David Rogers

It's just, it's just the simple things, pure incidentals, It's like stayin' up 'till midnight and talkin' about ... absolutely nothing .  My favourite campsite (Dol Gam, pictured above) has hot water, toilets and recently electricity. And there a quality pub up the road.  I've been going there since I was around 13. Together with the walking kit, and a map, I don't need much to achieve a great deal in the mountains. I just have to put one foot in front of another, have a rough aim (subject to change) and some fuel to scoff.   In schools, we have a wealth of tools.  Take data.  Many schools track the performance of individuals and groups of students across every year group. It makes me angry when this is seen as a desk exercise, although the fault is my own. This is important as the intervention and budget planning ultimately is decided by people who are removed from the chalk face.  If the predictions aren't accurate, the school can't ...

In an effort to link to  yesterday's  post, I picked up a book tip from geography legend and  colleague  Alan Parkinson :  Feral: Rewilding the... .  At Patcham High, we have a Drop Everything And Read policy where everyone on site reads for fifteen minutes a day.  Feral is my current DEAR book. This morning, I read the chapter linked to (re)introducing beavers and other 'keystone' species, such as wolves, to ecosystems.  George points out, that ecosystems are so complex, we couldn't possibly know what effects one action may take.  Similarly, the purpose of rewilding, is the rewilding process: there is no endpoint. I see the mass restoration of ecosystems, meaning taking down the fences, blocking up the drainage ditches, enabling wildlife to spread. Reintroducing missing species, and particularly missing species which are keystone species, or ecosystem engineers. These are species which have impacts greater than their biomass alone would...

Teaching is a great job because I'm both delighted and challenged every day.  Although it's like training for the Olympic games. Every nine months.  The same cycle. Similar lessons. The same spaces.  But, with is remarkable is that, given similar ingredients, there can be vastly different experiences and outcomes. It's tempting to do the same every single year.  To expect the same because curriculum change is so scary and huuuuuge.  However, just like the road fragment above, shaped by the waves, the application of constant force and gradual change can lead to astonishing transformations.  The force in school is us.  The impossible surface the curriculum, Government, testing..... Today, I thought I'd hit Year 7, mixed ability with some scary, GCSE type of geography.  The lesson combined the Ice Ages, Geological Timescales, Glaciation and NO SELFIES. This was challenging enough.  However, I've found that nothing is to be achie...

First thing's first: Now that's the selfie done, let's talk about the teaching tool.  I used ' my life elsewhere ' today with my Year 10 class as we were talking about using economic and social measures of development. Before you read much further, visit the site and have an explore.   This wonderful nugget of a site came from  Matt Podders , general legend of a geographer.  I've chosen to use this as an illustration of how connected teaching is beacuse I came across it on the SLN Geography Forum.  To me, one of the appeals of the 'chalk' face has always been that you're basically left and trusted to get on with it on a day to day basis.  That means that teachers can subvert.  At least, that has always been the case for me. However, that really becomes a bit of a mission, especially when the educational landscape is shifted so much.  Geography, in particular, is a dynamic subject that changes each week.  That's when be...

I'm a shooting star leaping through the skies Like a tiger defying the laws of gravity I'm a racing car passing by like Lady Godiva I'm gonna go go go There's no stopping me Interesting thinking and reflecting about what is essential to every school day, especially when struggling up the inclines of the South Downs this afternoon!  I remember the exact moment when the penny dropped at what a huge, cool  thing being a teacher was.  I was in  Klute  (voted worst nightclub in Durham) coming toward the end of my diagnostic  teaching practice. Loads of wannabe teachers were there.  Then  Freddie  exploded into my mind. To me, my teaching approach is a product of the geographical rucksack I carry around with me.  It's not always physical, but is made up of the experiences, thoughts and perspectives that make me.  I am the boy from the Valleys who was told he'd never be anyone by his teacher. I'm the boy who just wants ...

This post is from Saturday. I'm posting it on Monday after being otherwise engaged in Wales for the weekend.  Sometimes it's important to switch off. Being back in Wales, not far from where I grew up in the Rhondda Valleys, and a visit to Big Pit has put me in a mood to look back.  There was an assembly this term to Years 10 and 11, and the Head of Year asked staff to contribute by giving the advice we'd give our teenage selves. This was a great idea, and resulted in a wide range of practical and inspirational advice. Made me wonder what staffrm contributors would say to themselves.  We were also asked to contribute a photo.  I have no shame. My advice to my teenage self: 1. Have better hair. 2. Don't put in the bare minimum into school just because you can get away with it. 3. Open up and talk about how you're feeling - some stuff just can't be kept inside. Keep in touch with friends and family better. 4. You won't be able to follow yo...

Apologies if, like me, you're offended by bullshit.  You see it all the time in education.  Eavesdrop in on a conversation, and it will be there.  And idle flick through my twitter feed throws up more, especially if I focus in on something with a hashtag.  It may be because I'm a simple bloke from the Welsh valleys, but I like a simple, clear message.  Indeed, I've been told off for ignoring shades of grey (although that's really difficult with all of those posters lately).  Which brings me to my best teacher.  To be honest, I endured school. I didn't enjoy it but saw the point of qualifications (luckily) and found that I didn't have to put that much effort in to scrape by.  Yes, I'm that boy that will try to get away with the minimum possible. I did loads outside of school like teaching adults how to safely fire rifles and a bit of flying and mountain stuff. However, Mr Carter the geography teacher from Cornwall (or God's own country as he l...

What one thing do you do in your classroom that has a positive impact on learning? I ban certain words.  Students aren't allowed to use them.  Stuff, things, up, right, down, impossible. Some words are semi-banned like people, pollution and tsunami. Definitely ban Africa and America. How did this come about? A random thought during my first year of teaching in around 2003/4.  I noticed that the quality of pupils' wirting lacked detail and specific vocab - it was all rather general, waffly faff. How do I know when it's working? Students written and verbal answers are much better.  they are concise and reference geographical terms.  This is something that I use from lesson one of year 7.  It's habit forming.  I see words like 'increasing gradually' instead of 'going up' to describe the trend in household income since 1977 and 'government minister' instead of 'peopl...

Read a  post  by  Jade  last night and thought I'd try to write something useful in response. Firstly, four pieces of advice for getting into school senior leadership: // Be flexible and understand that to move up, you really need to move on.  This will mean leaving students.  // You are replaceable.  No matter how good you think you are, by leaving, the school isn't going to collapse in on itself.  // Figure out why you want to be a senior leader. Every adult in a school is a leader at some scale.  There's a lot of PR involved. // Understand that it's about having impact on a whole school level and that you're probably going to need to show that before you become fully fledged.  This doesn't mean that children and teachers aren't at the heart of every decision.  I first started teaching because it gave me lots of time to camp I wild places like the one above. I qualified in 2003 and here is a story - tak...

I know.  Sit down, a post about something vaguely teaching and learning.  I remember listening to a presentation by  Jeff Stanfield  a while ago where he suggested that everyone is a geographer. For example, books are usually written about places (real or imaginary) and people.  I agree.  I love getting books into lessons and, because I am a geographer before being a geography teacher, reading about work related stuff is OK.  I'm lucky - I actually get paid to do what I enjoy. I used to commute by train so got through a book per week.  Less so now.  So, here are five books that I've used in lessons recently: The Vinland Sagas - a really interesting read about the (re)branding of Greenland and lots of blood and guts: a typical Icelandic Saga! Also includes the discovery of North America.  Viking, Eirik the Red was sent away from Iceland for killing too many people.  He named his discovery Greenland to encourage other V...