Not a bad thing to think about at this time of year. (From Seneca’s Letters to Lucilius. 1. Continue to act thus, my dear Lucilius – set yourself free for your own sake; gather and save your time, which till lately has been forced from you, or filched away, or has merely slipped from your hands. Make yourself believe the … Read More
Keeping Children Safe in Education Quiz (and how to make your own)
In September, which seems miles away now, the government’s Keeping Children Safe in Education Part 1 section was changed. It’s the sort of document I diligently read but then, when quizzed go blank. So to help me revise, so to speak, and make reading it into knowing it, I made a quick Google form and then shared it with staff … Read More
Punctuated Equilibrium, Progress and Schools
Punctuated Equilibrium is a theory in evolutionary biology that seems to fit well with progress in students’ learning. What is Punctuated Equilibrium Punctuated Equilibrium was first proposed in the 1970s by Nile’s Elderedge and Stephen Jay Gould. They argued that while most of us think that evolution happens gradually, the fossil record showed evolution happens in spurts. Stasis (or equilibrium) … Read More
3 Men and a Donkey – Notes on hiking Le Stevenson in the Cevennes
I’ve just got back from hiking Le Stevenson with a donkey and thought I’d jot down some notes while they’re still fresh in case it helps anyone else. What is Le Stevenson? In September 1870, Robert Louis Stevenson was waiting for his American sweetheart to finalise her divorce and to kill time set off with a donkey to hike through … Read More
Praxis – The Rarest of the Three
Aristotle divided human activities into three broad categories: thinking (theoria), making (poiesis), and doing (praxis). Put another way, I suppose, they are the why, the what, and the how. In very coarse terms, and trying to link it to rhetoric, I wonder how it matches the various posts I read on Twitter and blogs. The categories match well but I’m struggling … Read More