Heatwave!

I can't help but think that we're getting a bit carried away with this 'heatwave' stuff. It's only been two weeks after all and the Met Office is issuing 'Level Three Alerts' on the News, whatever they are.

Global Warming is to blame, just as it was responsible for the cool, wet and windy weather that preceded it, the cold dry winters and the warm wet winters as well.

I'm so glad I'm not Global Warming- it gets the blame for everything.

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Independence Day

Today is the day when Americans get to eat loads of hot dogs, shoot things in the woods and be generally loud and obnoxious whilst banging on about how they are the best country in the World.

Yes, it's Thursday again.

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School Holidays

On Jeremy Vine's Radio 2 show yesterday, they were discussing school holidays and whether schools should just be allowed to decide their own dates.
At the moment, most State Schools have roughly the same holidays and the travel companies add on a huge price hike to go away in those weeks.

If every school just does their own thing, imagine a family with three kids, one at infants, one at junior and the other at senior school, all with different holidays? You'd have one of them at home virtually every other week! You could even end up with a couple who both worked as teachers but never had any time off together. (In some parts of the Country, statistically you would have at least two children and four grandchildren off at any one time with only three partners out of prison to help look after them).

However the bit I liked best was the person who said that teachers spend a great deal of the long Summer Holiday going into school and preparing for the next term. Maybe you need to if you are the Head or in the Senior Management, but any ordinary teacher who does this needs to get a life. One of the great perks of teaching is the long holidays and by refusing to admit this, we just make ourselves look silly.

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Schools Direct

So we seem to be facing a shortage of teachers again. This has happened roughly every ten years since the Pyramids were built, usually because either:

1) The economy is booming, or
2) There has been lots of bad publicity about pay and conditions in teaching.

As always, the problem is most acute in the important subjects (A shortage of Drama Teachers would simply be cause for celebration).

Anyway, the Government has brought in a new program called 'Schools Direct' where you train at a school and get paid. Sounds like a good idea. However it's only accepted about half as many trainee teachers as hoped because:

1) Not enough schools have agreed to provide the training, either on ideological grounds or because they aren't being paid enough.

2) Nobody thought to advertise it.

3) Maybe, as with all targets, the numbers were a bit arbitrary anyway.

Heads of participating schools haven't been too impressed by some of the candidates they've received. This isn't surprising when you bear in mind that all the new comedy Universities are churning out hundreds of tonnes of dross each year.

'Half of Teacher Training places unfilled' makes a good headline, but the publicity it generates will be enough to boost the numbers by the time the courses start- you mark my words. (Just don't mark the applicants' words).

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Teacher Training

The best way to learn how to be a teacher is in a school. Despite what teacher training courses might tell you, (in order to justify their own jobs) there really isn't any important theory worth knowing. All you need is lots of practice with some guidance and regular feedback from a good teacher.

This statement assumes you understand the subject you are going to teach, which unfortunately isn't always the case.

I don't care what standard of degree teachers have because they won't be teaching anything at degree level. It's no more relevant than whether they can juggle three balls or stand on their hands. I do want them to have good  'A' and GCSE results in their subject because that is precisely what they will be teaching and if they weren't very good at it themselves, I'd rather not have them in front of my kids.

ps my first book's just had its 200th review on Amazon. It's worth scrolling through them as there are some quite amusing rants
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0955285402?tag=frankchalk-21&camp=1406&creative=6394&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=0955285402&adid=1XRJ1HFTYNZXV1VXH5ED&&ref-refURL=http%3A%2F%2Ffrankchalk.blogspot.co.uk%2F

Bizarrely the sequel only has ten reviews, for which I have no explanation
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0051BID7U/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=frankchalk-21&camp=1406&creative=6394&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B0051BID7U&adid=1K0XQFJHA05P0Y3F11YG&&ref-refURL=http%3A%2F%2Ffrankchalk.blogspot.co.uk%2F

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Independent Financial Advisors

The Financial Services industry has reportedly shed 10 000 jobs in the last three months according to the Financial Times.

Now you will no doubt be distressed by this news, but dry your eyes and read on. I'll get to the point.

