Review by Andrew Old

27 Feb 2015, 7:00

Andrew Old selects: 27 February 2015

Consultants: the obscene quantities of cash, the confidence tricks and riding the merry-go-round of failure

By @Bottoms_bray

A teacher recounts the activities of consultants who are paid to give advice to desperate school leaders; how this advice has often been harmful and is usually expensive. “They are unaccountable. They swarm over the terminally sick school and when it succumbs, they flee the corpse to infect another host.”

Shorter inspections will end the stressful “cliff-edge” experience for schools

By @HarfordSean

This post by Ofsted’s national director for schools appeared on the “ATL Speak Out!” blog as part of a series of posts debating the inspectorate’s future. The others were less positive about the organisation, but Harford gives some clear indicators of what those leading Ofsted are hoping to achieve, suggesting school leaders stop asking “What do I need to do to get a good Ofsted judgment?”, and instead “think about what you need to do to ensure that every child in your school gets a decent education”.

Tales Out Of School

By @MrStuchbery

In a blow-by-blow account, a teacher describes how he was undermined by two of his colleagues. His work was criticised, his professionalism questioned and he was excluded from decision-making. He explains how his confidence suffered and his attempts to repair relationships were rejected. He discusses why he thinks bullying is common in schools and why dealing with it is often a low priority for managers. He considers bullying to be one of the reasons so many teachers leave the profession.

Charley says…

From ijstock.wordpress.com

This post discusses the extent to which teaching should be, and has been, seen as about more than just the academic side of life. The writer discusses how the non-academic aims of education seem to have multiplied and the extent to which this area of teaching has become increasingly formalised: “Just to want to teach one’s subject was no longer enough, when the purpose of education had become something between a velvet social revolution and life-coaching for the masses. And since then have been added the institutionalised performance pressures that mean it’s no longer sufficient just to try to change people’s lives; anything short of a fully measurable metamorphosis is just not acceptable.”

‘To they or not to they?’: A trainee history teacher’s struggle with similarity and difference

By @cnell91

The creation and teaching of a unit of work on “similarity and difference” is discussed in some detail here. The successes and failures of the lessons are discussed and, in particular, the extent to which apparently useful advice such as “don’t generalise” can lead to unfortunate consequences. This post is remarkable, not so much for conclusions reached, but for the level of thought with which the author has analysed her own work and attempted to learn from the experience.

The Problem with Plenaries

By @Mr_Bunker_edu

A teacher once again deconstructs his own practice: this time it is the use of plenaries. A number of issues affecting their usefulness are considered and the assumptions that lie behind their use are questioned. Are plenaries a result of a belief in easily measurable progress in lessons? Do they take generic forms that are often inappropriate to the topic at hand? Are they often activities that are not best suited to the closing minutes of a lesson? Solutions are also suggested.

Five words that changed me

By @El_Timbre

In a moving personal account a teacher explains how some bad news changed her life and her outlook. Events that must have been traumatic at the time helped her to see what she wanted from her career. She explains how her response to difficult times has, with hindsight, changed her life for the better.

 

Latest education roles from

Lecturer in Aviation, Travel & Tourism

Lecturer in Aviation, Travel & Tourism

Bournemouth and Poole College

Dog Grooming Technician

Dog Grooming Technician

Halesowen College

Health and Wellbeing Officer

Health and Wellbeing Officer

Barnsley College

Lecturer in Game Development

Lecturer in Game Development

Wakefield College

Senior Communication Support Worker (BSL)

Senior Communication Support Worker (BSL)

Wakefield College

Funding Data and Compliance Lead

Funding Data and Compliance Lead

York College

More Reviews

‘I can’t stop thinking about VAR’ by Daisy Christodoulou

For once, a book about what other professions can learn from education - not the other way round

Find out more

The Conversation – with Zara Simpson

A whole-school apprach to pupil premium, a mental health lead training programme, and two very different podcasts about coaching

Find out more

The Conversation – with Sarah Gallagher

Training teachers for primary PE, designing classroom tasks efficiently, and parental experiences of the broken SEND system

Find out more

More from this theme

The Conversation – with Frances Akinde 

A new anti-racism campaign, a SEND crisis short on solutions, the challenge of change, and the Francis review's social...

Find out more

The Conversation – with Rob Gasson

A lighter look at the week's education landscape, some reflections on agency and 'enslaved teachers', and a powerful tool...

Find out more

Unfinished Business: The life and legacy of Sir Tim Brighouse

A veritable who's who of education pays tribute to a giant and aims to pick up where he left...

Find out more

Your thoughts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *