Construction.

This term, I've found myself using the analogy of construction / building structures more and more. They've always been a part of my cheesy-metaphor range (along with skeletons and flesh, myriad football comparisons, and a few Call of Duty similes) but they seem the have crept to prominence in the early weeks of this academic year.

Clearly, the construction metaphor links to a lot of what we teach in English - analysing structure, using a range of sentence types, constructing a whole text which is coherent and cohesive. Plans are the foundations, paragraphs the steel-reinforced concrete, and your sentences, vocab and other techniques complete the building to the highest standard. Come to think of it, the skeleton metaphor is the same - it's about building something with a solid frame, and fleshing it out to complete a high quality piece of work.

This is all well and good, but the metaphor can go further. Everything we do is about building something. When we plan a lesson, whether it's a five minute plan (be warned - it's pretty obvious stuff!) or a two hour mega-resourced blockbuster, we're planning to build knowledge, understanding and skill. When we develop a scheme, or adapt existing lessons, we're doing the same. The same goes for our attendance at department meetings (which I might rebrand as training if nobody objects?) and at any form of CPD - we're building our skills, constructing our abilities, building on our strong foundations.

In essence, be mindful of what you are constructing, in all aspects of your work.

One Hundred Not Out.

Somehow, this is the hundredth time I've written a blog ahead of a new week of work. Admittedly, it's largely cliche-ridden nonsense, but it's a good measure of time. It's not the greatest century ever, or the fastest, but it's had its moments.

I'm not the most (publicly) reflective human ever, but we have certainly made progress over that time. The general quality of teaching is higher. Lessons, as I saw on Thursday and Friday, are lively, focused and engaging - a hard combination to achieve. We mark like we have never marked before - literally for me. Mostly, we get along OK. Pupils seem to find English a vaguely acceptable way of spending part of their school day. These are good things. I'm sure we can all agree on that.

I'm now obliged to mention that this is all down to your consistent hard work and superb focus on getting better - whatever obstacles are placed in our way. I'm happy to mention this because it is true. There have been many changes in that time - staff, courses, pupils, ways in which we're quality assured - and you've taken them all in your stride, with a positive, personable and professional attitude. I can only thank you all, old and new, for this.

That's enough of that. Onwards and upwards, as some characters say in the final book in the Narnia series, as the world collapses around them, and Old Father Time rises, bringing tumultuous seas and reanimated characters from the first books with him. That funny little Faun who entices girls into his cave comes back too. Odd books, when you think about it.

Losing focus. Sorry. Onwards and upwards. You know the aims. The aim. It's to be better tomorrow than we were on Friday. And so on. Because you're worth it. Because the people we work for are worth it. And I'm sure you  know who I'm talking about there.*

More of the same, then. But better. Relentlessly rigorous and all that. But with fun. Easy.

*It's the pupils.

This will be the week...

This will be the week... 

When you try.

When you fail.

When you succeed.

When you inspire.

When you're inspired.

When you learn.

When they learn.

When you make someone laugh.

When someone makes you laugh.

This will be the week when all those happen, and more.

Make the week work for you.

On the road...

We're on the road again, another journey through autumnal rain, wintry deluges, spring showers and summer storms. It has to be a journey, because it can't just be another year, another day, another new initiative, another raised floor target. It has to be a journey, because, tacky as it is, it is. The good thing, however, is that we control the journey - it's our voyage.

Last week was, in my eyes, a pleasant first few days. The pupils came back in a positive frame of mind, and the atmosphere on the corridor was exactly how I like it - relaxed, focused, positive.

We must capitalise on this. Stay focused in your planning. Get to know those new children, those children who have changed, those who you know need to change. Be a positive presence on the corridor and around school - this makes a huge difference to how pupils act when they come to English. Stand for no nonsense. Plan carefully. Focus on how you're structuring your lessons - are the needs of all students being considered?

The road is long, with many a tricky lesson. Learn from these. Some of your lessons will fall flat. Learn from these. Some of your lessons will be great. Learn from these. Some of your lessons will be as dull and average as Coldplay. Learn from these, in particular.

The first steps have been good, so let's ensure that it wasn't a false start, that we don't step out of our lane, and that we keep our eyes on the target. Which is general excellence, of course.