For years I struggled desperately to keep a straight face whenever a friend or colleague told me, usually in hushed and solemn tones, that they had "spoken to a Financial Advisor". Before the recent changes (which should have taken place 20 years ago), these actors would feign great interest in your financial future, speak very seriously about planning, security, risk and return, before recommending that you buy whichever product made them the most commission.

Simple as that. The reason I can say this with such confidence is that it's exactly what I would have done in their place. We can assume that a fair percentage of the population are just a self interested as I am and out of those people, a disproportionate number are attracted to jobs which require very few qualifications and the opportunity to earn lots of money.

The old commission system was as crazy as getting teachers to mark their own pupils' exams. Oh hang on a minute...

ps as an Independent Book Reviewer I'd recommend that you take this book or this one on holiday to read on the beach. Remember, your future happiness is very important to me.

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Contains only Natural Nonsense

Can we all please agree to stop using the word 'natural' to make things sound good? I've just seen a sports drink advertised as containing only 'natural sugars' as if there were any other types.

Natural things occur in Nature ie Arsenic, Mercury, Bubonic Plague, Deadly Nightshade, Cancer and Radioactivity. Just remember, Nature isn't just Pandas, Penguins and Koala Bears. It's chock full of things that are always trying to kill us.

Nasty 'artificial' things include central heating, Vitamin C tablets and most medicinal drugs.

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Death of the High Street

The following story neatly illustrates how most traditional High Street shopping chains deserve to go under, as they don't try to offer something that the Internet cannot.

A friend of mine wished to buy some road cycling shoes and as her city had two large cycling chains, Evans and Edinburgh Cycles, she imagined that the task would be a doddle.

Instead she described it as a wasted afternoon of total frustration. Hardly any staff and no shoes in her size. (No she doesn't have size 13 feet, she's a very average six). Both shops made vague offers that they might be able to get some by Wednesday or Friday but couldn't guarantee it because they have to go via central depot- it's the way the ordering system is set up... blah, blah blah.

Believe it or not, they both wanted her to put down a deposit before they would order the shoes in her size! I can't think of a better way to put customers off, but apparently that's their policy.

Instead she simply went home and later ordered half a dozen pairs from the internet shop 'Wiggle', which arrived two days later, (with the brilliant option of having them delivered to a local newsagent). She tried them all on without having to drive anywhere, kept one pair and simply returned the others via the same newsagent for no charge.

I'm not getting paid anything by Wiggle, but which business do you think deserves to survive?

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Jeremy Forrest

So 30 year old Maths teacher Jeremy Forrest got five and a half years. Whilst we probably agree that what he did was wrong, should he really spend more time in prison than a mugger,  a burglar who attacked a woman in her own home, or a robber who almost killed his victim?

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Invisible Children

Chief Inspector of Schools, Michael Wilshaw has discovered yet another group who are being let down by teachers- invisible kids from seaside resorts:

.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-22970674

Before this, teachers were busy letting down poor white kids, but only after they had finished letting down black pupils, girls, inner city kids, children from rural areas, disabled pupils, naughty pupils and the ones who didn't come to school at all.

Maybe if teachers weren't told to spend all their time on nonsense such as group work, differentiation, filling out endless unnecessary forms, peer assessment, role play and any other fads that Senior Management Teams dream up whilst stoked out of their heads on LSD, then they might have time to search their classrooms for invisible children.

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How to unblock my Hotmail account?

If your MSN/Hotmail Account has been hacked! 

If your MSN Account has been hacked, go to MSN email support: 

https://support.live.com/eform.aspx?productKey=wlid&ct=eformts&scrx=1 

You need to follow the password reset link and when it comes to the three options of how you want to change your password click on the last one, customer support and then fill out the form! 

You have to give all information about your problem and about your identity: 

Your e-mail (the "Windows Live ID"). 

Your first name and full name. 

Your date of birth (month / day / year). 

Your country. 

The state, province or department in which you reside. 

Your zip code. 

