Today Nicky Morgan announced her ‘rallying cry’ to make children in this country “become the best readers in Europe”. Flanked by comic-celebrity wordsmith David Walliams, she has launched salvos at the publishing …
Teachers – ‘Read…Refine…Reflect…Repeat’
A short reading list for your reflection and refinement. There is a apocryphal tale, attributed often to Abraham Lincoln, though it almost certainly predates America itself, about the value of ‘sharpening your axe‘. …
We need to talk about FRED
Ok, FRED isn’t anyone you know, so apologies for the misleading title of the post, but you might not have heard about FRED and you should. Then you should tell a friend …
Curiosity killed by class?
When you become a father you get used to being asked endless questions about the intricacies of our complex world. The road is paved with unending questions. Why does this…? How does …
Teaching and Learning the Literary Canon
“To use books rightly, is to go to them for help; to appeal to them when our own knowledge and power fail; to be led by them into wider sight and purer …
Reading Fast and Slow
Reading too slowly? The movement towards a ‘slow education‘, encompassing deeper, richer learning experiences, is surely the antidote to our assessment driven, checkpoint laden curriculum. In my previous post I explained that …
Reading with Michael Gove
“I thought I’d begin by reading a poem by Shakespeare, but then I thought, why should I? He never reads any of mine.” Spike Milligan My usual attitude closely resembles a ‘less …
The Spark of Reading
In education today there are few topics that receive the unanimous support of all educators like the value conferred upon literacy and particularly the importance of reading. The evidence regarding how literacy …