Highs and lows in the classroom
“Mummy, it says you don’t need to restrict screen time!” It would seem that my 10-minute holiday luxury of putting the news on in the mornings has backfired! I thought it might be educational for the children if they wanted to watch it. They have certainly learnt something, just not necessarily what I wanted them... Continue Reading →
The Times Top 100 Independent Prep Schools league table was published last week. I am proud to say that Banstead Prep does not appear in it. Despite outer appearances, I am quite competitive. A suggestion in a recent staff meeting for a league table of commendations awarded by each teacher made me fizzle inside with... Continue Reading →
Has listening become an elusive virtue? Amidst the plethora of screen options that assault our senses every day, maybe it is not a particularly appealing one? In today’s society, there are so many virtual reality options available that reality itself seems to have become less enticing. However, despite the fact that parents are encouraged to... Continue Reading →
“Why do they have to learn French anyway?”I was in my first teaching post and this was the question that frequently took me by surprise - not from the children - but from the parents. It was a school very different from the one I am in today. I would have thought the benefits of... Continue Reading →
Why “Any questions?” is not a very good question in the classroom. I’m sure we’ve all done it. We come to the end of our introduction to the lesson in which we have outlined the essence of our topic and explained what needs to be done next, and we turn to the sea of expectant... Continue Reading →
I used to teach French and German at secondary level. Then I had children of my own. When I went back to teaching, my career had morphed into a version of itself where the people I taught had runny noses, could not stay on their seats for an entire lesson because they had too many... Continue Reading →
If children are struggling to learn to read and write in their own language, why should we expect them to learn another? In every school I have been in, both secondary and primary, I have been told by at least one parent (not asked) that their child is dyslexic and therefore “will not be able”... Continue Reading →
Anyone who was watching Have I Got News For You? recently, might have cringed when Ian Hislop made reference to what a group of ex public school boys are like when they get together. Worryingly, but not unpredictably, he was referring to our current government and the sexism that still prevails in various quarters, albeit... Continue Reading →
Ikea. Ikea on a Sunday afternoon. Ikea on a wet Sunday afternoon. My advice is simply, don't! But if the lure of the simple to construct, immaculately finished, on trend, slightly impersonal but nevertheless must have furnishings is too much to curb, then here is my advice: Avoid asking the assistants for any assistance! Any query as to the whereabouts of something specific... Continue Reading →
Adventures at the chalk face 