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  • Will the teaching council ever learn?

    The new draft of a code of conduct and practice for teachers really made me laugh. It’s a big and wordy document from the General Teaching Council for England (GTC) and full of the off-putting, sanctimonious language that makes teachers such as me want to go and strangle the nearest bureaucrat to hand. There are…

  • Competences through AfL

    When I first saw the word ‘competence’ stuck into the new English National Curriculum last summer, my heart descended into the abyss. Oh no, I thought, here we go again; yet more injunctions to give lots of boring grammar lessons which the pupils don’t understand. However, a closer examination of the rubric makes me think…

  • How To Make Your Child Succeed At GCSE

    So just what is the key to success at GCSE? As a teacher in various state schools for the past two decades, I still chew over the issue virtually every day! Just recently, I was talking late into the night at a Year 11 Parents’ evening. The parents of these sixteen-year-olds were desperate to know…

  • Why We Should Give Teachers A Pay Rise

    I bet there were a few teacher-hating members of the public chucking their breakfast at their television sets this morning when they saw the moaning members of the National Union of Teachers asking for a 10% pay rise at their conference this week. Even as a teacher myself, I have a degree of sympathy with…

  • How a good headteacher can save a school

    A few years back, I taught at a school that terrified me. Just walking down the corridor was hazardous. Frequently, children would rush up behind me and hit me on the back of the head, shouting out, "Gilly, Gilly, how are ya doing, mate?" When I complained to my head of year, he said I…

  • Is passion all that matters in education?

    Is stirring a pupil’s passion all that matters in edcation? Ken Robinson’s new book, The Element, suggests that this is at the heart of getting the best out of children. I appeared on Radio 3’s Nighwaves arguing a little differently. I said that if teachers just tell pupils to follow their passions then they could…

  • Getting closure

    At least my school isn’t one of the wussy ones – it’s got a blizzard-proof excuse. The comprehensive where I teach is essentially stuck in a field in Essex and is currently encased in banks of snow, encircled by treacherous roads piled high with ice and sludge and only Ranulph Fiennes would seriously consider commuting…

  • Dishing out fines won’t stop the chaos in class

    As a battle-hardened teacher, I can’t help but be a little cynical about the latest government initiative to quell indiscipline in our schools. A three-year study into classroom behaviour has called for teachers to be able to slap £50 penalties on the parents of pupils who persistently misbehave. After spending 20 years working in various…

  • Turned Away At The School Gates

    The parent sobbed openly at the reception of the secondary school where I teach: "But it’s not fair! You have to let her in!" Our secretary had to ask our caretakers to escort her off the premises. But she wasn’t surprised. Every year, she gets hundreds of calls from panic-stricken parents wanting to know why…

  • My profession needs a better voice than these morons

    On Saturday the work-shy teachers at the NUT conference backed a boycott of SATs. On Sunday they moaned about too many tough guys going into teaching (if only!). On Monday they demanded an eye-popping 10 per cent pay rise and yesterday they were threatening to strike over the vagaries of sixth-form funding. What next? A…

  • Romeo and Juliet: To what extent does Shakespeare present Capulet as being to blame for the death of his daughter?

    A pupil’s essay with teacher comments TEACHER COMMENTS ARE IN CAPITALS AND ITALICS Capulet’s character is very deceiving form the very beginning and Shakespeare makes it very clear at the end that both Capulets and Montague’s actions were to blame for the outcome as, “heaven found a means to kill your joys with love”. This…

  • Romeo and Juliet: Revision Quiz for Romeo and Juliet

    Act OneWhat are the causes of the fight in the square? List FOUR important factors that lead to the fight. What does the Prince threaten to do if there is another fight? Why is Romeo not at the fight? How do we know Lady Montague and Montague are caring, concerned parents? What does Benvolio find…

  • Romeo and Juliet: Pupil essay: Youth and Age. Should Friar Lawrence and the Nurse have been more careful about the way they encouraged Romeo and Juliet’s love? To what extent does Shakespeare present them as being to blame?

    Youth and Age Should Friar Lawrence and the Nurse have been more careful about the way they encouraged Romeo and Juliet’s love? To what extent does Shakespeare present them as being to blame? Throughout the play Romeo and Juliet were aided in their love. It was according to Romeo and Juliet love at first sight…

  • Romeo and Juliet: PUPIL ESSAY: What do you think that Shakespeare is trying to say about the feud in this play?

    William Shakespeare tries to set a scene with two families that have pure hatred for each other. Right from the first scene he tries to introduce us to the conflicts between the Montagues and the Capulets. He tries to give us a sense that the feud has been going on for a long long time.…

  • Romeo and Juliet: Exam questions on Romeo and Juliet for revision

    Romeo and Juliet essay questions1. To what extent do you think Mercutio and his death is to blame for the tragedy that ensues after his death? 2. Shakespeare’s presents fate as playing a vital part in the death of the lovers. To what extent does he convinces the audience that fate plays a central role…

  • Romeo and Juliet: Exam questions on ‘Romeo and Juliet’ with page references for quotes

    Exam questions on ‘Romeo and Juliet’ with page references for quotesComplete some detailed plans of the following questions which are grouped around the key themes of the page, the page references give you an idea about where to find your key quote but you MUST find it for yourself! Youth And Age To what extent…

  • Romeo and Juliet: Compare Romeo and Juliet’s different attitudes towards love in the play — a pupils essay with teacher comments

    TEACHER COMMENTS ARE IN CAPITALS AND ITALICS Throughout the play Romeo and Juliet’s attitude towards love changes dramatically. Both of the characters at the end of the play are willing to die for each other in the name of love. At the beginning of the play we are introduced to Romeo and we are shown…

  • Year 13: Useful websites for Child Language Acquisition

    Should you want further reading on language acquisition, these websites are very helpful and explain all the relevant hypotheses and theories:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_acquisition   http://home.cogeco.ca/~monicafitz/theories.htm   http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/ling001.html

  • Useful grammar exercises

    Log onto: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/internet-grammar/exlist/exlist.htm

  • Social Contexts and Child Language Acquisition

    Read the following two articles from the Daily Telegraph and write about whether you think that children’s changing environment is affecting their language for better or worse. Use evidence from your own investigations and research. Teacher and class notes have been added in CAPITALS. Not on Speaking Terms: Why do many children lack basic language…

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