Category: Debating in Schools

If Teachers Want Confident Pupils They Should Teach Them to Communicate Well

October 12, 2017

The Sutton Trust report ‘Life Lessons, Improving essential life skills for young people’ (Oct 2017) makes interesting reading. There is much to discuss within its pages. One of the things that stood out for me is the need to teach written and spoken communication ‘skills’* including debate, argument, speech and the art of conversation. When asked … More If Teachers Want Confident Pupils They Should Teach Them to Communicate Well

Classroom Talk, Some Thoughts on the EEF Report…

July 9, 2017

I think the three ‘Rs’ of Reading wRiting and aRithmetic should be expanded to the four Rs and include Rhetoric or oRacy, in other words: talk should be an essential core component of a good education. Schools should do their utmost to ensure children read well, write well, do their sums well and talk well. … More Classroom Talk, Some Thoughts on the EEF Report…

School 21, A ‘Conversation’ With Peter Hyman.

February 26, 2017

Late last year I had a long conversation with Peter Hyman in which we looked at areas of agreement in our education philosophies and areas where we disagree. This conversation took place within the walls of Windsor Castle, a most un-revolutionary backdrop, steeped in history, a place beautifully unencumbered by 21st Century thinking, unless you count the aeroplanes … More School 21, A ‘Conversation’ With Peter Hyman.

Katie Hopkins, Denial, and Teaching ‘Critical Thinking’

February 12, 2017

AQA state that: A-level Government and Politics enables students to develop their critical thinking skills and enhance their ability to interpret, evaluate and comment on the nature of politics. For a teacher this is quite a challenge, especially in ‘politically charged’ days like these. Days in which the ‘politically impartial’ speaker of the House of … More Katie Hopkins, Denial, and Teaching ‘Critical Thinking’