Feb. 2, 2025

Ep 98: Have We Overcomplicated Teaching? Why Simplicity Is Key

Ep 98: Have We Overcomplicated Teaching? Why Simplicity Is Key
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This week, we dive into why teaching has become SO much more complicated, the role has evolved, and we are asking more than ever from out children.... But is it for a good reason? Are we prioritising the right things?

We would love to hear what you think!

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Hello, everyone.
Welcome back to another episode

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of Teach the Repeat.
My name is Dylan and my name is

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Hayden.
How you doing, Hayden?

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I'm all right.
You want to have a little.

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I'm all right.
I don't know.

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I feel like the mic.
No, no, don't.

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You're going to take the mic.
This is a safe space.

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Is it?
Unless it's about the clothes

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you wear.
Sorry, hang on.

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Every single time.
It's funny because this is my

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house and every single time I'm
wearing something you seem to

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wear the same so.
Yeah, it's weird.

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Maybe you're inspired by me, But
anyway.

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It makes me think I need to
change what I'm wearing.

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Oh, I look quite similar to that
guy.

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Normally we start off with a
nice cheerful hello, how you

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doing everyone?
And then we talk about how

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everyone should be, you know,
rating the podcast because we've

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got a lot of brand new
listeners.

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So they should maybe give us a
five star review, be really

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helpful, share the podcast,
etcetera.

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But you wanted to cut through
all.

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That yeah, I don't think we
should do that today.

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OK, now sure it's not.
Shouldn't ask the viewers to do

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all that lovely stuff for.
Us.

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No.
I think we asked them a lot to

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rate US on Spotify and iTunes.
ITunes.

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We can tell who's the one who
doesn't be asking.

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This guy, he doesn't use Apple
old iTunes music and whatever

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they call it, they say you.
Grab your iPods guys and scroll

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through to the Teach Sleep
Repeat podcast.

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And rate it.
But we won't ask them.

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We won't ask.
Not today, anyway.

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I know.
Look, we're coming up to Episode

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100.
We are.

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And I think that's maybe playing
on my mind because I can't

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fathom the fact that we've done
97 of these before this one.

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Yeah.
Where has that time gone?

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Well, that's how time works.
I think you'd take them.

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Just time chugs on, doesn't it?
A wider point actually.

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Constant rate.
Our children are also ageing at

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a constant rate.
Yeah, I know.

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And I just, I just, it's kind of
so quick.

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Well, do you know something
very, very roughly aligned with

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the start of this podcast?
Maybe it made us more virile and

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ready to go because our babies
were conceived around that time

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as well.
Yeah, yeah.

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It just so happens that though,
if you look back to when we

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start the podcast in early 2023,
both of our babies were born in

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late 2023.
So you can track back basically

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the entire journey through
pregnancy and through birth and

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through our children growing up.
It's like almost like a market

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of how old this and that's.
What?

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I mean, but that's but that's
gone so quick.

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Yeah, it's gone so quick and it
just worries me.

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No, people always say like older
people be like, oh, you just

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wait.
As you get older, the time it

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just goes quicker.
And like you said, I'm normally

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sarcastic.
I'm like, oh it doesn't know

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time does It just goes the same.
But I think it perceives to go

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quicker genuinely, because if
you're 40 a year to you is a

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40th of your life.
If you're 10 a year to you is

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1/10 of your life and you don't
even remember the first two or

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three years.
So it's much more proportional

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wise a big chunk of your life.
So I, I think there is

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definitely truth in it.
And I think when you have

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children who grow so incredibly
quickly and and develop so

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quickly and change so quickly
from like 3 months for our

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children is unbelievable that
change that goes.

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So much happens.
If you rewind 3 months and and

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then look at now our babies are
walking, our babies are talking

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way more.
Rory reacts to things.

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He says yes and.
No, Yeah, mines running, yeah.

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Is running yours knows other
times tables?

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Yeah, quicker than Sophie be at
the times tables up to 100

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already.
It's insane.

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Quicker than old Sophie.
Sophie the robot?

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Yeah, but I don't know, I'm just
feeling weird about it.

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I was laying in bed last night
just thinking, am I just, is it?

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Am I just going to be 50 like
that?

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And our kids are just adults and
they'll be like, oh, that's

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gone, honestly.
Yeah.

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But that's horrible, isn't it?
Makes me.

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We need to know the most of it,
genuinely.

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I don't know.
People are listening probably

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now, if you don't have kids,
you're probably thinking, well,

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I've got all this to come or I'm
choosing to not do that, or I

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can't do that for whatever
reason.

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I think people go through this
thought process either way.

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Yeah.
You know, you get older and you

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think you just blink and you're
you're 40.

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You know, I'm, I'm 31.
You're 32.

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You look 40 already.
So I mean that must play on your

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mind.
Baby, I've looked 40 since I was

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23.
It's gone so.

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Quick listen, Hun.
I was like you, aged 50 years.

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Literally, there's one perk of
being of being bald, which is

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that you kind of look the same
for a long time.

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Yeah, to be fair, when you're
50, I've got you.

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You look well, you look well,
you look you were 23.

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You look exactly the bloody
same.

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Yeah, I'll ignore that.
Oh.

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Back to a serious point,
genuinely I do.

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I do know what you mean.
It is time does just seem to

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move quickly.
Does seem that way.

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So on that note, yes, how's your
week been?

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That's gone really quick.
Other than my monthly

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existential existential crisis
that I have, you know, every now

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and then, I've been pretty good.
So I mean, we obviously went to

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BET last week.
We spoke about that in our last

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episode and when we visited the
White Rose stand we were given,

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we were given some tiny the
turtle plushy. 10 years, weren't

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we?
They were fantastic.

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So you've had one in your class?
Yep, I've had one in one in my

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class.
I left it.

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Where have you put yours?
Yeah.

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Hilariously, now you put an
Instagram picture.

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Yeah, that's my room.
Of of your tiny, the turtle on

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your board.
I obviously I did the exact same

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thing.
Did you?

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Obviously it was also leaning on
my board because it fit nicely.

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The legs kind of went over it
nicely.

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It was there, but I've got
they're fascinated by it.

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I've got year six.
I thought they'd be like, oh,

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well done, Mrs Stevens.
That's stupid.

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Chuck it in a bin.
Yeah, but they were like, damn.

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Straight up.
I'm thinking, can we take turns

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maybe.
And who looks after each day?

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I was like, Jesus Christ, you're
that you're that into this tiny.

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That's brilliant.
They absolutely love.

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It it shows how much we use
White Rose, doesn't it?

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Yeah, I know.
Kids in year 6 are like it's a

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celebrity.
I've seen tiny every week for my

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whole school life.
What are you?

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What are your fours like?
I bet.

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They loved it.
They absolutely loved it.

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It was so nice because do you
know what kids in general jump

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on any opportunity for something
that's a bit different and fun?

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Yeah, I find that in general,
and I think, and sometimes we

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get caught in that trap of just
like very strictly ready to do,

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doing your work to do that,
which I think is great for a lot

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of reasons.
But every now and then, jeez,

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have a bit of fun.
And this was that moment to do

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it.
And we had Tiny and I'd put him

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on the board before anyone had
come in, right.

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So I didn't say anything either.
And they were coming in.

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And it's amazing how perceptive
children are when it's not their

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own work and doing.
Things wrong in their own work.

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Because within nought .5 seconds
the first child who walked in

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went you've got tiny.
And I was like, yeah, can you

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tell me the date today?
No, Underneath tiny.

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Yeah.
Wouldn't be able to see that

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date.
What's the date today?

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It's the it's underneath the
turtle.

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You've been shouting about 5
minutes.

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It's just there.
You're.

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The one you spotted immediately.
Exactly.

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But they loved it.
I said on Instagram, one of the

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children put their hand up and
we were, we kind of gone over

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the whole, we've got a tiny, how
do you get in, blah, blah.

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There's only two in the whole
school, minor Mr Stevens

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classroom.
It's very, very special.

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Oh, going to put him here so we
can watch because he needs to

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learn, doesn't he, Tiny?
Anyone who uses White Rose knows

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that tiny's wrong 99% of the
time.

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Yeah.
So really good for growth

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mindset, really good for the
children being able to say no,

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it's because of and they're
doing reasoning without

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thinking.
But anyway, we had the whole

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chat about it.
We kind of sat about down, done

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some of our times table work,
ready to start a lesson and a

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child just put the hand up and I
went, yeah, Anyway, can I just

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say one thing to Tiny please?
To Tiny, yeah.

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To Tiny, to him, plushie on the
board.

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And I was like, yeah, of course,
go on.

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And he turned to Tiny and he
went, Tiny, you have to stop

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getting things wrong.
And he was being genuine, like

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we're going to help, you gotta
stop me and we're going to help

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you today.
Okay?

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So it was a really nice hook.
My kids loved it, but Tiny

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stayed there all day.
So we have maths in the morning

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and maths classes are slightly
different to English and

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afternoon classes, but every
single child who saw him for the

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first time was buzzing and I was
so funny.

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It's nice though.
Yeah, such a simple thing.

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I really didn't think it'd have
that reaction.

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One of the one of my kids I
swear went home that night came

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in the next day and said bought
1 because you can buy them on

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the White Rose website.
They literally asked me in

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school can we get can we get
them?

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Can you buy them?
I was like, you can.

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They're quite expensive though.
They're like 15 lbs.

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If you want to buy them, we got
them for free because obviously.

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We're huge influence
influencers.

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I think the term is Ed.
You talk flinters.

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Ed, you talk flinters.
And by the way, I mean, Dylan

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and I just kind of ride off of
it.

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But he went and bought 1.
He was like, it arrives on

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Monday.
I was like, OK, well, bring in

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your tiny.
We have a tiny party.

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Honestly, I love it.
Absolutely love it.

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That's so.
Sweet.

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00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:44,400
Oh, that's nice.
Well, I glad we had a parallel

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experience and both did the
exact same thing.

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We might even know.
Of course we did.

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Yeah, like these clothes we're
wearing.

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It's not a surprise, really, at
this point, surely is.

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It I just need to have the
accidental dread and then what's

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what's?
That had children at the same

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time as well.
Yeah.

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Inspired by this podcast.
Yeah.

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Because we talked all the time
and we decided we both want

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children at the same time.
Yeah.

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I don't know why, but there we
are.

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Both our children being Bivar as
well.

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00:08:05,720 --> 00:08:06,920
Everyone asks is that on
purpose?

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00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:08,360
No.
Yes.

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Not on purpose, we just think
the same.

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But how's your week been anyway?
Other than tiny, yeah.

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00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:17,720
Yeah, good.
I suppose I just want to talk a

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little bit about it's not, it's
not an existential thing, but

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it's just the thing that really
plays in my mind as a teacher in

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education because you think
about why you get into teaching,

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00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:28,320
right?
And it's remember your why and

225
00:08:28,320 --> 00:08:29,800
it's patronising when it makes.
You.

226
00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:31,760
I'm sat there thinking it's the
money baby.

227
00:08:32,760 --> 00:08:36,559
Or not, but but genuinely, the
reason you want to want to be a

228
00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:40,480
teacher is because you want to
help the children that that is

229
00:08:40,480 --> 00:08:42,720
the bottom line.
You want to be able to do your

230
00:08:42,720 --> 00:08:45,160
job in a way which helps the
next generation to understand

231
00:08:45,160 --> 00:08:47,280
things that are important and
and help them out and be that

232
00:08:47,280 --> 00:08:49,640
safe space for them.
So I think this has been

233
00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:51,720
something on my mind honestly
since day one.

234
00:08:51,800 --> 00:08:55,040
It wasn't something that I was
AECT and I wasn't sure a newly

235
00:08:55,040 --> 00:08:57,320
qualified teacher what this
meant from the start.

236
00:08:57,320 --> 00:09:00,960
It felt wrong and it was this
obsession that we have as

237
00:09:00,960 --> 00:09:05,400
teachers about data.
OK, so we can talk about that

238
00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:07,920
whole conversation about whether
data is important or not and why

239
00:09:07,920 --> 00:09:10,360
it is and why it isn't.
Sometimes let's just park that

240
00:09:10,360 --> 00:09:12,640
for a second, but I'm talking
very specifically now.

241
00:09:13,440 --> 00:09:17,960
We create bars and levels to get
to for our children to be able

242
00:09:17,960 --> 00:09:23,040
to say that this child is
expected in maths, this child is

243
00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:25,960
expected in English and we say
that's their age expectation.

244
00:09:26,200 --> 00:09:27,920
That's what we should be driving
children towards.

245
00:09:29,280 --> 00:09:32,680
We are obsessed with it to the
detriment of so many kids in our

246
00:09:32,680 --> 00:09:34,800
class.
Because what ends up happening,

247
00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:36,960
and you know, correct me if I'm
wrong here, if your school does

248
00:09:36,960 --> 00:09:38,560
something different, but most
schools are like this.

249
00:09:38,560 --> 00:09:42,680
And I can see why you're in a
people progress meeting and

250
00:09:42,680 --> 00:09:45,240
you've got, let's say 32
children in your class.

251
00:09:46,240 --> 00:09:50,600
And immediately what happens is
you are forced to focus down and

252
00:09:50,600 --> 00:09:53,720
magnify on the children around
this line that you've invented

253
00:09:53,720 --> 00:09:56,760
yourself to be age expected.
OK, so let's say in maths it's

254
00:09:56,760 --> 00:09:59,640
that they've got to do this
specific standardised test and

255
00:09:59,640 --> 00:10:01,760
achieve this specific mark for
you to be able to call this

256
00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:03,600
child expected.
In maths, you've already

257
00:10:03,600 --> 00:10:04,880
narrowed down what maths
becomes.

258
00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:07,040
Then maths becomes some judging
children on what they get in

259
00:10:07,040 --> 00:10:09,120
this test at the end.
So you get rid of everything

260
00:10:09,120 --> 00:10:12,040
else to do in maths in terms of
the problem solving, the the

261
00:10:12,360 --> 00:10:15,200
investigations, getting things
wrong, being resilient, none of

262
00:10:15,200 --> 00:10:17,000
that matters anymore.
They've got to get here in a

263
00:10:17,000 --> 00:10:20,520
test that's already narrowed
down, which then you look at

264
00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:23,840
your class and you can honestly
narrow it down to like 6 kids

265
00:10:23,840 --> 00:10:25,080
who are on the cusp of this
line.

266
00:10:25,560 --> 00:10:28,720
And those six children then
become your forced focus to get

267
00:10:28,720 --> 00:10:31,880
over that line.
And what happens is the children

268
00:10:31,880 --> 00:10:35,240
who are past that line or have
moved past that line in a year,

269
00:10:35,520 --> 00:10:36,440
suddenly they're like, cool,
right?

270
00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:39,200
They're there, forget about
them, they're there now, that's

271
00:10:39,200 --> 00:10:40,640
fine.
They've made this two points of

272
00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:42,520
progress past the line, so
that's OK, that's good.

273
00:10:42,920 --> 00:10:44,880
Those kids who are just below
the line, are they your focus?

274
00:10:45,120 --> 00:10:47,720
Those kids who are way back
behind this imaginary line we

275
00:10:47,720 --> 00:10:50,120
put for age expected, they're
never going to get there.

276
00:10:50,120 --> 00:10:53,200
So just plod along with them I
suppose, see where they get, but

277
00:10:53,200 --> 00:10:55,520
put your focus on these kids who
are closer to this line and

278
00:10:55,520 --> 00:10:58,680
those kids way past the line who
are pushing on to making greater

279
00:10:58,680 --> 00:11:00,240
depth for getting full marks in
their maths.

280
00:11:00,560 --> 00:11:01,760
Cool, just let them crack on
with that.