The IP address of each computer used to access your account, or the most commonly used. To find your IP address, visit : http://www.monip.org/ 

The answer to your secret question (if you don't remember it, notify it). 

Emergency address email registered for this account (if no emergency address, notify it). 

Your Internet service provider (at work or at home). 

The date and approximate time of your last log-in. 

For Windows Live Hotmail user: 

Examples of files names which you created in addition to those existing by defect 

Examples of contacts contained in your address book. 

Examples of old email titles contained in your inbox folders or messages. 

For Windows Live Messenger user: 

Examples of contacts contained in your contact list. 

The nickname under which you appear on Windows Live Messenger. 

VERY IMPORTANT! Write your request in a clear and understandable English, avoiding the SMS language, spelling and abbreviations ! 

Note: Remember this is the only way you can expect to recover your account!

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Why do I need to verify my Microsoft account / email address?

We require that you verify your email address when you use it to create a Microsoft account or when you add it to your existing Microsoft account. That way, we can verify that the email address doesn't belong to someone else. To sign in to Microsoft products and services, you have to verify your email address.

When you sign up or add an email address to your account, you automatically receive an email request to verify your address. To verify, just follow the link in the message.

If you try to sign in using an email address that hasn't been verified, you're asked again to verify it.

If you need a new verification link for an email address you added to your Microsoft account, request that a new link be sent to you in email.

To request verification email

1. Go to the Microsoft account overview webpage, and then sign in with your Microsoft account.

2. Click Verify next to the email address, and then click Send me verification email.

Source: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-live/account-verify-id-email-address

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How do I verify my Windows Live email address?

When you log in to the Microsoft Windows Live network using http://account.live.com/ (I have deliberately not made that a clickable URL, btw. Copy and paste or type it in for yourself to ensure you aren't getting tricked!) the first thing you should see is:

Click on "Verify your e-mail address" and...

Make sure that's the address you desire to verify (if not, you'll need to tweak some settings to update it) then click on "Send e-mail".

Message sent!

Within a few minutes in the mailbox, you'll see a message similar to this:

Again, don't click on the link, copy and paste it into your Web browser (darn those hackers and their phishing attempts anyway!). Assuming everything works properly, here's what you'll see:

Done! Now you should never see the "unverified" error again.

Read more at:  http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_to_verify_microsoft_windows_live_email_address.html#MTbFPTB2HUm3RAGK.99 

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Cannot verify my UberSocial account on BlackBerry

This may be a permissions problem.  Perform the sequence below, then after it reboots, open UberSocial, select 'options' from the menu, then click 'next' and click 'verify account'.

1. Go to the options icon on your blackberry (small wrench icon)

2.a. On new devices go to options -> Applications -> UberSocial

2.b. On older devices go to options -> Advanced Options -> Applications -> UberSocial

3. Set permissions to 'allow' and save the settings.

4. Remove and reinsert your battery in order to do a full device reset.

If this doesn't work, select 'options' from the menu, then select 'network options' and make sure the setting is on AUTO. If it wasn't on AUTO, switch it to AUTO, then save the settings, then select 'options' again from the menu, click 'next' and then click 'verify account'.

If this doesn't work use 'feedback' from the menu and tell me exactly what the error message says that comes up when clicking 'verify account'. Also tell us if your device is configured on a corporate BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES), or if you subscribe to a BlackBerry Internet data plan.

Read More: http://support.ubersocial.com/entries/427528-Cannot-verify-my-account-I-know-my-username-password-are-correct-

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How do I verify my PayPal account?

You can use your debit card, credit card, or your bank account to verify your PayPal account. When your account is verified, the sending limit and withdrawal limit on your PayPal account will be lifted.

Here's how to verify your PayPal account:

1. Log in to your PayPal account.

2. Click Get Verified below your name.

3. Follow the steps to become verified.

Source: https://www.paypal.com/helpcenter/main.jsp;jsessionid=56dnRsHRRGGFWcCShWQ6nlpZsLZDVQ88vvZ2QWv9lp5SRD8pvTTJ!476029267?locale=en_AU&_dyncharset=UTF-8&countrycode=AU&cmd=_help&serverInstance=9012&t=solutionTab&ft=browseTab&ps=solutionPanels&solutionId=1255473&isSrch=Yes

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How do I confirm my bank account (PayPal)?

