I have been a teacher for 31 years, a head teacher for 16 years and, at the age of 55, this much I know about the challenges for early career headteachers: forging your relationship with the chair of governors. I am in my seventeenth year as a state school secondary…
I have been a teacher for 31 years, a Headteacher for 16 years and, at the age of 55, this much I know about Mortimer & Whitehouse and their motivational tomatoes! Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing is the BBC’s unlikely jewel. It follows two ageing comedians as they go…
I have been a teacher for 31 years, a Headteacher for 16 years and, at the age of 55, this much I know about the value of choosing English Literature A Level. Studying English Literature A Level changed my life. In September 1980 I had embarked upon biology, chemistry and…
I have been a teacher for 31 years, a Headteacher for 16 years and, at the age of 55, this much I know about why I am not taking my pension (even though I could). A teacher’s 55th birthday is significant. At 55 years old a teacher can apply…
I have been a teacher for 31 years, a Headteacher for 16 years and, at the age of 54, this much I know about how I have transformed my own teaching. I never thought I would transform my teaching in my 50s. After 31 years of being in the classroom,…
I have been a teacher for 30 years, a Headteacher for 15 years and, at the age of 54, this much I know about why a song speaks to my soul. According to Seamus Heaney, when a writer’s work speaks to you directly, “you hear something in another writer’…
I have been a teacher for 30 years, a Headteacher for 15 years and, at the age of 54, this much I know about why a teacher's job is more important than ever. One of my favourite reads of the past year has been Richard Holloway’s “On…
I have been a teacher for 30 years, a Headteacher for 15 years and, at the age of 54, this much I know about helping students avoid making nonsensical interpretations of poems. One of the most frustrating misconceptions I hear from English Literature students goes something like this: “I can…