281
00:11:01,760 --> 00:11:03,160
That's great.
They don't need as much support

282
00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:06,280
and you become hyper focused as
a teacher or forced to be anyway

283
00:11:06,640 --> 00:11:08,640
on 20% of your kids.
Yeah.

284
00:11:08,680 --> 00:11:14,000
And I absolutely hate it because
why on earth should a 10% move

285
00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:18,400
for those kids be worth more
than a 3040% move for your kids

286
00:11:18,400 --> 00:11:21,080
who are even lower or a 1020%
move for your kids who are

287
00:11:21,080 --> 00:11:23,400
higher simply because of this
line that we've made-up?

288
00:11:23,880 --> 00:11:24,280
Yeah.
Yeah.

289
00:11:24,280 --> 00:11:27,040
It winds me up.
It's not that progress isn't

290
00:11:27,040 --> 00:11:29,280
more important than the progress
of everyone else.

291
00:11:29,280 --> 00:11:31,920
And I think in general, I think
that I'm just fed up with

292
00:11:32,480 --> 00:11:34,880
constantly being given a brand
new list of children who are

293
00:11:34,880 --> 00:11:36,400
just on the cusp of something
that we've invented.

294
00:11:36,400 --> 00:11:38,040
And we've said it's important
because of XY reason.

295
00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:40,240
Just getting past that line,
it's like, do you know what?

296
00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:41,280
Do you know what I'm actually
going to do?

297
00:11:41,440 --> 00:11:42,760
And I've done this for years and
years now.

298
00:11:43,560 --> 00:11:45,840
I'm going to ignore that list
and I'm just going to teach well

299
00:11:45,840 --> 00:11:47,320
and help every child who needs
help.

300
00:11:47,760 --> 00:11:50,560
And if it comes to an
intervention after a lesson, if

301
00:11:50,560 --> 00:11:52,280
there's a group of kids who
don't understand why I did that

302
00:11:52,280 --> 00:11:55,280
lesson, I'm going to keep them
in the assembly time to do

303
00:11:55,280 --> 00:11:58,000
betters to work for that lesson.
I'm not going to go to my list

304
00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:00,240
and be like, I've got to make up
something because this list of

305
00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:02,080
children need some extra help.
So I'm just going to ignore you

306
00:12:02,080 --> 00:12:04,320
guys who don't get it today.
I'm going to get this list of

307
00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:06,240
five children and give them this
thing because I need to get them

308
00:12:06,240 --> 00:12:07,320
past this imaginary line.
Please.

309
00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:10,160
I don't care.
It is a detriment to my

310
00:12:10,160 --> 00:12:12,560
teaching.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's tricky.

311
00:12:12,560 --> 00:12:17,240
I think I'm so I'm so into the
year 6 world that like hearing

312
00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:19,320
you say this is like is like a
memory for me.

313
00:12:19,320 --> 00:12:22,600
It's like unlocking a memory.
I feel like I've not lost my

314
00:12:22,600 --> 00:12:27,200
way, but I feel so indoctrinated
into that game that it's kind of

315
00:12:27,200 --> 00:12:28,680
refreshing to hear this because
I remember.

316
00:12:28,680 --> 00:12:31,760
I remember thinking all of it.
I remember thinking, this is

317
00:12:31,760 --> 00:12:34,120
mad.
Why am I not just helping the

318
00:12:34,120 --> 00:12:37,280
lowest ability children at all
times of any extra stuff I've

319
00:12:37,280 --> 00:12:38,760
got?
Why am I ever putting if I've

320
00:12:38,760 --> 00:12:40,640
only got a small amount of
resources to use?

321
00:12:40,640 --> 00:12:43,600
Why am I not only helping the
kids who don't get it the most?

322
00:12:43,600 --> 00:12:45,640
The kids who can't add, maybe
because that's vitally

323
00:12:45,640 --> 00:12:48,760
important, but also you're not
helping the kids who are just

324
00:12:48,760 --> 00:12:50,760
OK.
I think that's the thing that

325
00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:52,720
gets forgotten all the time.
People have this conversation.

326
00:12:52,720 --> 00:12:55,080
I'll say what you say.
I yeah, I agree I should be

327
00:12:55,080 --> 00:12:57,280
helping the lowest children.
And my point is, yeah, you

328
00:12:57,280 --> 00:12:58,440
should.
But do you know what you should

329
00:12:58,440 --> 00:13:00,920
also not do?
Ignore every single child in

330
00:13:00,920 --> 00:13:04,200
your class because just because
they can do some maths now,

331
00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:07,160
right, it doesn't necessarily
mean that their progress is less

332
00:13:07,160 --> 00:13:09,640
important.
I, I, I completely understand

333
00:13:09,640 --> 00:13:11,640
before someone gets annoyed at
me and says, well, if you can't

334
00:13:11,640 --> 00:13:12,760
add, you've got to be able to
add.

335
00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:14,680
Or if you can't read, you've got
to be able to read.

336
00:13:14,680 --> 00:13:16,480
I'm like, yeah, but I'm not even
doing that because I've got to

337
00:13:16,480 --> 00:13:18,880
get to this age expected line.
With these other mildly kids.

338
00:13:18,880 --> 00:13:21,680
How many kids in Key Stage 2
actually can't read?

339
00:13:22,040 --> 00:13:23,840
Do you know what I mean?
Like most kids can read.

340
00:13:23,840 --> 00:13:24,840
There are some children who
can't.

341
00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:26,800
They need explicit intervention
ASAP.

342
00:13:27,080 --> 00:13:30,280
But most kids who aren't at age
expected level, they can read.

343
00:13:30,400 --> 00:13:32,360
Do you know what I mean?
They can decode words, they're

344
00:13:32,360 --> 00:13:34,000
just not at the level at the.
Bar that we've set.

345
00:13:34,120 --> 00:13:36,880
Exactly not at that bar that
we've set is important for age.

346
00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:38,480
I agree.
I agree what you're you're

347
00:13:38,480 --> 00:13:40,760
saying in terms of the lowest,
but I just my my point is

348
00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:43,640
everyone.
I think 80% of kids can honestly

349
00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:47,400
get missed in a school because
when you're so data-driven by

350
00:13:47,400 --> 00:13:49,360
lines that we have literally
invented.

351
00:13:49,360 --> 00:13:51,240
Ourselves, Especially when the
lines are so arbitrary.

352
00:13:51,240 --> 00:13:54,240
Like you're going back to your
point about test data, right?

353
00:13:54,240 --> 00:13:56,120
And it normally is, isn't it?
Let's be honest, it's normally

354
00:13:56,320 --> 00:13:59,280
they need to achieve X amount of
marks in a series of tests.

355
00:13:59,320 --> 00:14:01,680
And for year six it's normally
the SAT which is standardised,

356
00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:04,240
but even in the other year
groups it becomes whatever you

357
00:14:04,240 --> 00:14:06,840
pick as your end of year test.
Of course, which is even worse,

358
00:14:06,840 --> 00:14:08,600
But even with year 6 alone,
right?

359
00:14:08,800 --> 00:14:12,320
One of my biggest pet peeves is
the fact that when you put up

360
00:14:12,320 --> 00:14:15,760
just a mark threshold on a test,
it does mean that there are now

361
00:14:15,760 --> 00:14:17,360
infinite ways for someone to get
there.

362
00:14:17,680 --> 00:14:19,920
And it doesn't really, it
doesn't really value like what

363
00:14:19,920 --> 00:14:21,280
being a good mathematician is,
for example.

364
00:14:21,280 --> 00:14:22,960
Sure, right.
I could, you could have, you

365
00:14:22,960 --> 00:14:25,160
could get a honestly, it's going
to sound horrible.

366
00:14:25,160 --> 00:14:27,120
You could get a terrible
mathematician through the SAS.

367
00:14:27,120 --> 00:14:28,960
Yeah, because you know what, you
could look at it.

368
00:14:28,960 --> 00:14:31,200
You look at the analysis again.
Sophie does all the analysis

369
00:14:31,200 --> 00:14:32,800
every year, doesn't she?
And there's loads of great

370
00:14:32,800 --> 00:14:33,800
insights.
You can see.

371
00:14:33,800 --> 00:14:35,520
I think she does it through
learning my questions and other

372
00:14:35,520 --> 00:14:36,480
websites.
It's really good stuff.

373
00:14:36,640 --> 00:14:39,480
But but you can look at that and
be like, oh, so you can pass

374
00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:41,600
these tests just knowing
fractions, decimals and

375
00:14:41,600 --> 00:14:45,000
percentages and arithmetic.
OK, cool, eight in the

376
00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:46,280
curriculum, then not going to
teach that.

377
00:14:46,760 --> 00:14:49,440
And it's like, OK, so they would
get through and they would be

378
00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:50,520
expected.
But are they a good

379
00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:52,360
mathematician?
Absolutely not by any other

380
00:14:52,360 --> 00:14:53,320
metric.
No, they're not.

381
00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:54,920
They don't even know what Alder
is.

382
00:14:55,320 --> 00:14:57,320
How can you say they're age
expected because they passed

383
00:14:57,320 --> 00:14:59,400
this test?
OK, well, we've got very

384
00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:02,000
different ideas then of what we
think a good mathematician is

385
00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:03,480
that by the time you're 11,
don't we?

386
00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:05,640
If if you think that passing
that test is it.

387
00:15:05,840 --> 00:15:08,160
And I think actually just
knowing a bit more about the

388
00:15:08,160 --> 00:15:11,440
measurement and geometry and and
and shape and time, algebra and

389
00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:13,840
time, I think they need to know
a bit of all of that actually to

390
00:15:13,840 --> 00:15:16,400
be considered even at a base
level of good at maths.

391
00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:17,440
Yeah.
But those percentage point

392
00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:20,000
there, that is what it becomes
and it winds me up slightly

393
00:15:20,640 --> 00:15:22,920
because I can see the trap
happening.

394
00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:24,280
That's why it winds me up even
more.

395
00:15:24,600 --> 00:15:27,480
I can see why people go down
this route and I completely

396
00:15:27,480 --> 00:15:29,760
understand it.
But for me, it's especially in

397
00:15:29,760 --> 00:15:32,360
those years other than year 6.
I get why when it comes to the

398
00:15:32,360 --> 00:15:34,680
SAT, it's your, it's your
headline data in your league

399
00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:36,720
tables for your score.
I completely understand it.

400
00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:38,920
I'm not digging out any
leadership team who who think

401
00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:40,000
that's important.
I get it.

402
00:15:40,560 --> 00:15:43,040
But it's just frustrating and a
bit mind numbing when it happens

403
00:15:43,040 --> 00:15:45,960
in year 3 and it happens in year
4 and it's an end of year

404
00:15:46,040 --> 00:15:47,480
assessment test that you've
chosen.

405
00:15:47,480 --> 00:15:49,920
You could have chosen from 57
different tests that you've done

406
00:15:50,240 --> 00:15:52,120
and the line could have been
slightly different all the time

407
00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:55,520
and it becomes annoyingly lower
down in the school.

408
00:15:55,600 --> 00:15:58,240
Like you say, you look at it and
you go, OK, let's stick with

409
00:15:58,240 --> 00:16:00,200
maths.
For example, you could get a

410
00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:04,880
mathematician who you've drilled
to be really good at arithmetic,

411
00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:06,840
and arithmetic's really
important, Don't get me wrong.

412
00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:10,320
I focus on arithmetic of my
children because I know it's

413
00:16:10,320 --> 00:16:13,520
what they need to be able to do
every single time.

414
00:16:13,520 --> 00:16:14,680
Yeah.
And we do some reasoning.

415
00:16:14,680 --> 00:16:16,040
Problem solving.
We reasoning all the time.

416
00:16:16,040 --> 00:16:19,080
We do problem solving, I'd say
less frequently than other

417
00:16:19,080 --> 00:16:21,360
children might, simply because
we're spending so much time

418
00:16:21,360 --> 00:16:22,720
getting better at the.
Absolutely.

419
00:16:22,720 --> 00:16:23,480
Exactly.
Yeah.

420
00:16:23,520 --> 00:16:25,320
But I can get children free to
expected.

421
00:16:25,520 --> 00:16:28,200
Yeah.
Four level by getting them to be

422
00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:32,160
36 out of 40 or more and then
just doing the reasoning a

423
00:16:32,160 --> 00:16:34,320
problem solving paper and kind
of getting like 5 out of 30.

424
00:16:34,320 --> 00:16:36,080
Getting a few of the easy ones.
A few of the easy ones might

425
00:16:36,080 --> 00:16:37,560
where they got to match up some
place value.

426
00:16:37,840 --> 00:16:41,600
At no point have they got any of
the, you know, complicated 2 two

427
00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:43,760
step word problems, right?
None of the measuring stuff,

428
00:16:43,760 --> 00:16:45,320
right.
The fraction stuff, they're

429
00:16:45,320 --> 00:16:47,760
honestly working like 2030% of
the problem solving bits.

430
00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:50,120
It's hard.
Anything that combines it or

431
00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:52,840
looks at shape, for example, I
just have a go see what you get.

432
00:16:53,200 --> 00:16:55,480
But at the end, they will say
expected, Yeah.

433
00:16:55,480 --> 00:16:56,840
And, you know, and you'll get a
pound back.

434
00:16:56,840 --> 00:16:59,080
Exactly.
And then someone who's expected,

435
00:16:59,080 --> 00:17:02,000
right at the top end of
expected, who got so many more

436
00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:04,520
of those questions right, is
still just expected, who knows a

437
00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:07,640
lot more about a wider range of
areas in math, who is a much

438
00:17:07,640 --> 00:17:09,920
better mathematician.
But do you know what?

439
00:17:10,560 --> 00:17:13,280
The child who's just below
expected and the child who's

440
00:17:13,280 --> 00:17:16,440
just above expected, they should
be getting the same intervention

441
00:17:16,440 --> 00:17:19,720
and help because what's
currently happening is the child

442
00:17:19,720 --> 00:17:22,240
who's just above expected and
the child who's at the top of

443
00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:24,800
expected are seen as expected.
Both put in the same category.

444
00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:25,839
No, you don't need any extra
help.

445
00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:29,400
They are so much more different
than the ones either side of

446
00:17:29,400 --> 00:17:30,680
this arbitrary line that we've
made-up.

447
00:17:31,040 --> 00:17:33,320
And that's the trap We fall in
this teachers all the time.

448
00:17:33,320 --> 00:17:36,280
And this is a very long window
of me saying way of me saying

449
00:17:36,280 --> 00:17:39,200
that this is how data drives bad
practise.

450
00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:41,840
It's so funny you mentioned this
as your kind of like your weekly

451
00:17:41,840 --> 00:17:43,680
recap because one of my
questions later in that sort of

452
00:17:43,680 --> 00:17:46,440
main bulk is related to that.
So we'll come back to that.

453
00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:49,000
You, when I say it, you'll be
like, Oh yeah, is very linked to

454
00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:51,760
something when I asked you about
simplicity, about losing our way

455
00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:54,000
as teachers and the purpose of
things.

456
00:17:54,360 --> 00:17:56,160
So do stick around for that
conversation because it should

457
00:17:56,160 --> 00:17:57,280
be a good one.
And you've actually panned the

458
00:17:57,280 --> 00:17:59,280
podcast episode for the first
time and I think nearly 100.

459
00:17:59,440 --> 00:18:02,680
So that's not a. 100 yet because
we're in on the episode 98.

460
00:18:03,320 --> 00:18:05,000
Yeah.
OK, shut up.

461
00:18:05,040 --> 00:18:09,400
Right, I want to be riled up by
you.