You’ll be able to confirm your bank account once you’ve added your bank account and completed the random deposit process (this is when you authorise PayPal to deposit 2 small, random amounts into your bank account, which should clear in 2 or 3 working days) and obtained both amounts from your bank statement.

Here's how to confirm your bank account when you know the amounts:

• Log in to your PayPal account.
• Click Profile at the top of the page.
• Click Bank Accounts under Financial Information
• Choose the bank account to be confirmed and click Confirm
• Enter the two amounts and click Submit

If the correct amounts are entered you will be taken to the Australian Bank Agreement page. Read the Agreement and click I Agree at the bottom of the page to complete the bank funding process. Your sending and withdrawal limits are also lifted and your PayPal account is verified.

If you haven’t added a bank account or completed the random deposit process, here’s what you need to do:

• Log in to your PayPal account.
• Click Profile at the top of the page.
• Click Bank Accounts under Financial Information and follow the prompts to add your bank account.

Return to PayPal and complete the confirmation process shown above once you’ve obtained the random deposit amounts from your bank statement.

Source: https://www.paypal.com/helpcenter/main.jsp;jsessionid=56dnRsHRRGGFWcCShWQ6nlpZsLZDVQ88vvZ2QWv9lp5SRD8pvTTJ!476029267?locale=en_AU&_dyncharset=UTF-8&countrycode=AU&cmd=_help&serverInstance=9012&t=solutionTab&ft=browseTab&ps=solutionPanels&solutionId=1206866&isSrch=Yes

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How To Verify My YouVersion Account?

How To Verify My Account?

When you Sign-up for a YouVersion account, you will automatically be sent a verification email from “no-reply@youversion.com” that will come to the email that you used in the sign-up process.

It is best to open this email using a laptop / desktop with a full browser (not your mobile device) so that the weblinks work right. Open your verification email and click on the link in it. This verifies your account so you can Sign-in.

I signed up but I don’t think I got a verification email?

1. Check your email inbox again and look for an email from no-reply@youversion.com  on the date that you signed up. Did you receive your verification email? If yes: Open the verification email and click the link inside. This verifies your account.  (you may ignore any oops message). If no: Check your spam folder. Mark the email it as not spam; open the email, and click the link inside. (you may ignore any oops message).

If you still cannot find your verification email, your SPAM filter probably blocked it entirely.  To get around that, create a new “person” in your email address book with:

•  First name =  Noreply
•  Last name =  Youversion
•  Email =  no-reply@youversion.com

2. Then fill out the form here: http://youversion.com/resend to have the verification email resent.   This time it should not be rejected by your spam-filter and it should appear in your inbox.   Open the email, and click the link inside. (you may ignore any oops message)   Then you should be able sign-in to the app.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

You must click the link in a verification email before you can sign-in to the app.  If you go to http://youversion.com/resend to have it resent, and you get the message “Account is Already Verified,” then you are in good shape, and you can go sign-into the app with your Email address or username and Password.

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How to Verify your Google Account

Verification by email

When you create a Google Account, we'll send a verification link to the email address you used to create the account. Click the link in that email to verify that you own this address. If you don't verify your address, you may not be able to access certain Google products or features.

If you're not sure whether your account is verified, you can find out by signing in to the Google Accounts homepage . You'll see a message asking you to verify your account if it has not yet been verified.

If you already clicked the link to request a verification email, but you haven't yet received it, please check our troubleshooting steps.

Verification by OpenID

If you use a Yahoo! email address to sign up for a Google Account, you'll have the option of verifying that address by signing into Yahoo! with your Yahoo! email address and password. This safe, secure verification is possible because Google and yahoo.com support OpenID , which helps you verify that it's really you on participating websites.

How to verify with OpenID:

Sign up for a Google Account with a Yahoo! address (including any address ending in yahoo.com, ymail.com, or rocketmail.com).

