Julia Skinner @The Head's Office
where potential can be realised
After the emotional roller coaster of my DS wedding, I have decided to take a few days off from the blog. I can’t bear the thought of you not finding something to look at though Dear Reader so will post some guest posts from people that you may have missed! ************************ This post was origianlly published by Sue Atkins on […]
Read moreWe are almost at the end of Term 2 (the autumn term in old money!). This is usually the most hectic term as it has lots of learning in it and Christmas! That means plays, shows, concerts. It is the term with colds, flu and snow. Looking at those lists, it is the term that really needs good communication between […]
Read moreThose beautiful, uniquely designed flakes of crystal water are with us again. Yes, it is snow! If you are a Christmas card designer it is manna from heaven. If you are in any other profession I suspect it is a bit of a nuisance. Up until recent years, apart from our colleagues in Scotland, heavy falls of snow were not […]
Read moreAs the debate about the White Paper moves into the frenetic stage, I was pondering about the training teachers in school bit. Now, this post is not about the rights and wrongs of such a policy. That is for the many other commentators out there. No, I wanted to think about what the implications may be. What training would be […]
Read moreWell, I’ve done it! I’ve attended a TeachMeet! For those of you unfamiliar with the phenomenon, it is exactly what it says on the tin – a meeting of teachers mostly passionate to the point of madness interested in technology and how it can enhance learning. Phrases like ‘unconference’ and ‘a coffee break that is the conference’ are other ways […]
Read moreYet again disruptive behaviour seems to have reared its ugly head! An experienced speaker, positive, upbeat person and ex deputy head Sue Atkins was really distressed that even her normal ‘I can get them to listen’ approach failed today when she was speaking to a group of youngsters about how to beat bullying. She came away questioning whether society is […]
Read moreThe October half term was always one of my favorites! It was the equivalent to Friday night after a busy week. I would look forward to that space, peace & opportunity to just stop and breathe. Needless to say, I had a list of things I was going to do over the week that probably needed at least a month […]
Read moreThe definition of teaching is ‘Impart knowledge or skill; give instruction to’ (Oxford dictionary 1966) That presumes action, interaction & ‘doing something. In his really interesting article ‘Just Watching’ Oliver Quinlan explores the need teachers seem to have to constantly engage with pupils. As a head teacher I had the privilege of going into classrooms
Read moreOne of the most exciting and new things for me when I became head of a primary school (See here) was the fact that I had children from 3-7 to look after. Apart from worrying that I might step on the nursery children (!), my other concern was that I knew very little about what was done ‘down there’ I […]
Read moreWhen I was at school, the teachers were expected to teach me the ‘three Rs’. For those youngsters amongst you that is Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. Whichever way you look at it, that is wrong in the literate package of reading, spelling & speaking & listening! I never understood how that set a good example for the teaching and learning […]
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