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Being a teacher with a chronic illness.
Illness is other people. Really sick people, not me. I have been a teacher for 16 years and an AS sufferer for 28 years. I have other roles in life; …
The problem with SCLY 4: Crime and Deviance option.
Dear AQA, I wanted to take this opportunity to give some teacher feedback on the SCLY 4 paper that our students sat this summer. I have been a social science …
Brexit in the classroom.
Like many in our profession, I am gutted. The Brexit result has knocked me for six and I still cannot quite believe it. Clearly, I am in Kubler-Ross’ denial stage …
Hickman out
Our final class is done and the ink is dry on your exam papers. It will be strange to think that we will not be part of each others lives anymore, I will never mark another one of your essays nor will you have to put up with my appalling jokes and long-winded stories.
The problem with linear A-levels: more for less?
Sometimes, teaching can feel like an eternal hard labour of sisyphean proportions. It can be a bit frustrating, unrewarding and repetitive. I guess it is difficult to feel as …
On wishing my students good luck
Well, here we are again. It feels like yesterday when we were just meeting and sussing each other out. Like two large walruses upon first seeing each other; suspicious but …
The institutionalised sixth former
The education system is built on inherent contradictions and tensions. There is much debate about the role of education alongside the bitter warfare of whether one adopts a progressive or …
The beginning of the end: student stress and anxieties
Phew, I had a tough first week back after half term. I seemed to spend most of my time talking to students who were experiencing quite raw emotional difficulties. Some …
Why attachment matters
Young people’s ability to form relationships is shaped by their early childhood experiences. I have found that some of the puzzling behaviour we face as teachers can be understood by …
Linear A-levels: Hobson’s choice or Morton’s Fork
The DFE announced that the reform would not dictate a particular model for AS and A-Level programmes, but I think they do. We have a classic example of a Hobson’s Choice or a Morton’s Fork.
the unconscious curriculum 