Blog posts in July 2012 
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Food for thought...
I really enjoy learning about the brain and thinking about the most appropriate strategies to adopt in order to give everyone the best opportunities to use their brains to good effect.
In September we are introducing a whole school creative thinking programme that is inspired, at least in part, by the type of thinking explained by Ian Gilbert in his two books: Essential motivation in the classroom and Why do I need a teacher when I’ve got google?.
He explains that a brain exposed to...
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Subway or the wrong way?
Friday 20 July 2012
Categories: Education, Health, Media Influence
Is a school in Greater Manchester taking a thoroughly modern and sensible approach to providing its students with appealing grub? It is in talks with Subway, the fast food sandwich chain, about opening a franchise for its sixth form. If a deal is reached sixth formers at Parrs Wood High School will have a wider choice of food on site and can make informed choices about eating healthily. Subway’s slogan is “Eat fresh” and the firm have signed the Government’s Responsibility Deal which...
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The importance of culture
Tuesday 17 July 2012
Categories: Arts education, Extra curricular, Parenting
Nicola Benedetti, the former BBC Young Musician of the Year who will perform three times during this season’s BBC proms, has spoken out about the importance of ‘a cultural identity for youth in this country’. She condemns the current obsession with celebrity, and extols the value of strong parenting and the development of young people’s capacity to work hard.
I agree. Focusing just on the power of music, I have seen so many young people benefit over the years as they have built...
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Education and well-being go together....
Tuesday 10 July 2012
Categories: Careers, Education, Self-esteem
Last week BBC News reported on the results of research by the Office for National Statistics which suggested that people who are better educated are more likely to say that they are satisfied with their lives, and to feel that the things they do are worthwhile.
Among those with A level or higher qualifications, 81% rated their overall satisfaction with life as seven out of ten or more, and 85% felt positive about how worthwhile they felt the things they were doing were. Among those who...
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In praise of boredom!
Monday 2 July 2012
Categories: Extra curricular, Parenting, Technology & the Internet
I am sure that I am not alone in waking up some mornings feeling as though I have to rush through the day frantically multitasking, unable to focus for long on individual jobs, conscious that time is passing and there is still more to do. I am perfectly aware that this is not the most effective way to proceed, but it can be hard to snap out of it in a relentlessly stimulating and immediate world.
We are in thrall to technology, addicted to screens, seemingly incapable of surviving for...