Since the introduction of school league tables in 1992, the exam results 'achieved' by a school has grown in significance tremendously. It is now one of the main, perhaps the main, preoccupation of most secondary schools. The objective of 'improving results' is embedded in the psyche of school leaders, politicians and parents: it is the … Continue reading Stop trying to improve your school’s exam results
The recipe for misery
There appears to be a lot of home baking going on at the moment - a useful distraction from the less enjoyable task of home schooling, I imagine. As with baking, the recipe schools are asking parents to follow will to a large extent determine the quality of the end product. You can add your … Continue reading The recipe for misery
Disciplinary distinctiveness and the awarding of grades
In the scramble to 'design' a process for awarding grades this summer there is a risk that we impose a one-size-fits-all approach which fails to recognise disciplinary distinctiveness. Indeed, I would suggest that the quality of the system we design may have an inverse relationship with the uniformity of approach. Consistency of outcomes may require … Continue reading Disciplinary distinctiveness and the awarding of grades
A cautionary note about awarding grades
Many of us in a position of responsibility in a school right now are grappling with the problem of setting grades for students robbed of their chance to take examinations this summer. As far as complex problems go, this is a beaut! Already, the classic errors associated with solving complex problems can be observed. One … Continue reading A cautionary note about awarding grades
What it feels like to learn
We are embarking on a quest to recreate teaching in a virtual form. At various rates, bound by our technical abilities, every teacher, in every school, is moving from setting souped-up 'homework tasks' to attempting to recreate the surface features of the teaching and learning process. Review - instruct - apply - assess. This is … Continue reading What it feels like to learn
What it says on the tin
I swear that they were due the week everything fell apart. As we were sending children home because we didn't have the staff to teach them, as we were rapidly formulating contingency plans for the inevitable school closure, even after the atom bomb that was the cancelling of summer exams - even in the middle … Continue reading What it says on the tin
All that’s left is trust
Distance weakens our ability to control. It is an odd feature of human nature which has been brought home to me this week. Visibility is a prerequisite to compliance. Without visibility, consequences cannot be incurred; power cannot be exercised. Contained within a classroom, students are visible to the teacher: 'Sit up, Johnny'; 'Can you get … Continue reading All that’s left is trust
To the edge of chaos
It is at the close to chaos boundary that self-organizing changes can emerge. Bushe and Marshak, 2016 20/20 vision is useless when the fog descends. As long as you can see 10 yards ahead, keep walking in what feels like the right direction. *** The first casualty this week was free speech. As a headteacher, … Continue reading To the edge of chaos
This is my truth, tell me yours
What brings people together on the weekend in large numbers to listen, talk and reflect on education? This question was addressed more than once at the ResearchED Brum event I attended yesterday, and the Cymru event the Saturday before. There were various reasons posited, but for me the most compelling is simply the idea that … Continue reading This is my truth, tell me yours
Waiting for Ogod
27 months have passed and the phone is due to ring. I wasn't quite waiting by the phone at one o'clock on Wednesday, but I marked the passing of this moment in my mind. When no-one called, I knew we were home and dry for half term. I didn't want the call, but in another … Continue reading Waiting for Ogod
Matthew Evans 