Author Archives: Joe Kirby

About Joe Kirby

School leader, education writer, Director of Education and co-founder, Athena Learning Trust, Deputy head and co-founder, Michaela Community School, English teacher

Bootcamp

Posted on October 16, 2016 by Joe Kirby

We have a tough intake. There are some very bad habits that many of our pupils have been in, some for seven years or more, some for an entire lifetime. When I ask in one of the first assemblies how … Continue reading →

Posted in Education | 4 Comments

Discipline is life-changing

Posted on October 15, 2016 by Joe Kirby

Discipline is vital in schools. I have seen it change the life chances of children denied it for years before they arrive at our school. Talk to those who joined the army, and they will also tell you that military … Continue reading →

Posted in Education | 3 Comments

Drill and Thrill

Posted on October 9, 2016 by Joe Kirby

Is drill demotivating and demoralising, killing motivation and pupils’ ability to think for themselves? Far from demotivating, I’ve found carefully designed subejct-specific practice drills to be highly motivating for the pupils in school, as self-reinforcing cycles of drill and success, … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Teaching | 7 Comments

Knowledge improves teaching

Posted on October 8, 2016 by Joe Kirby

Knowledge is powerful: it empowers our pupils to achieve in their academic subjects, to understand the world and to live fulfilling lives. It should be one of our highest priorities in our teaching. There are some who take umbrage with … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Teaching | 4 Comments

Battle Hymn

Posted on October 2, 2016 by Joe Kirby

All teachers want to inspire their pupils. Every teacher I have ever met has come into the profession because they love children and want to improve their lives. In England, however, poorer pupils’ life chances have long been blighted by … Continue reading →

Posted in Education | 5 Comments

The red pill of moral psychology

Posted on October 1, 2016 by Joe Kirby

Reading moral psychology, in particular Jonathan Haidt’s works The Righteous Mind, The Happiness Hypothesis and Heterodox Academy, is mind-opening. In The Matrix, Neo has a choice: take a red pill, disconnect from the Matrix and dissolve the illusion, or take … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Psychology | 11 Comments

It’s your time you’re wasting

Posted on April 16, 2016 by Joe Kirby

This book, by Frank Chalk, is about his experiences of teaching in a difficult school in England, and the consequences of low standards for some of our worst-off children in the country. “All these stories are true. Writing them was born … Continue reading →

Posted in Education | 7 Comments

To Miss With Love: Summer Term, & OFSTED

Posted on April 10, 2016 by Joe Kirby

In the final blogpost of a three-part abridgement series (first here and second here), Ofsted inspect Katharine’s school. A fight occurs during the inspection… Summer Term Monday 28 April Ms Desperate, Furious’s foster mother, marches into my office and sits down … Continue reading →

Posted in Education | 1 Comment

To Miss with Love: Spring Term

Posted on April 9, 2016 by Joe Kirby

What is the behaviour like in many of the schools rated ‘good’ by Ofsted? Katharine’s book ‘To Miss With Love’ exposed chaotic disruption of lessons and bullying of vulnerable pupils. This is the second in a series of three posts … Continue reading →

Posted in Education | 3 Comments

To Miss With Love: Autumn Term

Posted on April 2, 2016 by Joe Kirby

 Katharine had been teaching in inner-city schools for over a decade when she wrote ‘To Miss With Love’. Groupwork and games were required in lessons; bullying and fights were prevalent. In one incident, a stone is thrown at a teacher; … Continue reading →

Posted in Education | 3 Comments