On the next page, click "Verify by signing in at yahoo.com."

The Yahoo! sign-in box will appear. Enter your Yahoo! email address and password, then click "Sign in."

A screen will appear asking if you agree to allow www.google.com to use your Yahoo! ID to share your Yahoo! info. Click "Agree" if you would like to proceed.

You're done! With a verified Google Account, you now have access to a variety of products and features.

Always check the address bar of any page asking for your username or password to make sure it can be trusted. Google will never ask for your username or password in an email, and you should never disclose personal information such as your sign-in credentials, bank information, or credit card number over email.

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How do I verify my iCloud account?

1. Go to your iTunes

2. Click the iTunes Store

3. In the top right cornor is your Apple ID, click the "Account" option. 

4. Edit your Apple ID 

5. Enter in your everyday email account (e.g. johnsmith@hotmail.com)

6. Click "Done" 

7. It'll go to your info, to verify how you use your iTunes Account, go to the very bottom and click "Done"

8. Go to your iPod "Settings" 

9. tap "iCloud"

10. Make sure your email shows up. 

11. Your iCloud account is now verified.

12. Go back to "Settings"

13. Go to "Store" 

14. Click "Apple ID:"

15. Sign Out

16. Enter in your email, and your Apple password. (Not your email password)

Note: You need to do the changes I've given you 12-16 in order to download your apps.

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Verify Your Facebook Account

By Nick O'Neill.

Have you noticed an alert prompting you to enter your phone number of credit card in order to verify your Facebook account? Many users have reported seeing the prompt and they are getting frustrated. Especially those individuals who don’t have a mobile phone or a credit card!

While you may think that most people have a mobile phone number or a credit card, there’s a large group of Facebook users who don’t (see this Facebook thread). Unfortunately for those individuals Facebook has a larger problem that they’re dealing with: hackers and spammers. In recent months the volume of Facebook spam and hacking has reached new levels.

Facebook is taking the human verification process to new levels not just to improve their database of verified identities, but out of necessity. It’s an interesting dynamic in that improving their automated “human verification” process adds a significant amount of business value as well. If you’re hoping for Facebook to eliminate these automated systems anytime soon you are out of luck.

Facebook is only increasing these systems to prevent spam and security breaches. The result is that if you don’t verify your identity, you’ll have to enter a captcha every time you make a post on a wall or comment on a status update. The reality is that you’ll need to figure out a way to verify your identity. If you don’t have a phone number or a credit card, you can try driving across the country as this woman did.

Source: http://allfacebook.com/verify-facebook-account_b19186

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How do I verify my developer account?

Facebook has several features in place to limit the potential for spam and abuse on the site. Verifying your personal Facebook account helps you retain control of your account and apps on Facebook.

There are two ways to verify your account:

• You can verify your cell phone, which allows us to verify that a real person is in control of the account. Learn about this process.

• Add a credit card to your account.

Unfortunately, if you can't verify with a cell phone or add a credit card, you may be unable to verify your account. All developers must be verified before they can create a new app.

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How do I verify my Facebook user account?

The simplest way since then has been to go to the page for confirming your telephone number at http://facebook.com/confirmphone.php. Another way has been to add your credit card to your profile by buying some ads.

Of late, Facebook has tried to hunt down all existing spam accounts on the platform and thus users who might already have verified their account in one way or another have been asked to verify them again. This is probably due to some kind of behavior they omit on the platform.

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How do I verify my Facebook account?

After you log in, you can verify your account by adding a mobile number to it. Enter your mobile number, starting with the country code (E.g: 1 for US numbers). We'll send you a confirmation code as a text message. Enter this code into the space provided to verify your account.

You can also do this from your Mobile Settings page (Account > Account Settings > Mobile).

Note that you can only use your mobile phone to verify one account.

After you verify your account, you can take advantage of more of Facebook's features. For example, once your account is verified you can personalize your timeline URL by adding a username to your account.

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I did not receive a code to verify my Facebook account.

If you're having trouble receiving a code to verify your account you can request a new code. There are two ways to do this:

• Click the Verify link under the captcha (words in the box) that you see when sending friend requests.