462
00:18:09,640 --> 00:18:10,680
No to you.
I want you to.

463
00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:11,880
Yeah, that's.
Good, because I've got that

464
00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:13,400
ready.
You've got a little riled up for

465
00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:15,360
me ready.
It's a section that's becoming a

466
00:18:15,360 --> 00:18:18,320
bit more frequent.
It's funny, yeah.

467
00:18:18,320 --> 00:18:20,880
You seem to really revel in it.
And unbelievably, like I said,

468
00:18:20,880 --> 00:18:22,400
it's making you prepare stuff
for the podcast.

469
00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:23,480
It is.
And I and I just.

470
00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:25,040
I'm desperate for you to
embarrass yourself.

471
00:18:25,240 --> 00:18:26,200
OK.
You know, I'm desperate for you

472
00:18:26,200 --> 00:18:27,320
to say.
I'm desperate to get so

473
00:18:27,320 --> 00:18:28,400
passionate that you embarrass
yourself.

474
00:18:28,400 --> 00:18:29,400
And we all go, ha, ha.
Look at you.

475
00:18:29,400 --> 00:18:30,360
Yeah.
And you want me to get

476
00:18:30,360 --> 00:18:31,480
cancelled, so yeah.
And you get.

477
00:18:31,480 --> 00:18:35,520
Cancelled new presenter in
probably Sophie the Robot and

478
00:18:35,520 --> 00:18:36,840
we'll crack on.
I don't know he'll be planning

479
00:18:36,840 --> 00:18:37,800
it.
Then and we start making, we'll

480
00:18:37,800 --> 00:18:40,720
make this podcast good.
Yeah, OK, we'll run our socials.

481
00:18:41,360 --> 00:18:42,880
Whatever right here?
What's the context here?

482
00:18:42,880 --> 00:18:44,240
Just online for me.
Just online.

483
00:18:44,240 --> 00:18:46,280
I just, I just see things online
all the time and I'm like, oh,

484
00:18:46,280 --> 00:18:48,160
that's interesting.
Interesting question there.

485
00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:50,400
It's always anonymous, so I
don't know who these people are.

486
00:18:51,320 --> 00:18:53,600
Someone said they've got year
group meetings during PPA.

487
00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:56,560
Just wait because I know you're
already, I can already see you

488
00:18:56,600 --> 00:18:59,200
deceiving.
Year group meetings during PPA

489
00:18:59,200 --> 00:19:01,840
at my school were regularly
directed to do certain tasks.

490
00:19:01,840 --> 00:19:04,040
In that time.
I've never been too bothered

491
00:19:04,040 --> 00:19:06,040
because I felt like if we didn't
do it then we'd only have to do

492
00:19:06,040 --> 00:19:07,920
it after school anyway.
That does come into touch.

493
00:19:07,920 --> 00:19:10,120
Which is a fairpoint or during
lunch or something like that.

494
00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:12,320
However, it occurred to me today
that this does mean that the

495
00:19:12,320 --> 00:19:14,400
meetings don't show up as
directed time on our calendar,

496
00:19:15,040 --> 00:19:16,040
right?
It's hidden.

497
00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:19,000
Recently, we've been also
directed to do tasks in the

498
00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:21,040
morning of our PPA.
So I don't always have time to

499
00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:25,480
do what I actually planned to do
in the spare time in my PPA

500
00:19:25,480 --> 00:19:27,480
after this meeting.
And it's beginning to annoy me.

501
00:19:27,480 --> 00:19:28,840
I don't know what I should do.
What should I do?

502
00:19:29,200 --> 00:19:31,120
Well, I'm going to call you out
immediately on something you did

503
00:19:31,120 --> 00:19:33,440
last week, which was when you
mentioned the four day week

504
00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:36,000
thing, you said there's a school
who's gone to four days a week

505
00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:37,400
and teachers get the 5th day
off.

506
00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:40,160
And I was like, it's not off
because they've got to do work.

507
00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:42,600
They get the fifth way to the
fifth day to do work.

508
00:19:42,600 --> 00:19:45,760
They've got to do.
So when we're talking about PPAI

509
00:19:46,280 --> 00:19:50,480
think so many of these problems
stem from the idea that it's

510
00:19:50,480 --> 00:19:54,360
off, the idea that it's a, it's
a favour we had.

511
00:19:54,360 --> 00:19:59,560
We had a message, a comment this
week about how someone said I

512
00:19:59,560 --> 00:20:01,440
did something about how PPA
should be flexible, should be

513
00:20:01,440 --> 00:20:02,560
able to take it from home, blah
blah, blah.

514
00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:05,400
Someone commented really annoyed
saying, oh, and teachers never

515
00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:08,200
bloody think about who's
covering their PPA, do they?

516
00:20:08,440 --> 00:20:11,040
They always just desperately
obsessed with wanting their PPA

517
00:20:11,040 --> 00:20:12,960
and whoever is covering it,
who's thinking about the

518
00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:15,840
children and their safety and
the HLTA who have to cover it.

519
00:20:15,840 --> 00:20:17,440
And I was like, yeah, that's not
our problem.

520
00:20:17,880 --> 00:20:21,760
I'm sorry, in the, I'm sure
you've got some very, you know,

521
00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:23,640
adequate grievances that are
fine.

522
00:20:23,720 --> 00:20:25,480
Yeah.
It's not our problem though.

523
00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:28,720
And if you're scrambling to
cover for PPA every week, that's

524
00:20:28,720 --> 00:20:30,600
an SLT problem.
And your school problem to.

525
00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:34,520
Be honest, yours exactly that
because 99% of schools from what

526
00:20:34,520 --> 00:20:37,440
I've heard have a bit of a
system in place, at least PPA

527
00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:41,400
and it is sacred.
Anyway, this, this person is the

528
00:20:41,440 --> 00:20:43,800
PPA is being used incorrectly.
Do you know what I mean?

529
00:20:43,800 --> 00:20:46,200
This person has to go to their
union and say something because

530
00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:49,680
PPA is not time off.
PPA is not a favour.

531
00:20:49,920 --> 00:20:52,360
PPA is not something where you
can go, well, it's OK actually

532
00:20:52,360 --> 00:20:54,240
I've got PPA that day, so I'm
sure they won't mind doing a

533
00:20:54,240 --> 00:20:56,040
meeting.
Oh, I'll just look in a parent

534
00:20:56,040 --> 00:20:57,920
meeting that day because there's
PPA, there's some free time.

535
00:20:57,920 --> 00:20:59,960
They've got time.
It's not free time.

536
00:20:59,960 --> 00:21:01,800
Let me make this extremely
clear.

537
00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:05,120
The amount of work teachers have
to do outside of the classroom

538
00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:08,360
just to be able to deliver their
work in of the classroom in the

539
00:21:08,360 --> 00:21:11,960
first place, it is much more
than the time they're allocated

540
00:21:11,960 --> 00:21:15,040
for that planning, preparation
and assessment in their PPA

541
00:21:15,040 --> 00:21:18,920
time.
So anything you put into PPA

542
00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:22,040
that takes time away from your
teachers being able to do that

543
00:21:22,640 --> 00:21:26,120
is adding time onto the teachers
free time where they'll have to

544
00:21:26,120 --> 00:21:28,960
complete that work.
If you have 4 hours of work a

545
00:21:28,960 --> 00:21:31,480
week to do outside of the
classroom and you get 2 hours of

546
00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:34,400
PPA, you get 2 hours you've got
to do outside of the classroom.

547
00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:35,920
Completely normal.
Often more.

548
00:21:36,280 --> 00:21:39,080
If you put an hour meeting in
that PPA, guess what?

549
00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:41,320
That four hours of work still
has to get done.

550
00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:44,080
So that is an extra hour now
that I've got to do at the

551
00:21:44,080 --> 00:21:46,840
weekend.
It's not acceptable, It's not

552
00:21:46,840 --> 00:21:49,480
fine.
PPA is sacred, and the only

553
00:21:49,480 --> 00:21:52,520
thing we should be working
towards as a whole staff is not

554
00:21:52,520 --> 00:21:54,960
gaslighting teachers into
thinking they're the problem

555
00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:56,760
because they want their PPA
protected.

556
00:21:57,200 --> 00:22:00,120
It's actually working together
with teachers to try and make

557
00:22:00,120 --> 00:22:02,440
whatever extra work they've got
to do outside of the classroom

558
00:22:02,680 --> 00:22:05,160
actually fit into that time
we're given to do the job.

559
00:22:05,360 --> 00:22:09,080
So stop putting the onus on
teachers from wanting their PPA

560
00:22:09,080 --> 00:22:11,520
time to be sacred and to have at
least 10%.

561
00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:15,840
At least 10%, by the way, not,
not any less, because an

562
00:22:15,840 --> 00:22:18,440
afternoon is often not even 10%
because the morning's so much

563
00:22:18,440 --> 00:22:20,320
longer.
But we should be working

564
00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:23,320
together to make it work.
Stop gaslighting teachers.

565
00:22:23,320 --> 00:22:25,840
Stop making them feel bad.
It's not time off.

566
00:22:25,840 --> 00:22:28,160
It's time they literally need to
be able to deliver the bulk of

567
00:22:28,160 --> 00:22:29,720
their own job.
That's really important.

568
00:22:30,040 --> 00:22:31,240
Wow.
Well, thank you, Shakespeare.

569
00:22:31,240 --> 00:22:32,760
That was a monologue and 1/2
that wasn't it.

570
00:22:32,760 --> 00:22:34,200
Crikey.
Really good.

571
00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:35,600
Yeah, very interesting.
I totally agree.

572
00:22:35,600 --> 00:22:37,720
But what would you say to the
one point in there which I

573
00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:40,000
thought was very like, I can see
where teachers would think,

574
00:22:40,160 --> 00:22:44,880
which was about the meetings
being other times.

575
00:22:44,880 --> 00:22:47,360
So the meeting in PPA he was
like or she I don't know, his

576
00:22:47,360 --> 00:22:49,600
person was.
If I don't do it now, I only

577
00:22:49,600 --> 00:22:50,800
have to do it another time
anyway.

578
00:22:50,800 --> 00:22:52,000
Yeah.
If you what do you think about

579
00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:53,520
that If you've got a group
meeting, not a star.

580
00:22:53,520 --> 00:22:54,760
Yeah.
If you've got to meet with your

581
00:22:54,760 --> 00:22:58,040
group, whatever reason, it does
make sense to do it in PPA.

582
00:22:58,280 --> 00:23:00,040
Yeah, right.
But that has to be a decision

583
00:23:00,040 --> 00:23:01,200
that you will make.
OK.

584
00:23:01,640 --> 00:23:04,560
I remember I worked in a school
once where it was from the top

585
00:23:04,560 --> 00:23:07,280
down, you have to have AU group
meeting every week and in one

586
00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:09,520
hour and 1 hour and it was after
school and that was on top of

587
00:23:09,520 --> 00:23:12,400
your hour week of training.
That is completely wrong.

588
00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:16,080
That is not something that I
think is acceptable because

589
00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:17,520
you're putting the onus on and
you've got to do an hour

590
00:23:17,520 --> 00:23:19,880
meeting, OK.
What it should be is just you're

591
00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:23,080
working with your year group
team as a teacher who's doing

592
00:23:23,080 --> 00:23:24,920
their planning, preparation and
assessment.

593
00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:28,240
If you and your team decide that
it's beneficial to get together

594
00:23:28,240 --> 00:23:30,440
to help with that planning
because then it's more

595
00:23:30,440 --> 00:23:31,720
efficient.
We're all on the same page.

596
00:23:31,720 --> 00:23:33,960
Maybe you're sharing planning so
you end up doing less anyway.

597
00:23:35,240 --> 00:23:38,920
There should be no time on it.
We often, we often meet with our

598
00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:42,640
year group in PPA for honestly
10 minutes or less at the start

599
00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:44,560
of every PPA.
It's almost like a let's get our

600
00:23:44,640 --> 00:23:46,080
heads together.
We don't often get time to sit

601
00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:47,600
in the same room because we're
so busy teaching.

602
00:23:47,920 --> 00:23:49,960
Let's get our heads together.
Any notices we need to know

603
00:23:49,960 --> 00:23:52,440
about and if I don't know about
it, it will have much of A

604
00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:56,200
detrimental impact later.
I'm, I'm completely like, I want

605
00:23:56,200 --> 00:23:58,480
those meetings.
I want to use my PPA for that

606
00:23:58,480 --> 00:24:02,040
because it helps me when it
becomes just simply, well, SLT

607
00:24:02,040 --> 00:24:04,000
have given us an agenda that
we've got to get through because

608
00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:05,960
we're a year group meeting and
we have to do it in our PPA.

609
00:24:06,160 --> 00:24:08,920
That's when it becomes wrong.
And if at any point, right, I

610
00:24:08,920 --> 00:24:11,520
could go to my head of year and
I could say I'm so sorry.

611
00:24:11,840 --> 00:24:13,240
I'm.
I'm completely swamped.

612
00:24:13,280 --> 00:24:15,560
I've been asked to do this.
I'm just going to crack on with

613
00:24:15,560 --> 00:24:17,200
this.
Could you please just e-mail me

614
00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:17,960
these points?
Yeah.

615
00:24:17,960 --> 00:24:19,440
Do you know what my year group
leader would say?

616
00:24:19,480 --> 00:24:20,320
Oh, yeah, of course.
Yeah, of.

617
00:24:20,320 --> 00:24:21,960
Course, because yeah, it's not
directed.

618
00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:22,880
Yeah, exactly.
It's not.

619
00:24:22,920 --> 00:24:24,040
I agree.
I I think it's been an

620
00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:25,800
interesting thought experiment,
having worked in a school, but

621
00:24:25,800 --> 00:24:29,760
also did an hour set, very set
hour rigid.

622
00:24:29,760 --> 00:24:31,800
You have to do AE group meeting
and now and now working in a

623
00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:33,880
school where that's the E group
meetings are not, they're not

624
00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:35,280
even talked about.
They're just some people do and

625
00:24:35,280 --> 00:24:36,560
some people don't like it
doesn't even matter.

626
00:24:36,560 --> 00:24:37,600
They're just not a thing.
Right.

627
00:24:38,080 --> 00:24:39,960
I'd like to do a thought
experiment with people maybe

628
00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:43,040
that do have that set time.
Maybe it's an hour, maybe it's

629
00:24:43,040 --> 00:24:44,880
half an hour, but whatever.
A set time a week where it's

630
00:24:44,880 --> 00:24:46,360
like a you have to have a year
group meeting.

631
00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:50,480
How much of that year group
meeting could be scrapped?

632
00:24:50,720 --> 00:24:52,800
How much of that you group
meeting could honestly just turn

633
00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:54,280
into a passing conversation in
the corridor?

634
00:24:54,280 --> 00:24:56,080
How much that you group meeting
could just be an e-mail from

635
00:24:56,080 --> 00:24:58,680
your head of year?
And I I because my personal

636
00:24:58,680 --> 00:25:00,640
feeling is having gone from a
school that did it to a school

637
00:25:00,640 --> 00:25:02,160
that didn't do it.
I don't feel like I've lost

638
00:25:02,160 --> 00:25:04,800
anything.
Every single thing we did in

639
00:25:04,800 --> 00:25:06,720
those you group meetings.
I now just do just in the

640
00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:08,640
morning walking past.
Oh, we've done this thing for

641
00:25:08,640 --> 00:25:09,840
today.
Oh yeah, Thanks for reminding me

642
00:25:09,840 --> 00:25:11,240
that spend 5 minutes in the
morning then go.

643
00:25:11,240 --> 00:25:12,320
It's adding to my little list.
That's fine.

