Diaries of a New(ish) Teacher

‘We had it harder when I was younger’ People of a certain generation seem to wear this as though it is a badge of honour, the pride they take in surviving a terrible system makes it so they cannot comprehend that students now also have it hard. Social Media The power of social media in modern society is undeniable, many students are actually addicted to using their mobile phones and with this come numerous issues that just didn’t exist when I was younger. Access to phones allows every mistake, every comment, every awkward situation to be immortalised and shared across the world. This may even haunt them in the future – the recent raft of comments from people in high-profile posts or celebrities coming back to haunt them is a clear example of this. Constant communication and the cloak of annonymity phones can afford result in bullying to reach more students more regularly: where home used to be a safe space it, sadly, is no longer is a refuge from bullies. At the time of wr...

Reading time - 5 mins Keynote Speech – Baronness Estelle Morris As we filed into the room to take our seats I could sense a real energy and purpose about the place, many were present who had battled through treacherous conditions to get to the venue epitomising their dedication to their craft. I could dedicate an entire blog to this keynote speech, but I will stick to the key takeaways. ‘Research has the significant power to change education, if we have the passion, ambition and the knowledge’ This is based on the idea of teaching as a profession having a shared body knowledge that is evidence based, so that new teachers don’t feel the need to reinvent the wheel but can stand on the shoulders of the giants that preceded them. If we want to truly progress ourselves as teachers and the profession, we need to be the next set of shoulders upon which the next generation of educators will stand. ‘What makes a movement?’ Estelle also discussed the feeling she had that evide...