Photo by Gratisography on Pexels.com “Great teachers are born, not made” is one of the great myths of teacher training. Unfortunately, it is also a myth which makes its way into the subconscious of prospective teachers. As we prepare to begin a new academic year in initial teacher education, I know there are soon-to-be beginning … Continue reading You Don’t Have to Be a Natural: Overcoming Imposter Syndrome in Teaching
Photo by Binti Malu on Pexels.com Every newspaper/ magazine article I read at the moment seems to be a countdown of one sort or another: 10 best fiction books of the year, 20 top gifts for the men in your life, 10 best Christmas movies you should absolutely watch now. Last week, as the first … Continue reading Festive Countdown: Teacher positives to head off the January blues
Photo by Lukas on Pexels.com Most beginning teachers are very concerned about what they should wear on their first day at their school placement. Do they need a tie? Are these shoes (imagine a comfy formal shoe with echoes of trainer) ok? Do tattoos need to be covered, and piercings removed? Why is this one … Continue reading What New Teachers Should Know About Professionalism: It’s about more than your shoes.
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com I was recently in a conversation with a beginning teacher who told me about an interview question they had been posed. Then they laid down a challenge: “I’m interested what you would have said”. The interview question was interesting, and not one I’d heard before: What three substantive historical … Continue reading Tough teaching interviews: reflections on intentions and impacts
Photo by Markus Winkler on Pexels.com In the past few weeks, I’ve been asked the question ‘should I apply for this job?’ both by beginning teachers and more experienced teachers looking for a promotion post. It has led me to wonder why so many seemed consumed by this question, by a fear of making the … Continue reading To apply or not to apply – that is the question.
Regular readers of this blog will know that I have a soft spot for Strictly Come Dancing. During Saturday evening’s (2023) final, Anton Du Beke uttered the following words, when addressing Ellie Leach following her final dance of the competition: “I’ve danced where you have [for] many years, and the joy of sitting here is … Continue reading Anton’s wisdom: Finding the joy in mentoring beginning teachers
Photo by Thirdman on Pexels.com Damien is a strong beginning teacher. He is diligent and organised and has developed effective approaches to planning. He can effectively ‘run a room’ and his classroom environment is calm. Transitions between tasks are smooth, he forms positive relationships with pupils, and behaviour management is usually effective. He fits well … Continue reading Walking the walk, just not talking the talk: Developing teacher voice and classroom persona
As a beginning teacher you hear about the necessity of self care A LOT. It can, however, quickly become yet another thing on your ‘to do’ list and feel like a burden rather than an act to strengthen your well-being. Mindfulness, exercise classes and sports clubs, religious worship, time with friends, hobbies and time for … Continue reading Self-care habits to help beginning teachers move from surviving to thriving
Photo by Edmond Dantu00e8s on Pexels.com Every year I observe our beginning teachers applying for jobs, and every year it is hard to predict how the die will fall. Invariably a few fortunate souls will get the first job for which they apply. Equally, a few unfortunate beginning teachers will end up applying for quite … Continue reading Pipped at the post: how to support beginning teachers struggling to get their first teaching job
Photo by 10 Star on Pexels.com On 21st April 2020 at the height of the UK’s first Covid-pandemic lockdown, Damian Barr’s tweet, about the varying ways people were experiencing and ‘coping’ with the challenges of that period, went viral. This analogy took on a life of its own because it so brilliantly evokes something we … Continue reading The Comparison Compulsion: Sailing your own boat
This blog is jointly authored by Vic Crooks and Laura London based on a presentation we gave at the Historical Association Conference in May 2022. Back in January, this blog introduced you to Tom who was struggling to understand why things were going wrong in his teaching. His mentor has identified ‘pace’ as an … Continue reading Avoiding the Observation Trap: Interpreting generic mentoring approaches through a subject specific lens
*This blog is written within the context of the secondary phase. Photo by Anna Tarazevich on Pexels.com Since Hakim started at Skyview Academy, high levels of staff absence have meant he has been working alongside a number of supply teachers and cover staff rather than the class teachers to whom his timetable is attached. Recently, … Continue reading Let’s work together: Supporting your mentee to work with support staff *
Photo by SHVETS production on Pexels.com The start of the lesson hooked pupils into the learning beautifully and Tom, the beginning teacher, valiantly moves the class onto the first independent task. Within minutes the lesson, which promised so much, has been overtaken by a ripple of off task behaviour. By 5 minutes in only the 3 most compliant pupils have achieved anything even vaguely resembling a response to part … Continue reading Targeting Tom’s Transitions: Moving smoothly between phases within a lesson
Within the pages of every teenage girls’ magazine you'll find a flow chart quiz which, if taken, will allow you to work out what your ideal pet/ band/ TV Soap character/ boyfriend would be. As a younger teenage girl who had laid her hands on a contraband 'Just 17', I would avidly pour over the … Continue reading Finding your way with Questioning: A practical approach for getting better at questioning
Photo by Vojtech Okenka on Pexels.com I love baking and all things cake. So, having recently written about what mentors might learn from Strictly, I now turn my attention to what beginning/ early career teachers and their mentors might learn from Bake Off and the nature of the three baking challenges included in each episode. … Continue reading Showstopper Lessons: What Beginning Teachers and their Mentors can learn from GBBO.
Photo by Marko Zirdum on Pexels.com Watching Strictly Come Dancing this past weekend I was struck by the way the judges gave feedback to the contestants in week 1 of the competition. Unsurprisingly my mind turned to the beginning teachers just starting out on their own journey from novice to competent over the course of … Continue reading Strictly Come Teaching: Giving feedback to novices
Photo by Ekrulila on Pexels.com If the pandemic period has convinced me of anything it is that developing professionals with agency is vital for society. The ability to imagine an alternative to what is already known and practised, and to find a way of enacting that imagining, has been part of our daily experience over … Continue reading Turning on the head of a pin: Why developing agency in beginning teachers matters
Becoming a History Teacher 