644
00:25:12,320 --> 00:25:15,960
I've done that now three days
later in at lunchtime.

645
00:25:16,200 --> 00:25:18,280
Or did you did you see that or I
put it through?

646
00:25:18,280 --> 00:25:20,160
I got I emailed it to you.
Oh yeah, check it out later.

647
00:25:20,160 --> 00:25:22,560
I'll do it this afternoon.
You just it just turns into like

648
00:25:22,560 --> 00:25:24,600
part of the job.
Not it doesn't need to be and me

649
00:25:24,600 --> 00:25:27,080
are wasting an hour of my PPA or
wasting an hour after school.

650
00:25:27,520 --> 00:25:30,160
I just I just I reckon I can't
imagine there's many of you out

651
00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:32,240
there if you are doing it an
hour year group meeting that

652
00:25:32,400 --> 00:25:34,960
that disagree of that and think
no, no, we definitely that hour

653
00:25:34,960 --> 00:25:37,560
is essential that I sit there
exclusively doing that for an

654
00:25:37,560 --> 00:25:39,160
hour.
I doubt it.

655
00:25:39,280 --> 00:25:42,320
No, I completely agree.
And I think I think it has to

656
00:25:42,320 --> 00:25:44,000
come from the teacher.
Is it useful for the teachers?

657
00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:47,480
If the answer's yes, then call.
And if it becomes scatty like

658
00:25:47,480 --> 00:25:50,960
you're saying, yeah, in terms of
I can imagine that can become

659
00:25:50,960 --> 00:25:53,040
quite a scatty situation where
things are forgotten.

660
00:25:53,080 --> 00:25:54,120
Yeah, sure.
Use e-mail.

661
00:25:54,120 --> 00:25:55,440
Yeah.
Honestly, just do a bullet point

662
00:25:55,440 --> 00:25:59,000
e-mail or have like have some
kind of notice board, genuinely,

663
00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:00,840
in your year group, have some
notice board.

664
00:26:00,840 --> 00:26:02,640
Maybe it's in your year group
leaders classroom.

665
00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:04,720
Yeah, whatever it might be.
Or in your shared area, if

666
00:26:04,720 --> 00:26:07,520
you've got one, just just have a
way of just writing things down

667
00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:09,520
where you don't all have to be
in the same room for half an

668
00:26:09,520 --> 00:26:11,120
hour.
You know, it can just be like

669
00:26:11,320 --> 00:26:13,440
I've updated the board or sent
an e-mail or we've got this to

670
00:26:13,440 --> 00:26:14,720
do I think in this ways around.
Yeah.

671
00:26:14,720 --> 00:26:16,480
And then if something is
essential, guess what?

672
00:26:16,480 --> 00:26:17,520
In PPA, you just do what you
did.

673
00:26:17,520 --> 00:26:19,400
You just spend 3 minutes talking
to your team.

674
00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:21,480
Yeah, if you need to.
Which as teachers, we're not.

675
00:26:21,480 --> 00:26:22,920
We're not against that.
Doesn't matter, we're not

676
00:26:22,920 --> 00:26:24,360
against that.
Yeah, anyway, so there we go.

677
00:26:24,360 --> 00:26:25,680
I thought that was an
interesting one.

678
00:26:25,760 --> 00:26:28,120
But yeah, I think protect your
PPA time, fight for it.

679
00:26:28,840 --> 00:26:31,040
My advice would be if they have
any, if they have something to

680
00:26:31,040 --> 00:26:32,800
say about that, of you saying,
oh, actually it's undirected

681
00:26:32,800 --> 00:26:33,960
time, then you're in a toxic
school.

682
00:26:34,080 --> 00:26:35,440
So at that point, don't care
about it.

683
00:26:35,440 --> 00:26:36,840
Just do what you need to do at
that point.

684
00:26:36,840 --> 00:26:39,480
If they're toxic, then don't
care about their feelings

685
00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:40,800
because they don't care about
yours.

686
00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:42,800
So just fight the fight.
That's the way to.

687
00:26:42,840 --> 00:26:44,280
There we are.
Anyway, you've got you've been

688
00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:45,800
saying to me all week about some
stories.

689
00:26:45,840 --> 00:26:46,720
Yeah.
On Instagram.

690
00:26:46,800 --> 00:26:47,560
Yeah.
Have you got them?

691
00:26:47,720 --> 00:26:50,720
Well, basically since we've had
the big boom in numbers in the

692
00:26:50,720 --> 00:26:53,040
last few weeks, so has the
amount of messages that we've

693
00:26:53,040 --> 00:26:54,840
been getting right.
And I think these two messages

694
00:26:54,840 --> 00:26:57,840
perfectly summarised something
we said last week, which was how

695
00:26:57,840 --> 00:27:00,120
schools are so different.
So I'm going to read them out.

696
00:27:00,120 --> 00:27:02,800
There's 2 here.
Here's the first one, showing

697
00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:04,960
how schools can be amazing.
OK.

698
00:27:04,960 --> 00:27:06,800
All right.
So just listening to this week's

699
00:27:06,800 --> 00:27:08,760
podcast, I really want to share
what my school are doing.

700
00:27:09,040 --> 00:27:13,880
Last year my school implemented
a whole day of PPA from home and

701
00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:16,160
have continued it this academic
year.

702
00:27:16,640 --> 00:27:19,920
On that day children do Forest
school PE and art.

703
00:27:20,280 --> 00:27:23,080
Really great for the kids.
I think they have invested money

704
00:27:23,080 --> 00:27:25,520
in an art studio with an art
specialist teacher.

705
00:27:26,040 --> 00:27:28,160
What our head teacher told us
this at the time.

706
00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:32,320
Use this day off to ensure your
well-being is taken care of as

707
00:27:32,320 --> 00:27:34,680
long as you get the work done
because you're professionals and

708
00:27:34,680 --> 00:27:38,880
I trust you, do what you like.
If you want to work late 33

709
00:27:38,880 --> 00:27:41,840
evenings a week and have the day
off, then just do that.

710
00:27:42,120 --> 00:27:44,440
If you want to take your kids to
Chessington for the day and then

711
00:27:44,440 --> 00:27:47,760
work on Sunday, do that.
If you want to use it to ensure

712
00:27:47,760 --> 00:27:50,320
you do not work at the weekends,
do that as well.

713
00:27:50,680 --> 00:27:54,160
As well as this, we get subject
release time twice a term

714
00:27:54,360 --> 00:27:57,520
separate to these PPA days.
I'm not going to say it's been

715
00:27:57,520 --> 00:28:00,400
complete magic and it's just
completely fixed education, but

716
00:28:00,400 --> 00:28:02,720
my goodness, it's been
refreshing to work in a school

717
00:28:02,880 --> 00:28:05,400
where you're actually treated
like professionals and trusted

718
00:28:05,400 --> 00:28:07,480
to do your job.
We need more, We need more.

719
00:28:07,480 --> 00:28:10,120
If you work in a school like
this, please write in more

720
00:28:10,120 --> 00:28:11,400
because I tell you what, it
gives me hope.

721
00:28:11,800 --> 00:28:13,480
I I sometimes feel like there's
no hope.

722
00:28:13,800 --> 00:28:16,000
And hearing that makes me feel,
I feel giddy.

723
00:28:16,080 --> 00:28:18,000
I feel so good because, oh, my
God, there's a head teacher out

724
00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:20,160
there that's doing the thing
that I said I would do if I was

725
00:28:20,160 --> 00:28:20,800
a head teacher.
Yeah.

726
00:28:20,800 --> 00:28:22,320
Someone doing that.
Yeah, absolutely.

727
00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:23,720
It's so exciting.
And and do you know what?

728
00:28:23,720 --> 00:28:25,440
Someone summed it up, I can't
remember where I saw this the

729
00:28:25,440 --> 00:28:28,000
other day, and it was saying
that teachers are not selfish

730
00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:30,920
creatures.
The more you give to teachers,

731
00:28:31,080 --> 00:28:32,560
the more they will give you
back.

732
00:28:32,600 --> 00:28:34,320
Yeah.
If you invest like this in your

733
00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:36,600
teaching staff, your children
will get more out of it and it

734
00:28:36,600 --> 00:28:37,720
will be a better school in
general.

735
00:28:37,800 --> 00:28:39,480
Yeah.
That's one thing to add to this.

736
00:28:39,480 --> 00:28:41,680
Incredible.
Because afterwards, you know,

737
00:28:41,680 --> 00:28:44,640
I've got, let's say, a bee in my
bonnet, but about Academy

738
00:28:44,640 --> 00:28:46,160
trusts.
And I thought, you know what?

739
00:28:46,160 --> 00:28:48,040
This.
To be fair, this sounds like

740
00:28:48,040 --> 00:28:51,160
something an Academy trust could
do because they've got the big

741
00:28:51,160 --> 00:28:53,200
budget, maybe everyone goes on
about how its economies of

742
00:28:53,200 --> 00:28:55,680
scale, etcetera.
She messaged after to say she's

743
00:28:55,680 --> 00:28:57,040
also working for a local
authority school.

744
00:28:57,040 --> 00:28:57,720
It's not.
That isn't.

745
00:28:57,720 --> 00:28:59,360
That is not a SO.
It's not a trust.

746
00:28:59,360 --> 00:29:01,480
It's not something, sadly.
Well, I've seen what we can do.

747
00:29:01,560 --> 00:29:03,240
Yeah, we can do it wherever,
wherever, around.

748
00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:05,640
It doesn't have to be part of a
trust where the CEO is taking

749
00:29:05,640 --> 00:29:07,600
20% of the.
Budget you'd expect the caveat

750
00:29:07,600 --> 00:29:09,720
to be, and we get all this
because they don't pay any of

751
00:29:09,720 --> 00:29:11,560
the staff correctly.
So we've got this budget to have

752
00:29:11,560 --> 00:29:12,840
this art studio.
But that is another thing

753
00:29:12,840 --> 00:29:15,240
though, in the, you know, in,
in, in the dream world, we'd all

754
00:29:15,240 --> 00:29:17,600
have the budget to have an art
studio and a forest school and

755
00:29:17,600 --> 00:29:18,760
specialist teachers to come and
do that.

756
00:29:19,240 --> 00:29:20,920
Most local authority schools
don't have it.

757
00:29:20,920 --> 00:29:23,200
I don't know why, I don't know
what, I don't know how budgeting

758
00:29:23,200 --> 00:29:25,000
works, but I.
Reckon it can happen?

759
00:29:25,120 --> 00:29:26,560
For a lot.
But it is a reality for

760
00:29:26,560 --> 00:29:29,200
somewhere, so it must.
It must be a way to make that

761
00:29:29,200 --> 00:29:30,960
happen.
Yeah, so it, it really is

762
00:29:30,960 --> 00:29:32,240
incredible.
Sorry, I'm just trying to make

763
00:29:32,240 --> 00:29:34,600
sure I can breathe because my,
are you right?

764
00:29:34,600 --> 00:29:37,080
My nose currently has what feels
like a valve at the top because

765
00:29:37,080 --> 00:29:39,320
I can't breathe properly.
So anyone listening, I'm so

766
00:29:39,320 --> 00:29:41,680
sorry if I sound like a, a
machine malfunctioning.

767
00:29:42,080 --> 00:29:44,640
And so we've got that, that I, I
read that and I was like, do you

768
00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:45,840
know what?
I've got hope.

769
00:29:46,040 --> 00:29:47,760
What an amazing thing for
education system.

770
00:29:48,120 --> 00:29:50,760
Then I went to TikTok and had
another message from someone

771
00:29:50,920 --> 00:29:52,840
very, very much.
By the way, I appreciate you

772
00:29:52,840 --> 00:29:54,960
sending this message.
I appreciate all messages, but

773
00:29:54,960 --> 00:29:57,200
when they're a bit more, you
know, this is a bad thing that

774
00:29:57,200 --> 00:29:58,960
happened to me.
I do appreciate someone putting

775
00:29:58,960 --> 00:29:59,800
their heart on the sleeve like
that.

776
00:29:59,800 --> 00:30:01,680
So thank you.
Obviously going to remain

777
00:30:01,680 --> 00:30:04,560
anonymous.
I was a student in what I

778
00:30:04,560 --> 00:30:07,880
thought was a fantastic school
and I even went to this primary

779
00:30:07,880 --> 00:30:11,360
school and knew how good it was.
I was successful in a job

780
00:30:11,360 --> 00:30:15,440
interview and unfortunately due
to a number of factors I was

781
00:30:15,440 --> 00:30:19,320
left as an ECT as leader of
supply.

782
00:30:19,640 --> 00:30:22,560
So sorting out all supply as
well as being given a subject

783
00:30:22,560 --> 00:30:25,240
responsibility of maths,
something at the time that he

784
00:30:25,240 --> 00:30:28,240
thought was an amazing privilege
and you can frame it away for a

785
00:30:28,240 --> 00:30:30,160
new teacher like wow you're in
charge of maths.

786
00:30:30,720 --> 00:30:33,560
However you know obviously by
the end he knew what was

787
00:30:33,560 --> 00:30:35,440
happening.
He was also seen as the young 1,

788
00:30:35,440 --> 00:30:39,160
so any IT problems came straight
to him and as a result was also

789
00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:41,400
given IT coordinator.
Oh my God.

790
00:30:41,400 --> 00:30:45,960
So a brand new teacher given
maths lead huge job, ICT lead

791
00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:49,440
just because they can unplug
AHDMI cable and also then leader

792
00:30:49,440 --> 00:30:51,720
of supply and helping his other
EC TS as well.

793
00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:55,320
OK huge responsibilities.
So at 21 years of old he was

794
00:30:55,320 --> 00:30:59,080
head of maths, head of
computing, head of PE and unit

795
00:30:59,080 --> 00:31:02,480
leader for two other EC TS as
well as being one himself.

796
00:31:03,120 --> 00:31:06,360
In his first year he had a
verbal altercation with a parent

797
00:31:06,440 --> 00:31:12,200
when the mother of the child in
question said effing pointless

798
00:31:12,240 --> 00:31:14,800
and useless why the F are you a
teacher?

799
00:31:15,440 --> 00:31:17,800
Which then led to her coming
into the playground and out of

800
00:31:17,800 --> 00:31:21,600
nowhere, slapping slash,
punching a closed fist kind of

801
00:31:21,600 --> 00:31:23,960
slap in the face.
No.

802
00:31:24,120 --> 00:31:26,560
I don't want to put future
teachers off because it is fun

803
00:31:26,560 --> 00:31:29,000
in so many ways, and when it's
fun it's amazing.

804
00:31:29,200 --> 00:31:30,720
But something has to change,
doesn't it?

805
00:31:32,400 --> 00:31:35,320
I I can't fathom that.
There's so much to unpack.

806
00:31:35,320 --> 00:31:37,040
Firstly, is he the only teacher
at this school?

807
00:31:37,440 --> 00:31:39,520
And doing every job I know I
know, apart from never 2 EC

808
00:31:39,520 --> 00:31:40,920
teachers.
Isn't Yeah, yeah, of course.

809
00:31:40,920 --> 00:31:42,600
Oh my God, that's insane.
Like.

810
00:31:42,600 --> 00:31:44,960
But I wonder people quit.
Do you not see the the two the

811
00:31:44,960 --> 00:31:47,200
two like problems there?
Like in terms of how amazing

812
00:31:47,200 --> 00:31:50,160
schools are, the first school,
unbelievable the way that that

813
00:31:50,160 --> 00:31:52,600
school treated their new staff
like, don't you think?

