One of my readers commented that this was the most important book on education since Summerhill. Quite a statement.
Featured book – A passion for Education – The Story of a Headteacher – the blurb
A Passion for Education – The story of a Headteacher
A Passion for Education – A memoir, a revelation, an angry exposure – the story of how a maverick Headteacher created an outstanding school.
I taught in Secondary Schools in England and America for thirty six years. I focussed on the child. I concentrated on fun, exploration, wonder, awe and investigating all that was incredible. It was a journey of adventure.
My school was based on respect, responsibility, empathy, and relationship. Tolerance, happiness and equality was the basis for our huge success. We became the best in the country with three successive Outstanding Ofsted’s.
This is my story. It doesn’t pull punches.
If you want to read all about it you can buy it here:
Education – A Passion for Education – The Story of a Headteacher
I taught in the secondary school system in a comprehensive boys’ school for thirty six years. My subjects were Biology, PSHE, Sex Education, Drug Education, Science and Rock Music (yes I got it into the curriculum).
I did twelve years as a Deputy Head and five as a Headteacher. We achieved three consecutive ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted inspections and we did it my way – without regard to the government initiatives – with child centred education, mixed ability teaching, a rich curriculum, Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning and huge dollops of Restorative Practice. Every one of my students was equally important and they were all stars. Their self-esteem was paramount. The results flowed out the other end.
The book tells the story of my education and my philosophy. It’s a philosophy of success.
Here’s a review:-
An ex Headteacher’s View – Free School’s – A complete waste of money, political gimmick and an anathema to integration.
What is wrong with these idiot politicians?
Instead of fixing things they introduce bribes in order to buy votes.
Free schools are the stupidest idea yet. The Tories seem to like stupid ideas.But Free Schools take the biscuit – they do four extremely stupid things:
a. They increase the number of Faith Schools – promoting the brain-washing of our children (The various religions, creationists and the like can’t wait to get their hands on our kids) and creating further segregation that feeds the sort of extremism we are seeing with ISIS. Do we really want to have isolated communities? Do we want ghettos of different religions and cultures? Do we want them maintaining different values? Or do we want an integrated community with variety, respect and shared British values?
b. They panda to parents in areas where schools are being closed because of falling numbers. It is not economic sense to keep schools open at huge cost. I thought these were times of austerity? This is an expensive bribe to buy votes! The Local Authorities know what is viable and what isn’t. These decisions are never popular.
c. They are sucking funding out of other schools. At a time when all schools are suffering with huge cuts this is insane.
d. Free schools run on different standards. They do not even have to have trained teachers! If Ofsted and the stringent teaching rules are so necessary for our State Schools why aren’t they needed here?
INSANITY on many fronts. When are we going to get intelligence being applied. I’m sick of political dogma!
If you want to know how to run an Outstanding Secondary School then buy my book on education. It’s very readable. You don’t even have to be a teacher to enjoy it. It’s just plain common sense. Parents in my village love it :
Education – The Future of Education – Extract from ‘A Passion for Education – The Story of a Headteacher.
I wrote this book after I retired. It tells it how it is.
Here is an extract.
 The Future of education
Britain is renowned for its innovation, creativity and invention. It was not for nothing that the industrial revolution started up here. That is what we are good at. That is what our education system needs to foster.
We seem to be at a perennial cross-road.
We have people harking back to the past and people looking forward.
I’m in the forward thinking group. I believe the world has changed. There is a whole new technology out there. We need an education system that reflects this and prepares students for that world. We must enable our students to compete with the rest of the world. Our country’s economy depends on the skills of its citizens.
This is the age of computers, I-Phones, Wikipedia and the World Wide Web. There is no need to remember information. It is there at your finger tips. There is no need to write up experiments; you can record them on your phone, fill in tables on your phone and look up whatever you need.
This is an age that really favours creativity, innovation and invention. All we have to do is harness the technology and free the imagination. We let all that passion and enthusiasm lose on the world and help guide it. Students love to learn. It is human nature. We have to nurture that enthusiasm. All too often it is present in primary school and dies the death in secondary. That is because the students are stifled by the process of education.
Free them!
I am all for seizing the future. I wish I had access to those resources when I was in the classroom.
Some schools are banning phones because they see them as a distraction. I argue the opposite. I would embrace them whole-heartedly. I would have the students using phones in every lesson. I can imagine science lessons with endless investigation and experiment; with students recording on their phones and beaming their results and conclusion through to the teacher.
How exciting!
How motivating! Newton would have loved it!
What fun!
That’s the future! Surely that’s the future!!!
Review: In this autobiographical account of his life as Head Teacher of Beverley Grammar School, Chris takes us through many of the failings of the post-war education system to the much superior, more flexible teaching of the twenty-first century. Along the way, he enthuses about rock music, leadership vs management, and – particularly – the kids. If you can make every lesson fun, every child feel cared for, and every staff member nurtured, attendance and results will pretty much look after themselves. You can pass every Ofsted inspection with flying colours, and your school can become best in class (no pun intended).
I was at college with Chris, and it didn’t seem to me then that he was destined to be a head teacher of a secondary school – a music critic, more like. He has done education a great service by showing you can be a rebel and get results too. I hadn’t expected to enjoy this book as much as I did; it has extraordinary energy and a lust for achievement. Every teacher should read it! 8/10 (October 2014)