Category Archives: The stuff of daily life

It is Mental Health Awareness Week, in tutor time in school today there was a short animated video encouraging students to talk about the issues they face. (Two protracted periods of school closure will have far more devastating impact on … Continue reading →

Yesterday was difficult. Some children have become feral in lockdown. Perhaps it only exacerbated an indiscipline that was already there. Managing behaviour of the disengaged who are indifferent to sanctions is difficult. Lessons become occasions of containment, getting through material … Continue reading →

Tomorrow starts with two Year 7 classes. I love teaching Year 7 students, they have a breadth of vision and a wonderful sense of the absurd. They recall the many hours I spent in Dublin teaching Sixth Class pupils (twelve … Continue reading →

Books are increasingly treated with contempt, unread, tossed around, damaged. Few students have any conception of the power of books and how vulnerable they leave themselves in their obsession with social media. There was a feeling of sadness in gathering … Continue reading →

Yes, I know, there is no such thing as a seagull, they are simply gulls, but having grown up with the word, it is hard to let it go. A younger person might reasonably point out that the association of … Continue reading →