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Monday, 19 October 2009
Sunday, 18 October 2009
The little things we say, and do.
"That's good, Amita.....no, it really is".
A student of mine, who is not the most confident of young people, tells me that she has remembered me saying the above to her several years ago. She has held onto this as a positive in her life and it has helped her through some difficult times.
Do we realise the impact we can have as teachers?
I guess I will have said some negative things that will have had a negative impact. Should I feel guilty about those?
Is it possible always to impact positively?
Saturday, 10 October 2009
ManYana Education advert 1
Educational training and consultancy working alongside as you move towards outstanding
“Life changing INSET”
Achieving tomorrow, today
A quote from a participant on one of our programmes. He later took up a promoted position and cites the work done with ManYana critical to his progress.
So, what goes on here?5 Leggatts Close, Watford, peter.blenkinsop@manyanaeducation.co.uk (M) 07 515 515 641any No. 650 27 37 VAT Reg. 930 50 60 58
ManYana Education works mainly with schools, teachers and senior leaders to help them improve their work.
Peter Blenkinsop recently retired from the headship of a London Comprehensive school that was judged outstanding in its last Ofsted inspection.
Peter has worked for London Challenge as a Consultant Leader supporting established head teachers and has developed his coaching skills so that head teachers and other senior leaders are able to become more effective in their school.
ManYana Education was started to spread these ideas further.
Peter has also worked with schools in London, Bristol and Buckinghamshire delivering programmes to schools, working with head teachers and senior leadership teams and teachers as well as students.
Quality teaching and learning are critical to the success of any
school. ManYana programmes are designed to recognise this.
Improving the working of teams, including understanding
emotional Intelligence, will increase the effectiveness of any Please read about our other programmes for
organisation and is a significant part of the work of ManYana. staff, senior leaders, head teachers and students
in this booklet and on our website:
Click to visit the ManYana website
Effective use of data, for progress.
How much data do we need to have available and use to effectively identify progress for our students? Very little, actually. Schools are data rich but, often, information poor, HMI 2007.
ManYana could help you sort out your complex data system, so that teachers have the data they need to teach outstanding lessons
Peter Blenkinsop We also create programmes specifically for you.
ManYana Ltd. We can agree the style and form of any reporting you require.
07 515 515 641 Contact us to see if we can meet your needs.01923 460 172
http://www.manyanaeducation.co.uk
ManYana Programmes Back to top
CL1 – Consultant Leader. Supporting a senior or middle leader to help them identify improvement and how they can be even more effective.
SC1 – School Review. Observation, lesson visits and interviews with staff, students and other stakeholders will allow us to give you a “real” picture of your organisation.
CR1 – Creative Problem Solving. Using techniques from Edward de Bono, TDA and NCSL staff at all levels can be taught how to creatively solve problems.
ET1 – Effective Teams. Improving team skills by understanding people and how teams work dramatically improves your school.
OT1 – Outstanding lessons. What outstanding teaching looks like and how to achieve outstanding lessons.
SL1 – Coaching Training. Give your senior and middle leaders the skills to improve the performance of others. Their lessons will improve as well.
UD1 – Using Data. Do you want outstanding use of data? How little data do you need?
ML1 – Middle Leader Improvement. Middle leaders have a significant impact on the outcomes from your school. Is it as positive as you need? It could be.
HT1 – Consultant Leader support for the head teacher. Most captains of industry have their own coaches. Someone who can support you to think more clearly and solve problems more effectively.
S2G – Satisfactory to good. We actually call this The Aspiring Teacher Programme and we support through an INSET programme those teachers who are currently satisfactory but want to move to good.
As a Head Teacher I wanted best value from INSET and costly training.
The providers were usually professional and their material was good. However, they did not deliver material that was completely relevant to our school context.
We knew quite a lot and we believed that training for all staff and students was important. What we got, if we were not very careful, was a presentation that took little, if any, account of our prior experience and knowledge.
