Whilst firmly settled in the luxury of a massive sofa, enjoying all that the holiday has to offer in terms of time, coffee and calm, I thought that now might be the best time to think about behaviour management. Not so much how to manage behaviour but the principles behind it. The what and […]
Month: May 2018
Loving the Life of Leisure
There’s something quite discombobulating about the holidays when you’re a teacher, isn’t there? A strange degree of calm or a lack of noise. There’s no one there shouting, “Miss! Miss! Miss!” or “Sir! Sir! Sir!” as many times as possible within three minutes because, heavens to Betsy, you’re actually helping someone else or even DOING […]
‘I Love To Laugh’
Although I spend my time striving to be the best possible teacher that I can be, I don’t always succeed. Perhaps this could get me down, and at times it has and does, but I think it’s best to avoid personal criticism. Education is always moving forwards and that’s the direction we’re best going in. […]
Naughty but Nice…
I don’t know about you but my favourite classes are often those with an overabundance of personality. The naughty but nice… Like Jelly Babies! The ones where, years later, you’ll bump into them in town with their small children in tow and they’ll jump to greet you before swiftly apologising for all the hassle they […]
Mark Smart, Not Hard…
With students in the middle of exam season and at the end of their tether with exam stress, our marking workload is currently at its peak. How can we survive the next few weeks when, if you’re like me, you’ve got thousands of last minute essays coming in from year elevens and year thirteens at […]
Sunday Sadness & Monday Malaise
However much teaching holds your heart, Sunday evening is a real downer, isn’t it? And Monday morning isn’t much better. When in a classroom with the students, door closed and lesson started, I’m in my element but, at home where the pace is slower, there’s a part of me that can’t face finding the time […]
Precious Cargo
Teaching does have its down days though, doesn’t it. Those days when you’ve planned the best lesson you can and 10×9 still manage to derail it. I’m no stranger to this. I still vividly remember J. rolling sideways along the desk growling in a deep, rich, gravelly roar (having just thrown his book across the room). Mercifully this […]
By Hook or by Crook!
We remember what we love. It’s not even difficult, is it? It’s so easy to remember stories we read as children, so easy to remember lessons we enjoyed, so easy to remember teachers who inspired us. And that’s the difference it makes. Memory is what gives us access to education. I’ll bet that we’ve all […]
English: It’s a Life Long Love Affair…
It seems to me that the purpose of English teaching, rather than teaching in general, is to foster a passion. A passion that will supersede any other in our lives. We’ll never be monogamous creatures once we love to read. Since the moment I learned to read, I have fallen in love time and time […]
Humble Beginnings
Well, it might seem like madness to you and, indeed, to myself much of the time but it’s fair to say that I love teaching. That’s not to say that I love it every day, not even every minute, but there’s something about it that’s captured my heart and my imagination. With thirteen years of […]