“What should be taught to whom, and with what pedagogical object in mind? That master question is threefold: what, to whom, and how?” Jerome Bruner What gives teachers the authority to decide what our children should be taught? Why don’t we keep the roles of curriculum designer and teacher…
I have written about sonnets many times; Hannah Lowe's "The Kids" is a striking volume written entirely in that particular poetic form. "The Art of Teaching II" will resonate with every teacher in the land. You can read it here. I have written sonnets…
Huh? is my usual response when I enter a Year 6 grammar class! But little did I know when I began working with the indefatigable Mary Myatt that Huh would prove to be the perfect title for our current curriculum project. In February 2021 I emailed Mary with a proposal.…
The triangulation of speaking to colleagues, being in lessons and looking at students' work is crucial to appreciating the quality of the curriculum. When looking in books recently, I have seen two things which have made me think. Firstly, the obsession with getting students to write down definitions before…
“Through conversation…we may whet and sharpen our wits by rubbing them against those of others.” Michel de Montaigne [1] Huh is the Egyptian god of endlessness, creativity, fertility and regeneration. He is the deity Mary Myatt and I have adopted as our god of the school curriculum. Our first…
There is a lot of publicity about the DfE’s declaration that schools must be open for 32.5 hours a week. Accepting that most schools are already open for longer than 32.5 hours a week, what the DfE need to realise is that the impact of teaching time…
Collaborating with Mary Myatt on our Huh project has been a blast! Our new book, Primary Huh, was signed off this week. It is a moment of unadulterated relief when the copy editor says we’re finished and we can send the text off for printing. The sunshine makes it…
Some 37 years to the day since he died, this much I know about the time I was closest to my dad. I was closest to my dad for two days in the summer of 1978 when I was just 13. I played in the South East qualifying round of…