I wish I could remember who it was who said, back in the day when I worked for what was at the time the biggest and most successful corporation in the world “Everyone works for the salesman.” His point was that the salesman, or account manager, as they were actually known by the time I […]
I try really hard here not to get too political which, as anyone who knows me will agree, is REALLY difficult for me. But I had to add something to the education funding debate, something to which not enough people are explicitly drawing attention. When Michael Gove originally came up with his new (or ‘repro’, […]
Objective setting is one of those areas where official advice changes with head-spinning rapidity. And don’t get me started on learning outcomes v learning objectives. The strictly positive teacher wants students to know when they come in the room what they are going to learn, and to know that they have learned it when they […]
In our classes we are still dealing, effectively, with puppies. Puppies need to be exercised regularly or they will vent their frustration in a less positive way.
As teachers, although it may be counter-intuitive, we have to be positively aware that when every time we change position – standing, sitting, leaning, crouching, facing, beside or behind a student – we send out complex messages and influence the way our students behave. Our choice of position will depend on a number of factors: […]
Fear is of no avail in education…
Students don’t arrive at your door bright-eyed and bushy tailed, eager for the spark of learning to be ignited into a flame. They get there hot and sweaty from PE, redolent of Lynx to mask the smell, or angry because they’ve been excluded from a discussion about a party which will be happening this weekend, […]
I’ve talked quite a lot about the benefits of Positive Behaviour Management and about its effectiveness in the classroom, but I haven’t yet gone into details about the nuts and bolts of how it works. It is essentially simple, but there are many strands which work together; I’ll go through all of them in the […]
Focus on the positives – don’t mention the road! Treat someone as if they were the way you want them to be. “If you treat an individual as he is, he will remain as he is. But if you treat him as if he were what he ought to be and what he could be, […]
Why are we not emulating this system? Are we too hung up on a 1950s style agenda and a rigid, frozen National Curriculum? http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/why-are-finlands-schools-successful-49859555/
strictlypositiveteaching.org 