Another New Chapter
At the end of June, another chapter in the adventures of the Galloway’s will come to an end, that being our adventure in Egypt. At the beginning of the month we decided not to renew our contract here at The British School Alexandria. It was a somewhat...
Daniel Willingham and TES Podcast
Professor Daniel Willingham on why teaching phonics remains so controversial and how we motivate children to readOnce more I have been remiss in my blogging. Without a proper schedule, I don’t see this ever changing and honestly time is ever short. But who knows. One...
Report Writing
There are many things about being a teacher which are challenging. But one of them, that has been on my mind, as with many teachers at this time of year, is report writing. For those unencumbered with school aged children, reports are a biannual rite of passage for...
Twitter Debates – Progressive Vs. Traditional
I have been on Twitter a while. For most of that time I’ve been a lurker. In Canada, I did participate for a while in #CdnEdChat which was where I discovered what a great platform Twitter could be for CPD. It is amazing the amount of information that can be...
Efficiency of learning – a consideration for planning?
I was reading this blog post by Greg Ashman and I had a bit of an epiphany. Bear in mind I am a Primary teacher so my focus and expertise are somewhat different from my secondary colleagues. With that said I have always thought and believed that project-based learning...
What’s with teachers and all the time they get off?
It’s often said that one of the perks of being a teacher in the amount of time off we get. Can’t really deny it, to the non-teachers I can see how it seems bonkers how much time we get off. But… of course, there’s a but… it’s not the whole story. Holidays are not...
Discretion the better part of valour
There are some things that you forget about teaching and what being a full-time teacher means. One of those things is how much time you spend ill or fighting illness. I don't mean serious illness, (such as stress related illness) but the sort that results in coughs,...
A new platform for an old blog
Blogging is something I would really like to be good at. I'm not and the chances of gaining an audience beyond my friends, family, and a few lost souls are slim. But I do enjoy it and so continue on with my amateur efforts. Since 2013 I have been using Squarespace for...
Continual Professional Development an ongoing challenge
As someone who has returned to education after a lengthy break I am more than many my age who are teaching, I suspect, keen to improve my skills. That’s not to say that teachers who have 20+ years experience aren’t keen to improve, but that they are normally the ones leading professional development not wanting it.
Parents all want what’s best for their children.
I have been teaching at the British School here in Alexandria for just over a month. There is lots and lots to commend the school for, my class is wonderful, colleagues supportive and enough prep time to make you wonder why you would ever leave here. But there are...
New beginnings and finally into a classroom.
At the end of August I will be taking up a position as a Y4 teacher at the British School in Alexandria. It has taken over three years and a distance of 36,000 km to get here but I am excited to be finally walking into my own classroom.I am disappointed that I wasn’t...