Heft: Finding Weight in a Weightless Age
Heft might be due a revival... The path forward requires more than just reaction to the lightness of technology; it requires the intentional protection and promotion of those weightier parts of life that tether us to meaning, responsibility, and connection.
Leadership Themes #2: From Clockwork to Complexity: Recognising Diverse Environments
Part of leadership is correctly recognising the environment in which we are operating. To be able to do that, we need a) to understand what the different types of environment are, and b) understand what their distinctive qualities are. That gives us a theoretical appreciation, but it may also be useful to have an appreciation […]
Making better use of Kindle Highlights 2
Getting your Kindle Highlights from Readwise to Roam isn’t hard but getting them in the way you want them takes some playing around. Step 1: Connect Once you’ve logged in to your Readwise Dashboard, you need to connect Roam as a service. There’s a good step by step tutorial here but the short version is: […]
Making better use of Kindle Highlights 1
I love how easy it is to store highlights on Kindle. Swipe and that’s it. But I hate how hard it is to then do something meaningful with those highlights. Getting them “out of Amazon” is a pig, and I wonder sometimes if I should just go back to my old ways – dog ear […]
What Shaolin Monks Taught Me About Teaching
The best teacher training I have ever had was from a 34th Generation Shaolin Warrior Monk, Shi Yan Jun. Over the years, I have had in-school training such as INSETs, after-school twilight sessions, teacher observations (given and received). I have had off-site training run by battle-hardened professionals but sweetened with coffee,...
Last day on Lesvos
Very belated, but as promised for Anna-Karin, here is my last diary update from Lesvos. Bit odd rereading the retsina-y scrawl. Feels a lifetime away. Looking at the Calais eviction happening soon has made me think about another trip. ============= My last full day. New Year’s Day. I have a headache but it feels like […]
Clash of Clans Maths Lesson
Almost all the children in my classes play Clash of Clans, so I thought it would a good basis to try my first 3-Act lesson, as per Dan Meyer. There’s some arithmetic and geometric progression that’s ripe for more advanced students, but I teach KS2 and KS3 so wanted something a little simpler. This thread […]
TLAB Notes
Took a while to get there, what with train cancellations, but it was worth it. Lots to think about, though various themes/books seemed to be being hammered home. Nuthall’s Hidden Lives of Learners and Berger’s Ethic of Excellence were heavily plugged. Notes from what I saw: Sarah-Jayne Blakemore Institute of Cognitive...
What to avoid when teaching
Durham University, the Sutton Trust and CEM published an interesting report called “What Makes Great Teaching” in October 2014. It’s an overview of what research appears to be telling us at the moment. While it would be wonderful to think there is a simple, step-by-step formula to a perfect lesson, I’m not at all...
Notes from Martin Robinson’s 21st C Trivium
Some dog-ears from Martin Robinson’s Trivium 21stC Spoon-feeding “No longer were the students expected to enter the kitchen; rather they chose from a menu and expected it to be served up ready-cooked. This is the problem with spoon-feeding: the whole process devalues the making and concentrates on the service.” Art vs...