814
00:31:52,600 --> 00:31:55,080
I think personally when you're
in ECT because it's a two year

815
00:31:55,080 --> 00:31:58,560
thing now, those two years
should be spent either shadowing

816
00:31:58,560 --> 00:32:00,600
someone to learn what they're
doing in a maybe in a role they

817
00:32:00,600 --> 00:32:02,880
want to be master lead one day,
call shadow the actual master

818
00:32:02,880 --> 00:32:04,840
lead.
Then just shadow them and

819
00:32:04,840 --> 00:32:07,800
learning to teach.
Get better at teaching.

820
00:32:07,800 --> 00:32:10,280
They were obviously desperate
for filling these roles for

821
00:32:10,280 --> 00:32:11,320
whatever reason.
But why?

822
00:32:11,400 --> 00:32:14,000
I mean, say something.
Yeah, that's I mean, it's almost

823
00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:15,800
ironic, isn't it?
Because clearly it's the fact

824
00:32:15,800 --> 00:32:18,240
that they did that to that ACT
probably shows why they didn't

825
00:32:18,240 --> 00:32:20,040
have an athlete in the 1st place
because people don't clearly

826
00:32:20,040 --> 00:32:21,200
don't want to work to place like
that.

827
00:32:21,560 --> 00:32:23,960
And if you know, you know, what
with the parent thing is

828
00:32:23,960 --> 00:32:27,080
rubbish, but it's kind of like
that's a little bit more out of

829
00:32:27,080 --> 00:32:29,400
your control in terms of you
can't, you can't change the

830
00:32:29,400 --> 00:32:30,880
catchment that you're in, if you
know what I mean.

831
00:32:30,880 --> 00:32:33,640
You can, you can help to uplift
the the area, but like the

832
00:32:33,640 --> 00:32:37,080
catchment, what I'm trying to
say here is it's so vastly

833
00:32:37,080 --> 00:32:39,120
different where you end up
working, what kind of catchment

834
00:32:39,120 --> 00:32:41,000
you're in and what kind of
parents you might be serving.

835
00:32:41,320 --> 00:32:43,080
Yeah, but I think you get
parents like that wherever, just

836
00:32:43,080 --> 00:32:45,040
unhinged parents who are.
So yeah, of course you get.

837
00:32:45,240 --> 00:32:47,320
I remember working quite an
affluent area and I had parents

838
00:32:47,320 --> 00:32:50,440
who were on at me more than ever
constantly saying why you doing

839
00:32:50,440 --> 00:32:51,960
this, my child?
Why you doing that for my child?

840
00:32:51,960 --> 00:32:54,000
My child should get this.
My child should get that and I

841
00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:56,080
get my parents defend their
children and treat teachers like

842
00:32:56,080 --> 00:32:58,000
rubbish.
But to close.

843
00:32:58,040 --> 00:33:00,280
School.
No no to close fist someone hit

844
00:33:00,280 --> 00:33:03,480
like like this, but the school
should then be absolutely on it

845
00:33:03,480 --> 00:33:05,600
immediately on your side banning
that person, getting the

846
00:33:05,600 --> 00:33:07,440
authorities involved.
I'm hoping they did that.

847
00:33:07,520 --> 00:33:10,360
Yeah, well, apparently at the
time that he's this guy was

848
00:33:10,360 --> 00:33:13,400
saying how he just wasn't in a
position where he felt confident

849
00:33:13,400 --> 00:33:14,760
to him.
No, that's disgusting.

850
00:33:14,760 --> 00:33:16,600
Then that is disgusting.
Like because you didn't mention

851
00:33:16,600 --> 00:33:18,440
that.
I just assumed in that part the

852
00:33:18,440 --> 00:33:20,280
best happened.
I'm assuming that parent was

853
00:33:20,280 --> 00:33:23,200
banned from the school.
Yeah, but maybe not, maybe not

854
00:33:23,200 --> 00:33:24,440
that.
I mean that would be that would

855
00:33:24,440 --> 00:33:26,080
be honestly discussed.
That's that point.

856
00:33:26,080 --> 00:33:27,240
I'm like, okay, get police
involved.

857
00:33:27,280 --> 00:33:28,800
That's mental.
That's not even like a school

858
00:33:28,800 --> 00:33:30,600
thing anymore.
That is a you've been assaulted

859
00:33:30,600 --> 00:33:32,560
by by another person.
That is ridiculous.

860
00:33:32,640 --> 00:33:33,960
Yeah, I feel sorry for that
person.

861
00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:35,520
Go work in the other school that
we had in the 1st.

862
00:33:35,520 --> 00:33:38,760
Story, but doesn't that just
show in general?

863
00:33:38,760 --> 00:33:40,680
I know there's more to that
story, but the the point of

864
00:33:40,680 --> 00:33:43,240
being the difference in schools,
yeah, absolutely.

865
00:33:43,240 --> 00:33:45,800
From one school to another,
you've got 74 different pieces

866
00:33:45,800 --> 00:33:48,080
of workload to do on top of just
learning how to be a teacher.

867
00:33:48,320 --> 00:33:49,800
And then the other one, you've
got a head teacher going.

868
00:33:49,800 --> 00:33:51,080
Do you want to go to Chessington
on Friday?

869
00:33:51,360 --> 00:33:55,760
Paid the same mad broken, broken
job.

870
00:33:55,800 --> 00:33:58,280
Absolutely crazy, by the way.
I just thought I'd show you

871
00:33:58,280 --> 00:33:58,920
that.
I thought it was very

872
00:33:58,920 --> 00:34:00,600
interesting.
Shall we get into the main bar

873
00:34:00,600 --> 00:34:02,200
for this episode?
You have been doing a lot of

874
00:34:02,200 --> 00:34:06,680
thinking about simplicity and
how it seems to be missing from

875
00:34:06,680 --> 00:34:11,600
my education system.
So funny enough, earlier on in

876
00:34:11,600 --> 00:34:13,560
the podcast, I said, oh, didn't
you've mentioned something that

877
00:34:13,560 --> 00:34:15,760
I'm going to ask you later?
And my first question in this

878
00:34:15,760 --> 00:34:19,639
whole idea of simplicity and
have teachers lost their way,

879
00:34:19,760 --> 00:34:20,960
right?
Which is the kind of overarching

880
00:34:20,960 --> 00:34:25,239
question I've got here is about
people quitting, which we know

881
00:34:25,239 --> 00:34:26,800
is terrible right now.
Retention is awful.

882
00:34:27,080 --> 00:34:30,600
Are people leaving this job
because we've lost our purpose?

883
00:34:30,800 --> 00:34:33,000
And earlier on you mentioned
about the whole set, the test

884
00:34:33,000 --> 00:34:35,320
testing thing and setting
imaginary bars.

885
00:34:35,320 --> 00:34:39,600
Do you think that is either a a
big reason or the biggest reason

886
00:34:39,600 --> 00:34:41,360
that teachers just don't want to
do this job anymore?

887
00:34:41,360 --> 00:34:43,040
I think it's a big reason.
I don't know if it's the

888
00:34:43,040 --> 00:34:44,760
biggest.
I think when when a teacher.

889
00:34:44,760 --> 00:34:48,480
Quits it's for it's for a big
reason and that big reason is

890
00:34:48,480 --> 00:34:51,840
usually a combination of stuff.
So I, I very rarely see a

891
00:34:51,840 --> 00:34:53,560
teacher who's quit because of
one thing.

892
00:34:53,840 --> 00:34:58,080
I see a teacher who goes I
didn't want to quit but XYZ and

893
00:34:58,360 --> 00:35:01,440
all of these things added up and
and just culminated to me

894
00:35:01,440 --> 00:35:02,920
leaving.
I think this is a big part of

895
00:35:02,920 --> 00:35:04,640
it.
I think this, this idea of just

896
00:35:05,720 --> 00:35:08,960
doing stuff because it's the
stuff we're told we have to do

897
00:35:09,440 --> 00:35:13,920
by ourselves, like the amount of
stuff that is like, well, the

898
00:35:13,920 --> 00:35:16,080
policy says that we need to be
doing this.

899
00:35:16,080 --> 00:35:17,560
I was like, so yeah, who wrote
the policy?

900
00:35:17,840 --> 00:35:20,160
We did.
Why don't you change policy

901
00:35:20,160 --> 00:35:22,400
then?
Because every single person in

902
00:35:22,400 --> 00:35:25,240
this room knows that what you're
asking me to do is completely

903
00:35:25,240 --> 00:35:27,280
pointless.
But we all justify it by saying,

904
00:35:27,280 --> 00:35:29,720
well, it's just what we've got
to do because we decided we've

905
00:35:29,720 --> 00:35:31,400
got to do it.
Mad What?

906
00:35:31,480 --> 00:35:32,800
Can we all just wake up?
For a second?

907
00:35:32,800 --> 00:35:35,480
I felt like in a school that
happened so much, we can change

908
00:35:35,480 --> 00:35:37,520
what we've got to do then
because we're in control of it,

909
00:35:37,680 --> 00:35:40,080
we don't need to do it anymore.
That's circular thinking, isn't

910
00:35:40,080 --> 00:35:41,880
it?
Like completely insular circular

911
00:35:41,880 --> 00:35:43,120
thinking.
We have to, because we made this

912
00:35:43,120 --> 00:35:43,800
rule.
Who made the rule?

913
00:35:43,800 --> 00:35:47,280
We did, and I've heard you say
it in Derby.

914
00:35:47,440 --> 00:35:48,600
Can we change the rule then?
Yeah.

915
00:35:48,720 --> 00:35:50,640
You want to change the bar?
Can we change the policy?

916
00:35:50,800 --> 00:35:52,880
I'm so fed up because I'm doing
all this and no one else isn't.

917
00:35:53,520 --> 00:35:55,840
Do you use what you're doing?
Like, do you use that sheet

918
00:35:55,840 --> 00:35:57,280
you're fitting in every time you
do something?

919
00:35:57,520 --> 00:36:00,400
No, but we've got to.
Who said?

920
00:36:00,400 --> 00:36:03,040
We've got to the English lead.
Who's the English lead?

921
00:36:03,320 --> 00:36:05,000
Someone down there who also.
Doesn't me it's.

922
00:36:05,800 --> 00:36:07,800
Like what?
Oh, mad.

923
00:36:07,800 --> 00:36:10,600
So this so that Fort train that
you kind of explored earlier is

924
00:36:10,600 --> 00:36:13,480
kind of the inspiration I had
for this episode, which is about

925
00:36:13,880 --> 00:36:16,240
about losing our purpose and
teachers wanting to quit this

926
00:36:16,240 --> 00:36:17,440
job.
Is it because of that

927
00:36:17,440 --> 00:36:19,280
simplicity?
Is it because we've become too

928
00:36:19,280 --> 00:36:21,040
complex?
We've made too many imaginary

929
00:36:21,040 --> 00:36:23,440
bars?
There's just so much going on.

930
00:36:23,720 --> 00:36:26,560
And we also speaking to so we're
mentioning Sophie a lot in this

931
00:36:26,560 --> 00:36:28,400
episode.
Sophie, just like clearly we're

932
00:36:28,400 --> 00:36:30,400
your biggest fan.
Virtual podcast host.

933
00:36:30,920 --> 00:36:33,840
Yeah, and Spirit, she is Rai,
because of course she's a robot.

934
00:36:34,160 --> 00:36:36,680
And she mentioned this article
from 2017 that we'd never read.

935
00:36:37,080 --> 00:36:38,480
Quite surprised because
apparently it was huge.

936
00:36:38,640 --> 00:36:41,560
And it was called The
Extraordinary Case of Mr

937
00:36:41,560 --> 00:36:45,520
Yamazaki by Solomon Kingsnorf.
Great name, fantastic pseudonym

938
00:36:45,880 --> 00:36:47,840
apparently unfortunately.
But if there is someone out

939
00:36:47,840 --> 00:36:50,040
there called Solomon Kingsnorf,
get in touch because that is the

940
00:36:50,040 --> 00:36:52,320
best name I've ever heard,
honestly.

941
00:36:52,320 --> 00:36:53,200
It really is you.
Minded me.

942
00:36:53,240 --> 00:36:54,520
Called Solomon King.
What's your name?

943
00:36:54,840 --> 00:36:56,440
Solomon.
Solomon.

944
00:36:56,560 --> 00:36:59,640
Solomon Solomon Kingsnorf.
I've listened to that guy.

945
00:36:59,800 --> 00:37:02,280
Yeah, absolutely that guy.
Onto the actual article though,

946
00:37:02,280 --> 00:37:04,880
so we will link this down below.
Do actually give it a proper

947
00:37:04,880 --> 00:37:07,240
read because it was genuinely
like fascinating we were in or

948
00:37:07,240 --> 00:37:09,000
reading this whole thing.
But we're just going to go over

949
00:37:09,000 --> 00:37:11,440
some of the key points from it.
And the whole point of this

950
00:37:11,440 --> 00:37:15,080
article is to highlight,
highlight how simple things

951
00:37:15,080 --> 00:37:19,600
could be and I guess ironically,
spotlight how complex we've made

952
00:37:19,600 --> 00:37:23,160
it, how overcomplicated the job
of teaching and just education,

953
00:37:23,160 --> 00:37:24,720
teaching and learning has
become.

954
00:37:25,160 --> 00:37:26,720
So let's go over some of the key
points and.

955
00:37:27,280 --> 00:37:28,920
By the way, if you're listening,
stick to the end.

956
00:37:28,920 --> 00:37:30,480
There is an unbelievable twist
at the end.

957
00:37:30,880 --> 00:37:33,680
It's like it blew my mind at the
end honestly.

958
00:37:33,720 --> 00:37:35,280
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Do stick around.

959
00:37:35,320 --> 00:37:38,880
So in this school, which is a
through school, so it's not a

960
00:37:38,880 --> 00:37:40,840
Junior School year, it's
reception all the way to year 6,

961
00:37:40,840 --> 00:37:42,920
right?
Primary school in the first

962
00:37:42,920 --> 00:37:47,400
year, they have stripped back
the curriculum to just two

963
00:37:47,400 --> 00:37:50,280
objectives.
So in reception, Dylan, what do

964
00:37:50,280 --> 00:37:53,800
these children focus on?
It's it's it's incredible.

965
00:37:54,280 --> 00:37:57,480
I read this learning the
alphabet by citing handwriting

966
00:37:58,160 --> 00:38:00,840
and counting to 20 and back.
That's it.

967
00:38:01,520 --> 00:38:05,520
It's, it's not even an idea that
a child can leave reception, not

968
00:38:05,520 --> 00:38:08,520
be able to do these two things,
because in the current system,

969
00:38:08,520 --> 00:38:10,760
like you said, of things sitting
on top of each other all the

970
00:38:10,760 --> 00:38:14,880
time, these two things, actually
this head teacher has decided

971
00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:16,960
that's what I want my children
to do at the end of reception.

972
00:38:17,320 --> 00:38:21,640
And apart from that, they do
loads of informal learning, no

973
00:38:21,640 --> 00:38:24,400
formal learning.
Apart from that, it's all play.

974
00:38:24,560 --> 00:38:26,160
And it's not even learning
through play.

975
00:38:26,480 --> 00:38:27,520
You know, it's not going
clipboard out.

976
00:38:27,520 --> 00:38:29,240
And they're at this station
because there's five stations

977
00:38:29,240 --> 00:38:31,080
set up and I've got to make sure
you're pretending to be a vet.

978
00:38:31,080 --> 00:38:32,080
I'm going to take off that
you're talking.

979
00:38:32,240 --> 00:38:35,880
No, no, just play, Just play.
And that is it.

980
00:38:35,880 --> 00:38:38,000
And stories.
Yeah, stories are the big one.

981
00:38:38,080 --> 00:38:40,680
Yeah, and the vocab is built
through stories.

