Gove gyres and gimbles again in the grotesque press - hilariously saying that us 'enemies of promise' are at it again with our progressive, Marxist views, aiming to ensure equality by making sure nobody does well. This brilliantly disingenuous argument conveniently avoids the fact that the neo-liberal social and economic views his and his ilk espouse aim to ensure utter inequality by redistributing wealth and opportunity from the middle the the top (forget the bottom - Thatcher nailed that). This makes our jobs harder, in many ways, yet more important and satisfying in the most important of all.
We know that we aim, regardless of our political views, for absolute equality for all of our children. This is something we should all be proud of, regardless of our ultimate boss's opinions of us, and, weirdly, THE BLOB - which appears to control our minds like some terrifying B movie monster from Sirius B. I'm pretty sure that we have the freedom to teach in whatever way we feel is effective for our classes - and this will continue, regardless, at all times. No compromise.
Anyway. Enjoy this surreal yet biting satire.
And just teach. Put on your red shoes and teach those kids. Just teach.
Sunday, 24 March 2013
Sunday, 17 March 2013
Visibility
There's a lot of chatter about progress over time, much of which I contribute to. There's also a lot of chatter about educational research going on in some areas, little of which I contribute to, as I have no understanding of research methodology and statistics, and all that which makes research useful.
Nevertheless, some clever people like John Hattie make educational research which is both statistically significant and interesting accessible to people like me. People who prefer a vague notion. An idea, a hunch.
Hattie talks about effect sizes. For a simpleton like me, these are the measure of how effective a specific feature of education is. This pretty infographic lays out a few. Have a scan. Some might surprise you. Taking into account the fact that an effect size of 1.0 is pretty impressive, it's certainly worth considering how we deliver key elements of our curriculum, and where we focus our efforts.
Feedback comes out as massively important. Classroom management is vital. Direct instruction AND cooperative learning are both highly effective. The average teacher has an effect of between 0.20 and 0.40. That's not even a grade a year at GCSE.
Read and ruminate. It's a worthy use of valuable time.
Nevertheless, some clever people like John Hattie make educational research which is both statistically significant and interesting accessible to people like me. People who prefer a vague notion. An idea, a hunch.
Hattie talks about effect sizes. For a simpleton like me, these are the measure of how effective a specific feature of education is. This pretty infographic lays out a few. Have a scan. Some might surprise you. Taking into account the fact that an effect size of 1.0 is pretty impressive, it's certainly worth considering how we deliver key elements of our curriculum, and where we focus our efforts.
Feedback comes out as massively important. Classroom management is vital. Direct instruction AND cooperative learning are both highly effective. The average teacher has an effect of between 0.20 and 0.40. That's not even a grade a year at GCSE.
Read and ruminate. It's a worthy use of valuable time.
Sunday, 10 March 2013
Reality Pedagogy
Turns out we're not the only people aiming to make education relevant and purposeful. It's even got a name - Reality Pedagogy. Let's hope it's better than reality television.
This Prezi might give you some ideas about what our friends across the pond are doing. Having met with a few like-minded people (including the UK branch of rapgenius) this weekend in London, I think the ideas fit well with our aims. The five Cs are particularly interesting to me.
It does, however, leave this question unanswered: what is real?
This Prezi might give you some ideas about what our friends across the pond are doing. Having met with a few like-minded people (including the UK branch of rapgenius) this weekend in London, I think the ideas fit well with our aims. The five Cs are particularly interesting to me.
It does, however, leave this question unanswered: what is real?
Sunday, 3 March 2013
Marching into March.
Firstly, this article neatly sums up the forces we are fighting, and the inspired decisions made several generations ago that created the most equal society this country has ever seen.
The teaching profession is the vanguard if the movement towards equality. Each and everyday at work we provide young people a better chance of an equal opportunity in our grotesque society. Let's keep that in mind and keep working for fairness and better opportunities for each person we work with, every lesson, everyday. Let's make their experiences memorable and meaningful. Let's ensure they get the best, and that we feel we can give our best.
They deserve nothing less.
The teaching profession is the vanguard if the movement towards equality. Each and everyday at work we provide young people a better chance of an equal opportunity in our grotesque society. Let's keep that in mind and keep working for fairness and better opportunities for each person we work with, every lesson, everyday. Let's make their experiences memorable and meaningful. Let's ensure they get the best, and that we feel we can give our best.
They deserve nothing less.
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