One trainer really impressed me. We had engaged him to work for ten days on improving middle managers; developing their ability to create engaging and exciting lessons.
What he did was adapt his material, and particularly his style, to take account of what we already knew and had recently worked on.
How did he do this? Quite simply he asked us about the school.
I have adopted that process. It takes only a little additional time but it can change the effectiveness of the INSET if the presenter is able to say, for example, "I understand you have covered managing behaviour well. What I will do follows on from that work by ...".
Our programmes are excellent and they will be of significant benefit to your staff, whatever stage they are at. We can tailor our work to meet your needs even more precisely.
Peter Blenkinsop
ManYana Ltd
07 515 515 641
01923 460 172
http://www.manyanaeducation.co.uk
peter.blenkinsop@manyanaeducation.co.uk
Mixed feelings
Sharon Shoesmith, the ex director of social services at Haringey, claims that she was "done wrong". Ed Balls, she says, made his mind up too quickly, and was too influenced by a newspaper that was baying for her blood.
She also says that Ofsted "doctored" a previously ok report and published a version that said she ran a failing department.
She was in charge when baby Peter was tortured and killed and must take full responsibility for the actions and inactions of her staff.
The police seem to have been able to keep rather pure but what should they have done that might have meant baby Peter did not have to suffer in such a terrible way?
Why do I think that there is truth in ALL of these statements?
Your views?
Wednesday, 30 September 2009
Google Docs
I know why lots of folk do not see Google Docs as a real alternative to using WORD, or even Open Office. I have used all of these in my time, and many other document producers.
Why I am I such a fan?
I like so much about Google Docs that this could just turn into a long list. So, here are the most valuable bits for me:
It's free, and I like free.
My files are available wherever I can logon to a computer with internet access. It means I do not have to use pen drives or any other form of portable disc drive. The version I use in Bristol is the same as I use in London.
The changes I make in one place, geographical place, are immediately stored and are now available when I next logon. I get a great idea, make the change in Bristol and when I get to London I do not have to remember to then upload the new version.
Sharing documents. I try not to email documents nowadays. I send a link. "So what?", I can hear you say. I have very good hearing! Well, if I send the link, then make a change to the document when you read the document you always get the latest version. Super, 'cos I do make the occasional spelling and grammar mistakes, typos I call them. 8-)
I can create and use my own templates. Relatively new in Google Docs.
I don't need to use much fancy stuff so Google Docs is fine for me. I bet you don;t really have to use all the functions in WORD! You just like them there, "Just in case you need to use them".
What do I not like?
Lots of things but nothing that stops me using Google Docs.
Do I worry about Google having access, potentially to my stuff. Not really. If I were the Prime Minister then I might. I guess I would be a little more secure if I could password and encrypt documents. But I would probably not do it, just be a feature to use, "In case I needed to".
Thursday, 13 August 2009
Note taking
The Cornell method
This oldie is a highly-regarded, very common system that makes it especially easier to retain information. By reviewing things as you go, you might even get away with less studying.
Divide your page into two columns. The left one (which could also just be the back of the previous page in your notebook) is narrower. You're going to jot larger ideas in this column: the 5-dollar-words and big bullet points. In the right column, you're going to take down as much information as possible. The right column is allowed to be messy, have pictures and tables—it's not necessarily organized. To some students, it's just regular notes. But as you go, record the main corresponding idea in the left column.
Every so often, cover the detailed notes on the right and just examine the main points and new vocab. See how much you can recite and explain in your own words. Then remove your hand and see how you did. Depending on the teacher, you might do this during lulls in the discussion or after class.
Some versions of the Cornell system leave the last few lines on each page for summarizing the whole page. Since what's on a given page doesn't necessarily group together nicely, I don't recommend doing it. But summarizing can help you with wading through piles of pages when studying time comes.
For a more in-depth look at the Cornell method, take a look at our previous guide to taking study-worthy lecture notes.
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