982
00:38:40,880 --> 00:38:45,480
The UK average for reception
child is 1500 to 1600 words.

983
00:38:46,040 --> 00:38:50,000
This can significantly increase
children's vocab to 3.8 to

984
00:38:50,000 --> 00:38:52,680
4.2000.
You can more than double it just

985
00:38:52,680 --> 00:38:57,520
from having play and stories at
the centre of everything,

986
00:38:57,680 --> 00:39:00,160
alongside counting 20 back and
then in the alphabet.

987
00:39:00,160 --> 00:39:02,600
So once they've done that in
reception, they move to year one

988
00:39:02,720 --> 00:39:05,840
in this school and in year 1
it's seen as the most vital

989
00:39:05,840 --> 00:39:07,960
year.
Every single bit of resource is

990
00:39:07,960 --> 00:39:11,880
put into year one because the
idea is that later on in the

991
00:39:11,880 --> 00:39:16,400
school, if these foundations are
solid, you can add stuff quickly

992
00:39:16,880 --> 00:39:18,600
because they've already got
those foundations in place.

993
00:39:18,600 --> 00:39:19,920
So why?
Why is what year one important

994
00:39:19,920 --> 00:39:20,840
in this case?
I mean a year one.

995
00:39:20,960 --> 00:39:22,720
I mean, I've always thought this
anyway, So reading this, I was

996
00:39:22,720 --> 00:39:24,760
like, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes,
yes, because I think the lower

997
00:39:24,760 --> 00:39:26,240
down is more important for those
foundations.

998
00:39:26,240 --> 00:39:29,640
Just quick segue because like
how many times in upper school

999
00:39:29,960 --> 00:39:33,680
have you encountered a child who
is significantly behind in their

1000
00:39:33,680 --> 00:39:35,720
ability to read and do basic
numeracy right?

1001
00:39:36,160 --> 00:39:37,800
And you and you look back, if
you look back at that journey,

1002
00:39:37,800 --> 00:39:40,920
you think, well, I'm sure we did
everything we could though to

1003
00:39:40,920 --> 00:39:42,640
get them there.
And you go, oh, no, they spent

1004
00:39:42,920 --> 00:39:44,280
this much time learning about
the Mayans.

1005
00:39:44,400 --> 00:39:46,200
They did this much time learning
about there's other things.

1006
00:39:46,200 --> 00:39:48,600
I'm not saying these subjects
are bad, but there's a point

1007
00:39:48,600 --> 00:39:51,920
where I'm like, should they just
have focused on these extremely

1008
00:39:51,920 --> 00:39:54,640
essential foundations?
Or more more importantly, in

1009
00:39:54,640 --> 00:39:56,920
maths, should they have not gone
on to 17 other things before?

1010
00:39:56,920 --> 00:39:58,640
They can do that?
Because I still think learning

1011
00:39:58,640 --> 00:40:00,000
about different cultures is so
important.

1012
00:40:00,000 --> 00:40:02,000
And in this school they're still
learning about the Mayans.

1013
00:40:02,200 --> 00:40:03,800
It's just in story time, in the
afternoon.

1014
00:40:03,920 --> 00:40:06,200
They're still doing history,
it's just in story time.

1015
00:40:06,320 --> 00:40:09,720
It's built into narratives which
the human mind is wired to take

1016
00:40:09,720 --> 00:40:12,080
in.
It's not wired to take in six

1017
00:40:12,160 --> 00:40:14,720
individual lessons about Mayans.
We're talking about how the

1018
00:40:14,720 --> 00:40:17,400
community has changed over time,
just with these young kids.

1019
00:40:18,280 --> 00:40:21,480
These children in this school,
according to this, this article,

1020
00:40:21,480 --> 00:40:25,080
can recite you this unbelievable
historical story about how a

1021
00:40:25,080 --> 00:40:27,720
whole culture was founded
because they did it for a story.

1022
00:40:28,000 --> 00:40:29,400
Great.
And then in maths, you know

1023
00:40:29,400 --> 00:40:30,400
what?
They're not gonna learn what a

1024
00:40:30,400 --> 00:40:33,040
fraction is until Year 5 because
there's no point.

1025
00:40:33,200 --> 00:40:36,640
Can they do these things?
Don't over saturate it, still do

1026
00:40:36,640 --> 00:40:38,800
maths, still do history, still
do geography, but at the level

1027
00:40:38,800 --> 00:40:40,680
what's important for.
Them get rid of those imaginary

1028
00:40:40,680 --> 00:40:44,640
bars you can learn fractions in
in a fraction of the time when

1029
00:40:44,640 --> 00:40:47,480
you are 10 years old compared to
trying to learn it when you're

1030
00:40:47,480 --> 00:40:48,880
6.
And you still don't really know

1031
00:40:48,880 --> 00:40:50,040
your multiplication.
Yeah.

1032
00:40:50,040 --> 00:40:52,440
It's like, just leave it.
Do they need to know it?

1033
00:40:52,680 --> 00:40:54,520
Seriously, if you really think
about it, most of the

1034
00:40:54,520 --> 00:40:56,800
curriculum, how much do we, how
much they need to know at eight?

1035
00:40:56,920 --> 00:40:58,080
Yeah.
Does it matter if they learn at

1036
00:40:58,080 --> 00:40:58,600
10?
Yeah.

1037
00:40:59,000 --> 00:41:00,560
Like what are they do?
Are they going to get a job at

1038
00:41:00,560 --> 00:41:01,000
8?
Are they?

1039
00:41:01,000 --> 00:41:02,600
Or they're going to get that 8
year old job now.

1040
00:41:02,600 --> 00:41:04,480
They don't know it now though,
so just as long as they're

1041
00:41:04,480 --> 00:41:06,840
before they're 16.
Honestly just let them learn it

1042
00:41:06,840 --> 00:41:08,520
at some point.
Maybe let their brain develop,

1043
00:41:08,520 --> 00:41:10,080
then teach them this thing.
It'll be twice.

1044
00:41:10,080 --> 00:41:12,400
It's so much easier.
It's mad what we do about.

1045
00:41:12,400 --> 00:41:14,560
So in year 1, one of us 3
learning objectives because it's

1046
00:41:14,560 --> 00:41:17,560
three now or be careful a.
Lot of weight is 3 and year, so

1047
00:41:17,560 --> 00:41:19,480
reading and writing every
phonemographing.

1048
00:41:19,840 --> 00:41:21,440
OK, brilliant.
Simple, right?

1049
00:41:21,560 --> 00:41:23,880
Counting to 110 and back.
Yep.

1050
00:41:24,440 --> 00:41:26,920
And finally mastering all number
bonds to 20.

1051
00:41:26,920 --> 00:41:29,720
That includes not just like
knowing numbers to 20, it

1052
00:41:29,720 --> 00:41:32,520
includes number ones to 19.
Yes, number ones to 18/17/16 all

1053
00:41:32,520 --> 00:41:34,440
the way down.
So knowing what 9 + 6 is.

1054
00:41:34,560 --> 00:41:36,480
Yeah, exactly.
Straight away all of your 1

1055
00:41:36,480 --> 00:41:38,800
digit number bond facts.
Yeah, off by heart, that's it.

1056
00:41:38,960 --> 00:41:41,720
So no extended writing or
unnecessary subjects at this

1057
00:41:41,720 --> 00:41:45,240
point it is just mastering the
basics and again using

1058
00:41:45,240 --> 00:41:48,880
storytelling, using stories to
to enrich their idea of the

1059
00:41:48,880 --> 00:41:50,160
world.
Exactly.

1060
00:41:50,160 --> 00:41:52,240
That's fine at this point.
Exactly that doesn't have to be

1061
00:41:52,240 --> 00:41:53,400
a formal you've got to history
book.

1062
00:41:53,400 --> 00:41:56,280
We're writing down a fill in the
blanks in this sentence because

1063
00:41:56,280 --> 00:41:58,880
the sentence your teacher just
told you no, let the mixed

1064
00:41:58,880 --> 00:42:01,160
school let them have stories.
Do you know at this point I was

1065
00:42:01,160 --> 00:42:03,040
reading through and then we we
used through the rest of the

1066
00:42:03,040 --> 00:42:05,480
article told through the rest of
the school has interviews with

1067
00:42:05,480 --> 00:42:07,080
head teacher himself.
Yeah, yeah.

1068
00:42:07,240 --> 00:42:08,680
And I was just I was so
inspired.

1069
00:42:09,120 --> 00:42:11,600
I was so inspired.
And this guy's basically coming

1070
00:42:11,600 --> 00:42:13,960
and completely challenged all
this traditional UK primary

1071
00:42:13,960 --> 00:42:14,760
education.
Yeah.

1072
00:42:14,840 --> 00:42:17,000
This model of just like, well,
we've got to be sure we're

1073
00:42:17,000 --> 00:42:18,440
always assessing children all of
the time.

1074
00:42:18,440 --> 00:42:19,680
More, more, more.
We've got to write this down on

1075
00:42:19,680 --> 00:42:21,040
this piece of paper.
And if they can't do this and

1076
00:42:21,040 --> 00:42:22,640
obviously they're not age
expected and we need to make

1077
00:42:22,640 --> 00:42:24,160
sure they can do that.
And it's at the detriment of

1078
00:42:24,160 --> 00:42:26,040
every everything else.
Strip it back.

1079
00:42:26,560 --> 00:42:28,640
Unbelievable.
Outcomes were better.

1080
00:42:29,000 --> 00:42:30,520
I was ready to be completely
converted.

1081
00:42:31,000 --> 00:42:35,160
And then you messaged me.
And we found out what did I

1082
00:42:35,160 --> 00:42:36,560
message you, Dylan?
What did I message you?

1083
00:42:36,680 --> 00:42:40,440
This is a fictional I'm.
Like no.

1084
00:42:40,800 --> 00:42:43,880
But the the point of the
fictional piece of work was to

1085
00:42:43,880 --> 00:42:46,080
have this impact, and it was to
make this point that we're going

1086
00:42:46,080 --> 00:42:49,520
to talk about now.
Simplicity is lost.

1087
00:42:49,800 --> 00:42:51,920
And actually it was about
overload.

1088
00:42:52,440 --> 00:42:56,040
If I was to summarise the issue
or one of the biggest issues,

1089
00:42:56,040 --> 00:42:58,520
there's several with with
teaching and education right

1090
00:42:58,520 --> 00:43:03,120
now, it is overload.
It is always, always, always.

1091
00:43:03,120 --> 00:43:05,560
What more can our kids do?
We need to make the day at

1092
00:43:05,560 --> 00:43:07,320
school longer because we can't
fit everything in.

1093
00:43:07,520 --> 00:43:09,440
I promise you, if we make the
day at school longer, we'll fit

1094
00:43:09,440 --> 00:43:11,040
it and we'll have more stuff to
fit in.

1095
00:43:11,800 --> 00:43:13,760
Simplicity.
Strip it back.

1096
00:43:14,200 --> 00:43:15,760
Less is more.
Yeah.

1097
00:43:15,760 --> 00:43:16,880
So you've come up with some
points.

1098
00:43:16,880 --> 00:43:18,920
Yeah, so this, the whole thing
just inspired me.

1099
00:43:18,920 --> 00:43:21,320
It made me think of some
questions and I thought I was

1100
00:43:21,320 --> 00:43:23,320
going to ask you at the time and
I thought, no, I'm going to be

1101
00:43:23,320 --> 00:43:25,480
clever and save it for the
podcast and ask what your

1102
00:43:25,480 --> 00:43:27,440
opinions are.
So my first question to you,

1103
00:43:27,440 --> 00:43:29,640
because of this over
complication which you've just

1104
00:43:29,640 --> 00:43:34,720
highlighted, do you think
education has actually got worse

1105
00:43:34,960 --> 00:43:37,560
for children?
No.

1106
00:43:38,080 --> 00:43:40,560
I think education is way better
than if you look at the 70s and

1107
00:43:40,560 --> 00:43:42,240
80s.
And I think it's really, really,

1108
00:43:42,240 --> 00:43:45,480
really easy to forget that.
I think education, a child's

1109
00:43:45,480 --> 00:43:48,840
education right now in school is
so much better than it was

1110
00:43:48,840 --> 00:43:51,640
because we were so driven by the
fact that standards were so bad

1111
00:43:51,640 --> 00:43:53,240
back then.
And when people say, yeah, we

1112
00:43:53,240 --> 00:43:55,640
used to just sit and behave in
class, yeah, because you had to,

1113
00:43:55,640 --> 00:43:57,200
because someone would throw a
board rubber at you.

1114
00:43:57,560 --> 00:43:59,440
They'd throw a board rubber at
your head if you didn't.

1115
00:43:59,480 --> 00:44:02,040
OK, We don't have that anymore.
In general, yes.

1116
00:44:02,040 --> 00:44:06,520
However, I think we've gone way
too far down the route of test

1117
00:44:06,520 --> 00:44:08,960
data, getting people through
certain things and covering as

1118
00:44:08,960 --> 00:44:10,560
much as we possibly can to cram
it in.

1119
00:44:10,560 --> 00:44:12,880
Because back then there was no
national curriculum and kids

1120
00:44:12,880 --> 00:44:15,400
just did artsy farty thing,
enjoyed it, by the way.

1121
00:44:15,600 --> 00:44:17,520
Kids just did little artsy farty
things all day.

1122
00:44:17,840 --> 00:44:19,600
And now it's like, no, we need
to make sure kids are getting

1123
00:44:19,600 --> 00:44:21,480
all of this and they are
definitely getting a better deal

1124
00:44:21,480 --> 00:44:25,240
for that, but it's gone too far.
So in terms of is it worse over

1125
00:44:25,240 --> 00:44:27,880
time?
Probably not worse, but it, it

1126
00:44:27,880 --> 00:44:30,920
could be so much better.
And and we're at the point now

1127
00:44:30,920 --> 00:44:33,760
the Nexus, I think, where it is
becoming worse because we're so

1128
00:44:33,760 --> 00:44:35,440
obsessed with more, more, more,
more, more, more, more.

1129
00:44:35,440 --> 00:44:36,880
Yeah.
So I think it's easy for someone

1130
00:44:36,880 --> 00:44:38,280
to sit here and be like, it's
worse than ever.

1131
00:44:38,280 --> 00:44:40,360
It's not.
It's just not Yeah, but it.

1132
00:44:40,360 --> 00:44:42,080
But it could be so, so much
better.

1133
00:44:42,160 --> 00:44:44,280
You're kind of thinking on a bit
of a macro level there as well.

1134
00:44:44,320 --> 00:44:46,600
You're thinking like overall.
Yeah, overall it's way better.

1135
00:44:46,600 --> 00:44:48,760
So let's granularize it.
Granularize another word.

1136
00:44:48,760 --> 00:44:51,080
I made that a little bit right?
Maybe you need to do some more

1137
00:44:51,080 --> 00:44:54,480
English sources, girls.
Yeah, clearly my education was

1138
00:44:54,480 --> 00:44:55,920
not good enough.
I should be in today's

1139
00:44:55,920 --> 00:44:56,760
education, actually.
Thank you.

1140
00:44:56,760 --> 00:44:59,880
I'd have learned and that three
years old, but if we think about

1141
00:44:59,880 --> 00:45:01,160
just some.
I was trying to think about this

1142
00:45:01,160 --> 00:45:02,320
question.
I've been asked at loads of

1143
00:45:02,320 --> 00:45:03,760
times and I'll always say what
you say.

