I have been writing and thinking about minimalism in teaching for four years, as this piece in The Guardian from 2017 explores. Minimalism argues for a decluttering of our lives to facilitate a calmer, more organised way of living and working. The principles are based on ruthless prioritisation and the frequent clearing out of all that is unnecessary. Its supporters argue that it provides a calmer,...
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I am a strong believer in the benefits of writing in supporting mental health and wellbeing. I know how much it has helped me, particularly over the last five years. Oliver Sacks captures the immersive power of it poignantly in the final paragraph of his autobiography ‘On The Move’: “The act of writing, when it goes well, gives me a pleasure, a joy, unlike...
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If you are anything like me, you have been asked to repeat yourself about a thousand times in this new online teaching world, and you are talking more than ever before. I am hoping sharing this chapter from my first book ‘Slow Teaching: Finding calm, clarity and impact in the classroom,’ (which somehow came out almost three years ago) might help make this exhausting process...
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I’m delighted that today is the publication of my third book ‘Teacher Resilience: Managing Stress and Anxiety to Thrive in the Classroom’. As much as a I love the process of writing, I didn’t expect to publish another book this year. To be fair: I didn’t expect much of how this year has turned out! In an attempt to maintain some sanity in between wrestling...
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LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS | LISTEN ON SPOTIFY | LISTEN ON GOOGLE PODCAST How can we keep teachers in the profession? It is a question that many are wrestling with and the retention rates suggest that in many ways, we are struggling to find the answers. Haili Hughes has invested a significant amount of time exploring this issue. She is the author of the excellent...
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LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS | LISTEN ON SPOTIFY | LISTEN ON GOOGLE PODCAST This episode of ‘The Well Teacher Podcast’ is pure escapism, a chance to take forty five minutes away from the walls that might be closing in on us, to step away from the endless news stories and to have a furtive espace from family members! Instead, I am really excited to take...
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LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS | LISTEN ON SPOTIFY | LISTEN ON GOOGLE PODCAST The country, as we all know far too well, is now in lockdown. We have, however, one glimmer of hope – once a day we can escape the confines of our homes and exercise. One of the most efficient and effective ways we can do that, is to go for...
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LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS | LISTEN ON SPOTIFY | LISTEN ON GOOGLE PODCAST Like everyone else, just over a week ago I was teaching like normal in school. There was some sense of unease, some growing concern – but everything was going along as usual. I had a sore throat and had been coughing for a couple of days, but hadn’t thought much about it....
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Challenging the narrative of teacher wellbeing. Kat Howard @SayMiss is a woman on a mission: to stop the patronising wellbeing advice often offered to teachers, and instead have a real intellectual dialogue about what we can about teachers being driven out of the profession. Kat, a deputy headteacher and an English teacher is the first guest on ‘The Well Teacher podcast.’ She is the author of...
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Five years ago I had a complete breakdown, which left me with bed bound for weeks and emotionally and physically drained. I was living life at a relentless pace, working ridiculous hours and juggling lots of early responsibility in management in a school in central London. I did eventually return to that employment, but at the end of that school year I moved schools, back...
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