Blogging Alchemy: Success in Secondary Student Blogging
I have set up a comprehensive student blogging platform for my classes. I have a blog for every class with a lesson stream that tracks and...
Why should my students blog?
Two days ago the long-awaited installation of internet-connected devices landed in my underground classroom. The buzz was palpable. My students, unable to contain their enthusiasm,...
Learn Through Making: The World’s Best Film Club
The London Nautical School has for the past 4 years had the privilege of participating in an international film making programme run by the French...
Winning Hurts
Most of what I know about learning I discovered through running on mountain trails. This journal entry represents my manifesto for teaching and learning in...
The Real World – A Meta-Letter to My Pupils
Picture this: a classroom inhabited by a class preparing for a “functional skills” English assessment. The students are clear about what was expected of them....
First Impressions Count
Here I write some of my thoughts as I head into the new teaching year. I recently received a message from a newly qualified teacher...
Transcending Grade Boundaries
In the eye of the GCSE English “grade manipulation storm”, I’m seeing a silver lining Almost as soon as this year’s GCSE English grades were...
Why I’m an Openly Gay Teacher
The Importance of Being … Out Why Sexuality Matters in English Chris Waugh reflects on his experiences as a gay English teacher, arguing that...