1144
00:45:03,760 --> 00:45:05,920
I'm like, no, at the end, you
know, I moan about things, but

1145
00:45:05,920 --> 00:45:08,280
education for kids is better.
But then I do think that am I

1146
00:45:08,280 --> 00:45:10,400
falling into the trap as well,
though, of being like, yeah, I

1147
00:45:10,400 --> 00:45:13,320
think it's better by the metric
standards, the standards that we

1148
00:45:13,320 --> 00:45:15,160
have set.
Because when I think about stuff

1149
00:45:15,160 --> 00:45:17,400
that maybe used to be valued
more, that isn't valued anymore,

1150
00:45:17,560 --> 00:45:20,000
stuff like mental math skills,
it just isn't valued anymore.

1151
00:45:20,160 --> 00:45:22,000
Aura C skills.
I saw that come up on Teacher

1152
00:45:22,000 --> 00:45:23,800
Tap this week and I was like, Oh
yeah, Aura C.

1153
00:45:24,040 --> 00:45:25,280
It was asking, does your school
do this?

1154
00:45:25,280 --> 00:45:27,520
I was like, no, I don't have
anyone that does Aura C

1155
00:45:27,520 --> 00:45:30,080
anywhere.
And just other life skills in

1156
00:45:30,080 --> 00:45:32,320
general.
Do you feel like that they're

1157
00:45:32,320 --> 00:45:36,320
just like, have they got worse?
And if they've got worse, is it

1158
00:45:36,320 --> 00:45:39,120
because we don't think they
matter anymore or I don't know.

1159
00:45:39,160 --> 00:45:41,920
It made me like my mind shift.
Do you know what stuff normally

1160
00:45:41,920 --> 00:45:44,600
gets worse because there's less
time to do it, but very rarely

1161
00:45:44,600 --> 00:45:46,600
the stuff get worse just
because.

1162
00:45:47,080 --> 00:45:49,000
So when we're thinking about
like oracy skills and mental

1163
00:45:49,000 --> 00:45:51,920
strategies, 100% they've got
worse than when we were at

1164
00:45:51,920 --> 00:45:53,880
school.
Mental strategies for us, we

1165
00:45:53,880 --> 00:45:57,080
looked at SAT's papers from like
2002 thousand and four that area

1166
00:45:57,080 --> 00:45:59,920
when we were taking.
And a lot of them are way more

1167
00:45:59,920 --> 00:46:03,240
reliant on mental strategies.
And I think mental strategies

1168
00:46:03,240 --> 00:46:05,760
have got way worse in maths,
oracy skills have got way worse

1169
00:46:05,760 --> 00:46:08,480
in English because we've been
cramming in with, well, who

1170
00:46:08,480 --> 00:46:10,360
needs obviously skills anymore?
Because you need to tell me what

1171
00:46:10,360 --> 00:46:12,080
a determiner is.
What's a determiner?

1172
00:46:12,080 --> 00:46:13,760
So.
So yeah, I completely understand

1173
00:46:13,760 --> 00:46:15,360
what you mean.
There are certain things that

1174
00:46:15,360 --> 00:46:17,160
are getting worse.
Absolutely.

1175
00:46:17,520 --> 00:46:20,800
And it is because of the lack of
time put towards doing them

1176
00:46:21,080 --> 00:46:23,760
because it's way more
complicated than ever.

1177
00:46:23,760 --> 00:46:26,160
And we're trying to cram more in
and we are prioritising the

1178
00:46:26,160 --> 00:46:27,200
wrong things.
Yeah.

1179
00:46:27,280 --> 00:46:31,640
Like, honest to God, for a child
in a primary school, how much

1180
00:46:31,640 --> 00:46:35,720
more important is it that they
know their number bond within 20

1181
00:46:36,320 --> 00:46:38,160
than it is that they can
identify an adverb in a

1182
00:46:38,160 --> 00:46:40,520
sentence?
It Do you know what identifying

1183
00:46:40,520 --> 00:46:43,640
an adverb in a sentence is
almost completely point.

1184
00:46:43,640 --> 00:46:45,120
It's probably.
It's OK.

1185
00:46:46,240 --> 00:46:48,560
It's completely pointless.
OK, I'm just thinking about it.

1186
00:46:48,560 --> 00:46:49,680
Can I say it's completely
pointless?

1187
00:46:49,960 --> 00:46:51,280
Yeah, I can.
Because you know what?

1188
00:46:51,280 --> 00:46:53,320
Do you know how many kids, if
they're doing really good or AC

1189
00:46:53,320 --> 00:46:55,960
skills, would be saying adverbs
and putting it in their work

1190
00:46:55,960 --> 00:46:58,400
anyway that it doesn't matter if
they can't?

1191
00:46:58,840 --> 00:47:00,600
I was a teacher.
I had to teach myself what

1192
00:47:00,600 --> 00:47:03,200
adverbs were at the start.
Does that not say something

1193
00:47:03,360 --> 00:47:06,120
like, I could write whole essays
and I went for a whole history

1194
00:47:06,120 --> 00:47:07,920
degree.
I wrote a dissertation on

1195
00:47:07,920 --> 00:47:09,320
African history, went to grammar
school.

1196
00:47:09,320 --> 00:47:12,680
I went to grammar school.
I was absolutely fine no matter

1197
00:47:12,680 --> 00:47:15,200
what the situation you got.
Oh, but to be highly educated,

1198
00:47:15,200 --> 00:47:17,360
you must be able to tell me
where the determiners are.

1199
00:47:17,360 --> 00:47:18,880
Intend.
No, no, you don't.

1200
00:47:18,920 --> 00:47:21,360
You, you have to do that because
we have to tick boxes to get

1201
00:47:21,360 --> 00:47:22,320
through tests and things like
that.

1202
00:47:22,320 --> 00:47:22,640
Yeah.
Yeah.

1203
00:47:22,640 --> 00:47:23,720
And that's the that's the harsh
value.

1204
00:47:23,720 --> 00:47:26,280
And those metrics go up, which
is why I feel like you can.

1205
00:47:26,360 --> 00:47:27,840
It's easy to justify.
Yeah, education is getting

1206
00:47:27,840 --> 00:47:29,560
better, look, because they know
what determiners are now.

1207
00:47:29,560 --> 00:47:32,280
And my overall point here is
like, yeah, but do these things

1208
00:47:32,360 --> 00:47:34,760
really matter?
What do we actually think is a

1209
00:47:34,760 --> 00:47:36,720
good education?
Because I'm starting to like

1210
00:47:36,720 --> 00:47:38,640
doubt myself and start and
starting to think.

1211
00:47:39,160 --> 00:47:41,360
I actually think education is
maybe getting a little bit

1212
00:47:41,360 --> 00:47:43,160
worse.
It's just that the metrics we've

1213
00:47:43,160 --> 00:47:46,240
put in place, they go up, but I
don't value them very much

1214
00:47:46,240 --> 00:47:47,600
really.
When I really think about it, I

1215
00:47:47,600 --> 00:47:50,360
might actually don't kids, if
kids are worse at speaking and

1216
00:47:50,360 --> 00:47:52,680
doing mental maths.
Education's got worse in my

1217
00:47:52,680 --> 00:47:53,400
opinion.
I don't know.

1218
00:47:53,600 --> 00:47:54,960
I think there's, I think
there's, I think there's space

1219
00:47:54,960 --> 00:47:56,040
for that.
I think a really good point.

1220
00:47:56,640 --> 00:47:59,760
Yeah, yeah, at second point from
again inspired by this article

1221
00:48:00,000 --> 00:48:02,400
and again inspired by you as
well really talking about it

1222
00:48:02,400 --> 00:48:03,240
earlier.
Oh, thank you.

1223
00:48:03,240 --> 00:48:05,040
Well not really because I pre
planned it, but I pretend for

1224
00:48:05,040 --> 00:48:09,680
your sake teaching.
Is it less enjoyable than ever

1225
00:48:09,680 --> 00:48:12,720
before?
So what in terms of the lack of

1226
00:48:12,720 --> 00:48:14,960
simplicity?
Yeah, because because our jobs,

1227
00:48:14,960 --> 00:48:16,800
I'm sort of moving away from the
kids a little bit now, just

1228
00:48:16,800 --> 00:48:18,920
thinking about the complexity of
teaching.

1229
00:48:19,480 --> 00:48:21,040
Yeah, right.
Like you said, there's so much

1230
00:48:21,040 --> 00:48:23,520
stuff we mentioned last week
about being overwhelmed with a

1231
00:48:23,520 --> 00:48:25,400
million different options on how
to do things.

1232
00:48:26,000 --> 00:48:28,320
Does do you think that makes
teaching less enjoyable, or is

1233
00:48:28,320 --> 00:48:29,320
it the other stuff we've
mentioned?

1234
00:48:29,560 --> 00:48:33,680
It's, it's part of it for sure.
All you need to do is talk to a

1235
00:48:33,680 --> 00:48:36,360
teacher who's been in the job
for more than 20 years and they

1236
00:48:36,360 --> 00:48:39,480
will all say the same thing.
Teaching is not what it used to

1237
00:48:39,480 --> 00:48:40,880
be.
And there's a reason for that.

1238
00:48:40,880 --> 00:48:42,080
It's because they used to come
in right.

1239
00:48:42,400 --> 00:48:44,280
And, and we can think back to
when we were in school

1240
00:48:44,280 --> 00:48:46,560
ourselves.
I feel like there was way more

1241
00:48:46,560 --> 00:48:49,200
time when I was in Year 5, year
6, where we do like project

1242
00:48:49,200 --> 00:48:51,040
work.
We do like a whole project on

1243
00:48:51,040 --> 00:48:52,600
Romans.
And it was the best thing I've

1244
00:48:52,600 --> 00:48:55,320
ever done ever.
And I'd spend an afternoon doing

1245
00:48:55,320 --> 00:48:56,760
a front cover of a Roman
soldier.

1246
00:48:57,040 --> 00:48:58,600
Yeah, yes.
And then, and then I spend the

1247
00:48:58,600 --> 00:49:00,440
next afternoon doing an acrostic
poem.

1248
00:49:00,800 --> 00:49:02,320
Right.
And I spend the afternoon after

1249
00:49:02,320 --> 00:49:05,000
just looking for a Roman
textbook and copying like a the,

1250
00:49:05,000 --> 00:49:07,360
the, the, the weaponry down and
doing like an inventory.

1251
00:49:07,360 --> 00:49:08,280
God, yeah.
Do you know what I mean?

1252
00:49:08,280 --> 00:49:12,960
Like, do you know what is that
or, but we didn't write down how

1253
00:49:13,120 --> 00:49:16,480
the the democracy of the time
was changing because the

1254
00:49:16,480 --> 00:49:20,320
comparisons between people
beforehand, when you're 9, you

1255
00:49:20,320 --> 00:49:24,000
couldn't care less.
And it doesn't mean education is

1256
00:49:24,000 --> 00:49:26,800
better now.
It just means that I'm less

1257
00:49:26,800 --> 00:49:28,520
involved.
I'm less infused.

1258
00:49:28,800 --> 00:49:32,080
And from a teacher's point of
view, I see children lessons

1259
00:49:32,080 --> 00:49:34,600
used than ever.
And I'm relying on children who

1260
00:49:34,600 --> 00:49:37,160
are infused by learning full
stop to carry the class more

1261
00:49:37,160 --> 00:49:38,560
than ever.
There's always going to be

1262
00:49:38,560 --> 00:49:39,760
children who it doesn't matter
what you do.

1263
00:49:39,840 --> 00:49:42,520
I do like that story I said
earlier when we did a lesson on

1264
00:49:42,520 --> 00:49:45,080
longitude and latitude, the most
boring lesson I've ever done in

1265
00:49:45,080 --> 00:49:47,000
my life.
And there were one or two kids

1266
00:49:47,000 --> 00:49:49,480
in there who were like, this is
so interesting, isn't this fun?

1267
00:49:49,680 --> 00:49:52,040
And I was relying on them to
carry the whole class of 32

1268
00:49:52,040 --> 00:49:53,960
kids.
And we've on my own doing 2

1269
00:49:53,960 --> 00:49:56,320
hours of latitude.
And you've just got to look at

1270
00:49:56,320 --> 00:49:58,560
yourself in that moment and go,
what am I doing?

1271
00:49:58,880 --> 00:50:01,720
Like what am I doing?
We could be doing so much more

1272
00:50:01,800 --> 00:50:04,240
fun, really cool stuff with the
children right now.

1273
00:50:04,600 --> 00:50:07,160
And that's why I feel like what
it used to be.

1274
00:50:07,400 --> 00:50:10,000
And I think the reason why is
because we're being told from

1275
00:50:10,000 --> 00:50:12,200
the top down, you need to make
sure you've got all the progress

1276
00:50:12,200 --> 00:50:13,280
and all the things all of the
time.

1277
00:50:13,280 --> 00:50:14,280
You need to be able to write it
down.

1278
00:50:14,280 --> 00:50:15,680
You need to be able to assess
them all the time.

1279
00:50:15,880 --> 00:50:17,720
What's your teacher assessment
for this children in this?

1280
00:50:17,720 --> 00:50:19,960
One thing about longitude and
latitude, because when it comes

1281
00:50:19,960 --> 00:50:22,040
to Year 5, the teachers going to
be looking back at the sheet and

1282
00:50:22,040 --> 00:50:23,400
seeing where they were in that,
and they're going to be

1283
00:50:23,400 --> 00:50:25,520
informing that no, they're not.
Yeah.

1284
00:50:25,960 --> 00:50:28,520
Do some teaching.
It will stick for some kids.

1285
00:50:28,520 --> 00:50:31,360
It won't stick for others.
Do it again next year when you

1286
00:50:31,360 --> 00:50:33,320
do geography again.
It'll stick for more.

1287
00:50:33,520 --> 00:50:35,960
By the time they're 16, do you
know what they might know?

1288
00:50:35,960 --> 00:50:38,600
What longitude latch it is.
Some of them might not, and

1289
00:50:38,600 --> 00:50:39,600
they'll be fine.
Yeah.

1290
00:50:39,600 --> 00:50:41,200
Because they'll never use it
because they're not interested

1291
00:50:41,200 --> 00:50:42,160
in it.
They they won't.

1292
00:50:42,160 --> 00:50:44,000
They're not going to go and get
a job in that field.

1293
00:50:44,000 --> 00:50:44,680
It's fine.
Yeah.

1294
00:50:44,680 --> 00:50:47,160
Whatever, it should just be
about creativity and enjoyment

1295
00:50:47,320 --> 00:50:50,000
because yes, English, being able
to read and maths being able to

1296
00:50:50,000 --> 00:50:51,680
add and tell the time and stuff
like that.

1297
00:50:51,960 --> 00:50:54,480
They're the core things that
have no negotiating around them.

1298
00:50:54,760 --> 00:50:57,160
The rest of maths and English
and the whole of everything else

1299
00:50:57,360 --> 00:50:59,520
should be about enrichment,
enjoyment.

1300
00:50:59,520 --> 00:51:02,880
Inspiring I have I have such
fond memories you talking about

1301
00:51:02,880 --> 00:51:05,920
primary school then I have such
fond memories of primary school

1302
00:51:06,320 --> 00:51:09,920
and every single one of those
memories is is through doing

1303
00:51:09,920 --> 00:51:12,280
enriching tasks it's through
doing practical things it's

1304
00:51:12,280 --> 00:51:14,720
through looking at stuff and
making booklets like you said,

1305
00:51:15,240 --> 00:51:17,120
and I am really worried and I've
been worried about this for

1306
00:51:17,120 --> 00:51:20,480
years and it genuinely makes me
feel strange because I because I

1307
00:51:20,560 --> 00:51:22,080
because I feel like I'm
contributing to it.

