What We Tell Children at the Start of a New Year
Why I don’t set New Year’s resolutions For as long as I can remember, I haven’t really set New Year’s resolutions. Not because I don’t care about learning or growth, but because the ritual has always felt slightly off to me. The idea that a new year should begin with a list of things I […]
The School Year Started with a Poem
The school year didn’t start with policies, schedules, or reminders about uniforms. It started with a poem. The principal addressed all parents seated in the school hall and spoke to what many of us feel but don’t always say out loud. The first day of school is a big moment for children and a tender […]
Class Size Matters. But Design Matters More
I used to think size doesn’t matter. Then I taught thirty-five students at once.That moment strips teaching down to its essentials. Because when numbers rise, there’s nowhere to hide. Every unclear instruction. Every duplicated task. Every assessment done out of habit rather than intention – it all compounds. In that class, I could see the […]
Teaching Children How to Think in an Age of Instant Answers
Long before AI entered classrooms, I was already thinking about what happens after the lesson ends. I’ve always believed that learning doesn’t belong to the teacher. It never lived only in my classroom. My role was to create the conditions, then step back enough for children to realise they could carry learning with them. Making […]
When Curriculum Expands, Something Has to Give
Back in 2012, long before AI entered everyday education conversations, I was working with teachers who were already grappling with a familiar tension. “The curriculum is expanding – and rightly so.” “But we, as teachers, are carrying everything.” Oracy. Collaboration. Assessment for learning. Cross-school exposure. All important. All necessary. And yet, each addition arrived with […]