• Enter your mobile number on the mobile confirmation page. Choose your country code, then enter your number without any special characters (+ or -) or leading zeros.

Note: If you see a message that says you have reached the code limit, please wait a couple of days and try again. 

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How to get verified account from twitter

1. Determine if you qualify for a verified Twitter account. Twitter verifies as few accounts as possible and only for legitimate reasons. Reasons for asking Twitter include being a highly recognizable public figure (athletes, artists, public officials, public or government agencies, etc.), or if your name and likeness is parodied or impersonated on multiple Twitter accounts, leading to identity confusion.

2. Read the Verified Account terms. These terms explain what a verified account is, what it means to be verified, who has the verified badge, identifying a verified account, etc. They can be found here.

3. Find out how to apply for a verified account. Send a direct message to this address and be sure to have the following information ready.

• Account name
• Full name
• Location
• Official website (you will be given a suggestion to put the Twitter logo or badge on your official website to speed up verification)
• Bio information (information about yourself in fewer than 160 characters)
• Primary contact name (referring to the individual who manages the account)
• Additional Contact Information

4. Wait for Twitter to respond. If you don't get a reply shortly, you can contact Twitter by snail mail or through Twitter. Keep in mind that Twitter deals with a high volume of verification requests, and that it focuses first on the most "highly sought users.

5. Follow Twitter's instructions for verifying your account. If Twitter decides that you qualify for a verified account, they will reach out to you via direct message. Click the link in the direct message to be taken to finish the process.

6. Do not change your account information. Once you have received a verification badge, it is important to keep your account information the same. Changing information, such as your profile image, can cause Twitter to remove the badge, forcing you to contact them again.

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Verified Twitter Account: Info

What is a verified account?

Any account with a blue verified badge on their Twitter profile is a verified account. 

Why does Twitter verify accounts?

Verification is currently used to establish authenticity of identities on Twitter. The verified badge helps users discover high-quality sources of information and trust that a legitimate source is authoring the account’s Tweets.

What kinds of accounts get verified?

Twitter proactively verifies accounts on an ongoing basis to make it easier for users to find who they’re looking for. We concentrate on highly sought users in music, acting, fashion, government, politics, religion, journalism, media, advertising, business, and other key interest areas. We verify business partners from time to time and individuals at high risk of impersonation.

We do not accept requests for verification from the general public. If you fall under one of the above categories and your Twitter account meets our qualifications for verification, we may reach out to you in the future.

Why hasn’t my account been verified?

If you think you meet the criteria for verification and have not yet received a badge, please be patient. We are working within key interest areas to verify accounts that are sought after by other Twitter users. We don’t accept verification requests from the general public, but we encourage you to continue using Twitter in a meaningful way, and you may be verified in the future. Please note that follower count is not a factor in determining whether an account meets our criteria for verification.

Besides verification, how can I show my account is authentic?

Linking to your Twitter profile from an official website is the easiest way to confirm the authenticity of your Twitter account. Including Twitter’s follow button on your webpage is the absolute best way to do this. Click here to learn how. Or, visit all help articles about linking to your Twitter account from your blog or website here.

How to identify an official verified account:

• The verified badge will appear in the top-right portion of a user's profile page just above the name, location, and bio.
• If the verified badge appears anywhere else on a user's profile page (such as in the avatar or the background) it is not a verified account.
• The verified badge cannot be used unless it is provided by Twitter. Accounts using a badge as part of profile pictures, background images, or in any way implying false verification will be permanently suspended.
• The verified badge will also appear next to usernames in people searches on Twitter.
• The verified badge will have the same color even if users customize the background of their profile page or change the color in the sidebar.

Why do I see two timeline options on verified profiles?

When visiting the profile of a verified user or advertiser, you will see two timeline options - with All or No replies. Some verified users like to reply to mentions from their many fans and followers, but these replies can crowd their profile timeline, making it hard to see their other Tweets that may be of more interest to you. By default, No replies is selected when you navigate to a verified user's profile. If you'd like to see that user's complete timeline, including their @replies, simply click All.

