27 PM
433 views
It’s good news that the current education secretary, Justine Greening, has announced she will scrap plans to make children resit their primary school SATs, but no reason to celebrate. The idea – from Gove’s biggest fan and bum-hole licker, Nicky…
/ September 9, 2016 at 11:14 AM
547 views
A former primary teacher of my acquaintance is currently involved with the growing Let Kids Be Kids campaign, trying in vain to get the government to change its stance on the current irrelevant testing system for primary school pupils. This…
/ July 23, 2016 at 1:58 PM
730 views
Up and down the land, teachers and teaching assistants are celebrating the end of another academic year, full of highs but mostly lows, and definitely full of hard work and dedication on their parts. Many not directly involved in education…
/ July 16, 2016 at 1:37 PM
443 views
My sister-in-law shared a photo on facebook the other day of her daughter dressed for her end-of-school prom. Nothing too remarkable about that, you might think: except the kid’s only just had her 11th birthday. There she was, smothered in…
/ June 28, 2016 at 2:21 PM
627 views
It’s almost four years since I left teaching and many things have happened since the last time I shuffled out of a school building, laden down with books to mark and pointless data to enter instead of enjoying evenings and…
/ May 6, 2016 at 2:22 PM
517 views
I am so bloody angry I have, after a rather long bout of lethargy, been motivated to shift my oversized arse and vent about the government’s latest string of lies, hypocrisy and sheer damned fuckwittedness. Despite years of concern from…
/ February 22, 2016 at 4:14 PM
644 views
I have taken the liberty of rewording Martin Niemöller’s famous quote to suit what is happening in Britain today: First they came for the Police Officers, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Police Officer. Then…
/ October 6, 2015 at 11:04 AM
674 views
I was at a party recently (yes, even grumpy old gits are invited to things occasionally) and was introduced to a young woman who proudly informed me that, at the age of 25, and after a mere three years in…
/ July 14, 2014 at 11:19 PM
487 views
There’s been a lot of discussion about teachers and teaching over the past week, some of it acknowledging the work that teachers do, but much of it criticising the upheaval caused by last Thursday’s strike. Teachers were by no means…
/ July 14, 2014 at 11:19 PM
630 views
There’s been a lot of discussion about teachers and teaching over the past week, some of it acknowledging the work that teachers do, but much of it criticising the upheaval caused by last Thursday’s strike. Teachers were by no means…
/ November 6, 2013 at 11:00 PM
490 views
I’m going to start with a question: what is education for? When education was first made compulsory, it was thought that all children, whatever their background, should have the same opportunities. OK, many personal circumstances played a big part in…
/ November 6, 2013 at 11:00 PM
611 views
I’m going to start with a question: what is education for? When education was first made compulsory, it was thought that all children, whatever their background, should have the same opportunities. OK, many personal circumstances played a big part in…
/ November 4, 2013 at 4:12 PM
521 views
Last year, Hell High Academy* introduced performance-related pay (PRP) for its teachers. This budget could be distributed, based on annual appraisals and at the discretion of the head teacher and governors, among the teaching staff. Within the existing staff, Hell…
/ October 1, 2013 at 6:34 AM
532 views
A few quotes from the past few days regarding teachers’ strikes: ‘Greedy bastards! They earn a fortune for doing nothing!’ ‘Teachers do a crap job. We’re always hearing about how useless they are.’ ‘Why should teachers get their pensions? I’m…
/ September 12, 2013 at 3:34 AM
553 views
One of my fondest memories of the teacher training course at Homerton College, Cambridge, was attending a talk and workshop led by Dr David Whitebread. At the end, he used a clip from The Sound of Music (the bit where…
/ August 10, 2013 at 12:25 PM
1,017 views
My favourite Ofsted joke: Q What’s the difference between a cosmetic surgeon and an Ofsted inspector? A A cosmetic surgeon tucks up your features, but an Ofsted inspector … Seriously though, an impending Ofsted visit is enough to have the…
/ August 10, 2013 at 12:25 PM
651 views
My favourite Ofsted joke: Q What’s the difference between a cosmetic surgeon and an Ofsted inspector? A A cosmetic surgeon tucks up your features, but an Ofsted inspector … Seriously though, an impending Ofsted visit is enough to have the…
/ August 3, 2013 at 12:01 PM
651 views
@GuardianTeach asks this question on Twitter, but 140 characters just aren’t enough to list the reasons. Teaching has become more stressful quite rapidly. Behaviour is poor and respect is virtually nil. Behaviour problems from students have been a problem since…
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