IST’s class of 2019 nominated me to give their graduation speech. It was a special way to end my time…
TEDx: Why Stories Matter
On 23rd March I gave a talk at the International School of Tanganyika’s TEDx Upanga event. The talk is reproduced…
Teaching Wonder: Moving Past Language Features
I am a big advocate of explicit teaching. If you want students to have a thoughtful, productive discussion, you need…
Trying to Get Would-Be Investment Bankers to Think About Teaching is No Bad Thing
On Tuesday, Teach First tweeted about someone who graduated from the programme and now runs an investment banking consultancy (see…
Text Choice: Why Representation Matters
When I was a student I never had any difficulty identifying with the writers and the texts that we studied.…
African Writers: Broadening the Literature Curriculum
This blogpost consists of a description of a range of novels by African writers and gives suggestions for how teachers…
Treat English Teachers as Professionals: Give Them More Choice
When I started teaching the International Baccalaureate (IB) just over a year ago I was shocked and delighted by the…
Should Teachers Express Political Beliefs?
Last week a student asked me who I voted for in the general election. I faltered. I couldn’t decide whether…
Teaching the Truth
You know there’s something wrong with our education system when (according to an Ipsos Mori poll) only 9% of British…
Can Civic Education Prevent the Death of Democracy?
In 2012, former Supreme Court Justice David Souter argued that if citizens understand their system of government and know who…
Half Educated 