Source: https://support.twitter.com/articles/119135-faqs-about-verified-accounts

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Coursework Capers

Normally if a child hands in coursework that is worth a 'D' grade, then that pupil is told how to improve it, the work is returned to them and they bring back a new improved version in a couple of weeks time. (Note that this extra help is only for the 'D' grade children because they are the ones that matter.)

As the deadline to send off the marks to the exam board draws near however, panic sets in amongst the staff, as there will always be a few lazy pupils who haven't redone their work.

A novel approach was explained to me last week by a friend whose department simply reports all the 'D's to the exam board as 'C's and only bothers getting the kids to improve their work in the unlikely event that the exam board select one of the inflated pieces of coursework to be sent off for checking.

Everyone's a winner. The teachers don't have to chase as many kids, the department gets more Grade 'C's and the school's exam results go up. I don't know why the practice isn't more widespread.

Oh hang on, it is.

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Football and School

Footballer Luis Suarez bites an opponent in 2010, blames it on jet lag and is suspended for a few matches. No fine or sacking. In 2013, he does it again. This time he is fined a trivial amount and sent to 'Anger Management' classes.


At school, Jayden from Year 9 swears at a teacher and is sent to the Head of Year. He apologises, blames it on his teacher Mr Jones 'winding him up' and is given no more than a mild telling off. Three weeks later he does it again and is given another talking to. Have a wild guess at what he does next term?

We bring it upon ourselves.

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Teachers' Union Conferences

One of the main reasons I and many others went into teaching was for the long holidays. They are a great perk of the job and it always saddens me that many teachers don't make more use of them. It's not lack of money holding them back (how much does it cost to go for a long walk?) It's all too often lack of imagination.

One Easter Holiday activity to avoid at all costs however is the various Union Conferences, whose main purpose is to provide the tabloids with more headlines to turn public opinion even further against us. Every daft proposal and every foolish statement is Manna from Heaven for the journalists.

Here's a much better activity for those readers who live in the North. Build yourself an igloo following the instructions below

http://www.igloobuilding.org

The internet never ceases to amaze me. On learning of Amazon's purchase this morning of http://www.goodreads.com I repeated a phrase that I must have uttered hundreds of times over the last 15 years. Namely "Why didn't I think of that?"

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Behaviour

As a teacher it is important to regularly express your distaste for the Conservative Party and the 'Establishment' and absolutely vital that your colleagues know how much you hate the Daily Mail.

Such sentiment is not always unjustified. The Mail keeps its niche readership in a state of constant rage by playing to all their fears, whether it be of immigrants eating their babies or asylum seekers murdering them in their beds. It is not exactly renowned for supporting State School teachers, whom it regards (sometimes correctly) as a bunch of raving lefties.

The following article won't be news to anyone who works in a hell hole school, but it's worth a quick read if only for the comments. If you select 'best rated' then you will be surprised at how supportive of teachers they are. (Well they were at ten thirty this evening anyway). There's also some useful illustrations to remind you of what teachers, pupils and computers look like.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2298369/Parents-responsible-pupils-appalling-behaviour-class-say-teachers-blame-lack-boundaries-home.html

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School Bans Triangular Flapjacks

For years I have warned of the dangers of these lethal biscuits, but would anybody listen?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-21923218

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Financial Advisers

For some reason an oily man who described himself as a 'Financial Adviser' wanted me to "talk over some investment possibilities" with him last week. (Seriously, this is how these people speak).

"Do you have an enormous house, a selection of holiday homes in desirable parts of the World, a posh car and a yacht?" I asked.

His baffled silence saved me from asking the obvious followup:

"If you don't know how to make a success of your own finances, why on Earth would I want your advice on mine?"

Taking financial advice from someone who isn't ridiculously wealthy, strikes me as being about as smart as listening to my views on diplomacy.

(Oh and someone is going to pull me up on the punctuation in that first paragraph).

