Teaching creative writing
teaching english

Curriculum change

  • Four reasons there is a Connected Curriculum at Goldsmiths

    Why bring all the students at a university together to learn critical thinking and research skills?

  • Michael Gove offers social justice in reverse. That’s why I back the strikes

    Gove’s conference speech was misleading – his education policies give more power to the privileged and fuel social segregation The main claim made by Michael Gove at the Conservative party conference was that his education policies are focused on “social justice”. It was a lacklustre speech that sounded more like a list of acknowledgements. For a large…

  • The government is wrong to devalue vocational qualifications

    Vocational courses help students develop key skills employers are crying out for. League tables should reflect this The government’s decision to drastically downgrade the value of vocational qualificationsis deeply troubling for teachers like me, and must be sending many schools and colleges into a tailspin of despair. At the moment over half a million teenagers are…

  • PISA versus SATs — which assess reading the best?

    The key question that arises from much of the data that’s generated about pupils’ attainment is what test best assesses pupils’ ability in reading. We know that the current government like the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) a great deal and are suspicious of Key Stage 2 tests, which they don’t like because they…

  • Five reasons why Media Studies is a great subject

    I used to be a bit sceptical about the whole idea of Media Studies until I started teaching it at A Level. The process of choosing a suitable syllabus (we opted for OCR), devising schemes of work and delivering the lessons over the last few years has now convinced me that it should be an…

  • Is extending the school day the key to raising standards?

    Braving the ice and snow on my bike, I cycled down to the King Solomon Academy (KSA) near Marylebone station today. Behind the black gates of the entrance there’s a huge banner proclaiming  ”Climbing the mountain to university” which told me a lot straight away. This Academy, run by ARK, an education charity, is all about instilling high…

  • Why does Gove believe dead languages and Ancient History are more important to learn than the Arts, R.E, Sports and Technology?

    It’s official. Finally, Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, has proclaimed that Ancient History is more important than a whole raft of subjects that might actually teach our teenagers something of value. If you look at the list of “approved GCSEs” for the English Baccalaureate, you’ll see that Ancient History sits proudly there as an approved…