About

Experience and Expertise.

I have been a Sociology and Humanities teacher, Faculty head, subject moderator, chief examiner and Deputy Head teacher across three secondary Comprehensive schools in West Suffolk, Leicestershire and Suffolk respectively. Towards the end of my full time work in school, I became a  link lecturer and teacher trainer with the University of Cambridge Faculty of Education and subsequently, following early retirement , an International trainer on their teacher training project in Kazakhstan and Nigeria. I also worked as a director and trainer for a training co-operative , based in East Anglia , focusing on co-operative approaches to learning. All in all I have been involved with teaching and training across all age groups from 6 -66, in formal and informal settings and I continue to pursue my interest through voluntary work

Aim of ‘School of Common Sense’

To get my continuing frustration with the state of education in this country ‘down on paper’. To me, common sense appears to be completely lacking in the continual changes being made in all areas and aspects of formal education and I’m  fed up with moaning about it. I therefore decided, with the active encouragement of my daughter in law, to argue for what I believe to be a ‘common sense’ approach, in a blog.

What will the blog cover?

I want to consider big as well as smaller issues eg A big issue is the educational system itself. What is it trying to achieve? Who decides it’s make up? Does it achieve its aims? How has it changed over the years? Are people happy with it? Is there a better model ? An example of a smaller issue is the learning environment itself. What physical conditions make for successful learning? A variety of venues? separate or open spaces? stimulus materials or plain space? tables in rows or groups? softer or harder furnishings? larger or smaller windows?

Who is it aimed at?

Anyone who has an interest in education!