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Kids of Today

Here's a bizarre BBC News article where a man in his early 50s goes back to the rather nice school he once attended and wonders why it it's full of aspirational, well behaved, mature young people rather than mindless yobs, vandals and dropouts. (Which of course is exactly how it would have been when he went there).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21922893

Did the BBC never think to send him to St Thickchilds? Our inner city hell hole could have supplied him with plenty of miscreants to keep him happy. I'm sure that his face would be a picture of delight when some 'rebellious pupil' swore at him or spat on him as he walked under a classroom window. Just imagine how proud he would be on returning to his car to find that it had been scratched with a key by some young 'challenger of society's values'.

Most kids today are fairly sensible. Most kids always were.

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Facts and Learning

When I did my teacher training in the late '80s, advocating any sort of rote learning (or indeed any learning) was about as wise as openly declaring your love for Margaret Thatcher. When I asked how kids were supposed to learn their tables or spellings, everyone laughed at my old fashioned foolishness. This is the modern world, our lecturer told us. There are new and more exciting ways to teach nowadays (and one day there may even be telephones that do not have to be plugged in to the wall.)

This is still the situation today. Critical thinking, group projects and working things out for yourself are far more important than simply learning facts. Why would children need to waste their time and clutter up their brains learning things when we have Google, which can tell us anything we wish to know.

Now my problem with all this is that if you have no facts to compare an answer with, then you can never judge it's authenticity. For example, if I ask you what the Gross Domestic Product of the UK was back in 1970 and you tell me that it was £25, then I need some related knowledge before I can say whether this is likely to be correct or not. We have been brainwashed in teaching to regard everyone's views as equally important and we think that simply having an opinion somehow has some value in itself.

Now whilst I'm not saying that everything should simply be learnt off by heart, I don't agree that it is a waste of time. Rote learning teaches young children to concentrate. We are forever hearing that pupils have much shorter concentration spans than they once had and this is blamed on the increased pace of modern life. Why don't we try and improve their concentration rather than just accepting it? There's also a nice calming effect which we could really do with later on as well.

Repeated practice is also immensely effective and enables you to recall a skill or fact years later. I still say "amo, amas, amat..." whenever anybody asks me whether I did any Latin at school, whereas I just stare blankly with my mouth open if they enquire about anything I did in Geography. I also never had a clue how long division worked, but was perfectly capable of doing it. Debates and peer-centric review? No, just learn and practice and you'll be fine.

(By the way, this post is not meant to offer any support for the teaching of Latin in school, which is a complete and utter waste of time).

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Snow Again

Apologies that my recent output has been less than a Cypriot cashpoint machine, but I've been busy. (Well by my standards anyway).

Right, here's two things that have caught my attention recently

1) Many young teachers seem to be applying for promotions incredibly early on in their careers. Eg  a second year teacher got a deputy head of department job and another became a Head at 31. Now this either means that they are incredibly aspirational and talented, or that there is a preference for younger staff, or simply that older teachers just don't want the extra workload and stress that comes with these positions.

2) If the parents of kids at the top or bottom of the ability range at Secondary school ever found out how much resources are concentrated on the C/D borderline kids, there would be uproar. Getting Harriet an A* grade or teaching Jayden to read is of no importance whatsoever. The best teachers along with extra revision classes and intensive tuition days are thrown at that one important group.

(Oh, for those of you outside teaching, the A* grade was brought in because the ordinary A grade became devalued as they were awarded for little more than filling your name out correctly)

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HS2

Well I suppose we can hardly complain about Britain's infrastructure and then whinge when those in charge try to fix it, can we? Mind you, wouldn't a couple of extra lanes on all our motorways help more, cost less and not spoil anybody's garden?

I also wish that we wouldn't make ourselves sound so ridiculous by quoting a finish date that is decades away. It just doesn't sound very likely to actually happen. If we are really going to do it, why can't we do it right now?

Also, I couldn't help but laugh when I saw that Sheffield's station is going to be at their out of town shopping centre. Residents in the South West of that city (the only group who will be able to afford to use the new service) will probably see their journey times to London increased.

Finally, I've just noticed that my 'autobiography' has more reviews on Amazon than Richard Branson's. That's got to mean something, but I'm just not sure exactly what.

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