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.
Pupil Curiosity
Prof Coe’s 2013 talk has aged well, I think. I’d forgotten this prompt, but it’s a lovely way of framing the challenge of teaching curiosity. “If your pupils knew the answer, but didn’t know why, how many would care?” Improving Education – A triumph of hope over experience from CEM on Vimeo.
Book List: Leadership and Education
I’m finally beginning to put together some thoughts on the project I first started thinking about here. In terms of projects, I’m curious to see what the common themes are in the various leadership, organisational structure, internal comms books I’ve read are. It’s by no means academically rigorous – more just for me to feel...
Books on Leadership for Teachers
Leadership is difficult, I think. Part of the problem is that those who believe they are good at it aren’t, and those who are reluctant to be involved are the very ones you want leading. There are a number of teaching-specific leadership books, but I tend to prefer a broader palette. The below are books […]
Snippets from Black Teacher
I cannot begin to do this book justice, nor will these snippets. so I’d really highly recommend reading Beryl Gilroy’s wonderful memoir in full. Of Lady Anne: “I could never really grasp how sincere she was in anything she said. She was able to laugh or cry inside without moving a single muscle in her […]
Praxis – The Rarest of the Three
Aristotle divided human activities into three broad categories: thinking (theoria), making (poiesis), and doing (praxis). Put another way, I suppose, they are the why, the what, and the how. In very coarse terms, and trying to link it to rhetoric, I wonder how it matches the various posts I read on Twitter and blogs. The categories...
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,...
24 Books for Teachers
There’s probably a more graceful way to put this list up and there’s certainly a catchier title for this post but for the moment/in no particular order here are some titles that might be of interest. I’ve certainly found them useful pointers in some shape or form. A Mind For Numbers: How to Excel at […]
An Epidemic of Listicles
I like this excerpt from Krista Tippett’s interview with Maria Popova, curator of the wonderful Brain Pickings [Thanks to the Centre for Teaching] Culture needs stewardship, not disruption. … We seem somehow bored with thinking. We want to instantly know. And there’s this epidemic of listicles. Why think about what...
Early Steps in Blended Learning
I think a penny has finally dropped. I’ve been mulling over blended learning for a while but have never quite summoned up the energy. I’ve also been thinking about ways I can apply the DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself) principle to my teaching, so I can spend more time doing the fun parts of teaching. Slower […]