1308
00:51:22,080 --> 00:51:26,560
I like implicitly I have to is
that I just think kids are so

1309
00:51:26,560 --> 00:51:30,400
much less happy.
That's that there's just like

1310
00:51:30,440 --> 00:51:32,600
compared to even just when we
were kids, which, you know, you

1311
00:51:32,600 --> 00:51:34,480
go back even more generations.
Maybe it's different, I don't

1312
00:51:34,480 --> 00:51:36,600
know, Maybe we had the peak
time, which I think there's a

1313
00:51:36,600 --> 00:51:39,000
good argument for by the way,
like 90s and early 2000s.

1314
00:51:39,000 --> 00:51:41,000
I mean, there's a good argument
for that being like peak

1315
00:51:41,000 --> 00:51:43,720
enjoyment for kids at school.
But I am genuinely really

1316
00:51:43,720 --> 00:51:47,640
concerned that kids are so
unhappy now on average compared

1317
00:51:47,640 --> 00:51:51,160
to 20 years ago at school.
And we are just doubling down on

1318
00:51:51,160 --> 00:51:52,440
that.
And like we are half the

1319
00:51:52,440 --> 00:51:53,840
problem.
I think half the problem is

1320
00:51:53,840 --> 00:51:55,280
outside of school.
I think it's social media and

1321
00:51:55,280 --> 00:51:57,480
all those sorts of things.
There's massive influences that

1322
00:51:57,480 --> 00:51:59,480
are just ruining our brain and
rotting our brains.

1323
00:51:59,480 --> 00:52:00,840
Do you know what I mean?
And we don't know about them

1324
00:52:00,840 --> 00:52:01,640
yet.
It's not been long enough.

1325
00:52:01,800 --> 00:52:03,120
We'll look back in 100 years and
be like, oh.

1326
00:52:03,360 --> 00:52:05,360
Can't believe kids had that.
The old brain rot generation,

1327
00:52:05,480 --> 00:52:07,600
like look at them all now in
their 70s, like completely.

1328
00:52:07,600 --> 00:52:09,840
You know, I think we might look
back, but there's another part

1329
00:52:09,840 --> 00:52:12,640
which is specifically our fault.
If we have control.

1330
00:52:12,640 --> 00:52:14,840
As educators, not mean, you
know, not on like, a granular

1331
00:52:14,840 --> 00:52:18,120
level, but as education where
it's just, it's too complex and

1332
00:52:18,120 --> 00:52:20,240
we value the wrong thing.
Yeah, like that first question I

1333
00:52:20,240 --> 00:52:22,280
asked you.
We've lost sight of oracy skills

1334
00:52:22,280 --> 00:52:24,360
and life skills and having fun
and enjoying school.

1335
00:52:24,600 --> 00:52:26,760
It's not about enjoying school.
It's about meeting standards.

1336
00:52:26,760 --> 00:52:28,720
That's it.
I had so many people message,

1337
00:52:28,920 --> 00:52:31,160
message like comment on stuff
recently because I spoke about

1338
00:52:31,160 --> 00:52:34,040
how we don't value stuff like
English and maths and so many

1339
00:52:34,040 --> 00:52:36,920
people took that as what do you
mean you don't value being able

1340
00:52:36,920 --> 00:52:38,840
to read?
Oh, well, when there's a job

1341
00:52:38,840 --> 00:52:41,320
asking for a GCSE in PE, maybe
then that'll get some.

1342
00:52:41,680 --> 00:52:44,400
And it's like, are you that dumb
that you can't see through

1343
00:52:44,640 --> 00:52:46,920
exactly what I'm saying?
Do I need to explain it to you

1344
00:52:46,920 --> 00:52:48,600
completely What I obviously mean
by that?

1345
00:52:48,760 --> 00:52:51,000
Do you think as a teacher that I
don't think being able to read

1346
00:52:51,000 --> 00:52:52,200
is the most important thing in
the world?

1347
00:52:52,520 --> 00:52:56,120
Can you just for a second think
honestly just you maybe you

1348
00:52:56,120 --> 00:52:57,640
needed more English.
Maybe that was the.

1349
00:52:57,760 --> 00:52:59,280
Problem because you don't refer
anything.

1350
00:52:59,720 --> 00:53:03,560
But the the point was just
because I value the fact that

1351
00:53:03,600 --> 00:53:07,040
kids should be able to read and
write and stuff, I'm not saying

1352
00:53:07,040 --> 00:53:10,200
that that's not important or I'm
not saying that being able to

1353
00:53:10,200 --> 00:53:12,520
run a lap is just as important
as being able to read.

1354
00:53:12,680 --> 00:53:15,240
What I'm saying is that we still
have to value these other

1355
00:53:15,240 --> 00:53:16,840
things.
We still have to value the love

1356
00:53:16,840 --> 00:53:19,400
for learning.
And when it comes to PE, I'm not

1357
00:53:19,400 --> 00:53:22,840
saying a GCSEPE, I'm a primary
school teacher saying I want my

1358
00:53:22,840 --> 00:53:25,600
kids to be active and that time
should not be taken away and I

1359
00:53:25,600 --> 00:53:27,600
will die by that hill.
I think most people agree with

1360
00:53:27,600 --> 00:53:28,520
that.
It's so funny.

1361
00:53:28,520 --> 00:53:29,680
I love it when you get vexed by
if.

1362
00:53:29,680 --> 00:53:31,240
You honestly like because you
know what?

1363
00:53:31,520 --> 00:53:34,800
Again, 98% of our comments are
unbelievable and it's so kind

1364
00:53:34,800 --> 00:53:38,080
and it's really lovely and it's
nice to read, but that's 2%.

1365
00:53:38,080 --> 00:53:40,000
You stick with me because I
don't mind people disagreeing

1366
00:53:40,000 --> 00:53:43,160
with me, but when they just jump
on something and just completely

1367
00:53:43,160 --> 00:53:45,040
take out a context, I'm like,
what's wrong with you?

1368
00:53:45,200 --> 00:53:48,840
Yeah, you just want an argument.
Yeah, I don't mind people

1369
00:53:48,840 --> 00:53:52,160
disagree me unless they're
wrong, basically, which some

1370
00:53:52,160 --> 00:53:54,280
people just are anyway.
Anyway, simplicity.

1371
00:53:54,520 --> 00:53:56,600
That's a really good point.
I've got one another thing

1372
00:53:56,600 --> 00:54:00,560
because again, you talked
earlier about that article and

1373
00:54:00,560 --> 00:54:02,600
saying how we could just, we
could just not teach kids

1374
00:54:02,600 --> 00:54:04,480
certain things to their older.
It doesn't actually matter as

1375
00:54:04,480 --> 00:54:06,880
long as they learn it at some
point before they leave.

1376
00:54:06,880 --> 00:54:09,600
Does it matter if they learn it
at a smaller level in year 4 And

1377
00:54:09,600 --> 00:54:11,680
then you've either, can we just
teach to them in year 6 and

1378
00:54:11,680 --> 00:54:15,880
you're 8.
So do you think that we could

1379
00:54:17,040 --> 00:54:20,520
remove subjects from particular
year groups?

1380
00:54:20,520 --> 00:54:23,320
Like do you think we need to
teach every single subject in

1381
00:54:23,320 --> 00:54:24,960
the curriculum every year?
Because that's what currently

1382
00:54:24,960 --> 00:54:27,040
happens.
OK, do you mean formally teacher

1383
00:54:27,040 --> 00:54:29,480
in a stand alone lesson in a
string of lessons because that's

1384
00:54:29,480 --> 00:54:33,280
just a unit of work or do you
mean for example, I would argue

1385
00:54:33,720 --> 00:54:37,440
in this the made-up system of
there's no subject of history in

1386
00:54:37,440 --> 00:54:40,080
year 1, right?
But there's so much reading

1387
00:54:40,080 --> 00:54:43,200
around, you know, the the life
for Roman or that.

1388
00:54:43,400 --> 00:54:46,560
So there's history happening
right there is DT happening

1389
00:54:46,560 --> 00:54:47,800
because the children are
building something?

1390
00:54:47,800 --> 00:54:49,240
There's art happening all the
time.

1391
00:54:49,760 --> 00:54:53,200
Do do you mean can we get rid of
formalised ways of doing stuff

1392
00:54:53,440 --> 00:54:55,680
or do you mean kids shouldn't do
any art at all?

1393
00:54:56,320 --> 00:54:58,120
Let's turn it into two-part
question because they're kind of

1394
00:54:58,120 --> 00:54:59,840
different.
My first one wasn't that when I

1395
00:54:59,840 --> 00:55:01,480
think has a good question, we
should answer that in a second.

1396
00:55:01,480 --> 00:55:03,760
But my first one is literally
like within the constraints of

1397
00:55:03,760 --> 00:55:05,520
how we do it right now.
Let's say we still have

1398
00:55:05,520 --> 00:55:07,720
formalised lessons.
We do history, we do geography,

1399
00:55:07,720 --> 00:55:11,240
we do art, we do DDT, whatever.
Do do you, how essential do you

1400
00:55:11,240 --> 00:55:14,000
think it is that those subjects
are taught every year if we're

1401
00:55:14,000 --> 00:55:17,280
sticking to this current system?
I, I, I would absolutely keep

1402
00:55:17,280 --> 00:55:19,880
them every year.
I would because I think if we're

1403
00:55:19,880 --> 00:55:24,320
sticking to this system, I think
dropping them feeds into that

1404
00:55:24,320 --> 00:55:26,680
narrative of English and maths,
English and maths, English,

1405
00:55:26,680 --> 00:55:28,280
maths.
Right now when we drop off a

1406
00:55:28,280 --> 00:55:30,720
history for a term, we're
talking about year 6 leading up

1407
00:55:30,720 --> 00:55:32,840
to Sats.
We would both sit here and go.

1408
00:55:32,840 --> 00:55:35,400
That is disgusting how we would
drop off stuff for English and

1409
00:55:35,400 --> 00:55:37,560
maths and do extra stuff in the
afternoon.

1410
00:55:37,880 --> 00:55:41,360
I would be really reluctant for
a whole year, in Year 4, let's

1411
00:55:41,360 --> 00:55:44,040
say, to not do any geography or
not do any art.

1412
00:55:44,160 --> 00:55:45,720
I think the way we do it can
change.

1413
00:55:45,880 --> 00:55:47,480
I'd be really reluctant to drop
something off.

1414
00:55:47,480 --> 00:55:49,720
Completely.
Even if so, you kind of assumed

1415
00:55:49,720 --> 00:55:51,160
that I was saying replace it
with maths and English.

1416
00:55:51,160 --> 00:55:54,520
Even if we replace it just by
doing a bigger mastery, more

1417
00:55:54,520 --> 00:55:56,240
enriching approach on another
subject.

1418
00:55:56,240 --> 00:55:57,880
So art gets six weeks.
Do you know what I'd do?

1419
00:55:57,880 --> 00:55:59,800
I'd turn it into, I'd go back to
that idea.

1420
00:55:59,800 --> 00:56:01,200
A lot of schools still do this
of topic.

1421
00:56:01,280 --> 00:56:04,320
Yeah, I'd go back to the idea of
let's have a topic that runs

1422
00:56:04,320 --> 00:56:06,600
through and we really enrich
from Romans.

1423
00:56:06,920 --> 00:56:08,640
But you can do a bit of
geography, you can talk about

1424
00:56:08,640 --> 00:56:10,000
their use of rivers and things
like that.

1425
00:56:10,320 --> 00:56:12,680
You can do a bit of DT.
You can do some art.

1426
00:56:12,960 --> 00:56:16,040
If you have a topic, it becomes
more natural to feed them in.

1427
00:56:16,160 --> 00:56:18,360
And we don't need to obsess over
how much time we're spending on

1428
00:56:18,360 --> 00:56:20,280
everything because the topic is
Romans.

1429
00:56:20,280 --> 00:56:22,480
And obviously history will
probably be the biggest bulk of

1430
00:56:22,480 --> 00:56:24,200
that.
But then the next time you do a

1431
00:56:24,200 --> 00:56:27,320
topic, it might be on, like you
said, rivers and the bulk is on

1432
00:56:27,320 --> 00:56:28,600
geography.
But then you can still feed

1433
00:56:28,600 --> 00:56:30,480
everything in.
So I think topic work helps with

1434
00:56:30,480 --> 00:56:32,080
that.
No, that's, that makes sense.

1435
00:56:32,080 --> 00:56:33,680
I, I agree topic.
It's kind of what you that was

1436
00:56:33,680 --> 00:56:37,240
kind of your first point, wasn't
it, about less formalised, more

1437
00:56:37,240 --> 00:56:40,160
just integrated industry.
I I, I find it mad that we don't

1438
00:56:40,160 --> 00:56:41,600
all do that.
I think it's so obvious that

1439
00:56:41,600 --> 00:56:43,720
topics are better.
Yeah, and and, but most schools,

1440
00:56:43,720 --> 00:56:45,680
I'd say, I think.
They're move, a lot of moves,

1441
00:56:45,680 --> 00:56:48,160
doesn't it, over time, Yeah,
there was that big move to topic

1442
00:56:48,160 --> 00:56:48,760
work.
Yeah.

1443
00:56:48,760 --> 00:56:51,040
And there's that basically when
the Ofsted framework came and it

1444
00:56:51,040 --> 00:56:53,240
was like each individual subject
might be deep dived.

1445
00:56:53,240 --> 00:56:55,640
Yeah, I think there was a big
move back then to like, Christ,

1446
00:56:55,720 --> 00:56:58,560
if history gets deep dived.
And I'm doing a topic on

1447
00:56:58,720 --> 00:57:01,080
fairgrounds because it's ADT
topic, let's just say, which is

1448
00:57:01,080 --> 00:57:03,240
more about building something
and seeing how mechanics work

1449
00:57:03,240 --> 00:57:05,600
and it's about science.
How on earth can I get a history

1450
00:57:05,600 --> 00:57:07,680
deep dive in there?
So I think it was very much then

1451
00:57:07,680 --> 00:57:09,840
went, okay, let's take history
out, have history subject

1452
00:57:09,840 --> 00:57:13,760
leaders again and let's really
focus on the and the skills part

1453
00:57:13,760 --> 00:57:17,280
of history that became way more
like focused on and I think that

1454
00:57:17,280 --> 00:57:18,600
moved a lot of schools away from
topic.

1455
00:57:18,600 --> 00:57:20,240
You're totally right.
I literally remember people

1456
00:57:20,240 --> 00:57:23,680
panicking saying Oh no, often
have now said our school's not

1457
00:57:23,680 --> 00:57:26,360
very good because we do topics
and we and we couldn't

1458
00:57:26,360 --> 00:57:29,440
confidently the children
couldn't confidently say I'm

1459
00:57:29,440 --> 00:57:31,080
learning about geography today.
Yeah, exactly.

1460
00:57:31,280 --> 00:57:32,640
And I was like cool, that's
brilliant.

1461
00:57:32,640 --> 00:57:34,760
Yeah, who cares, Who cares?
OK, tell at the end of the year,

1462
00:57:34,760 --> 00:57:36,200
by the way, that stuff there was
good geography.

1463
00:57:36,200 --> 00:57:37,960
There you go done.
No one care, honestly.

1464
00:57:38,360 --> 00:57:39,440
And also that was an adverb
just.

1465
00:57:40,280 --> 00:57:41,520
Just went into a secondary
school.

1466
00:57:41,680 --> 00:57:45,280
Yeah, I have geography teacher.
That's weird.

1467
00:57:45,400 --> 00:57:48,280
I remember being like, oh, I've
never done geography as a thing.

1468
00:57:48,280 --> 00:57:50,680
That's cool.
I went to geography and they

1469
00:57:50,680 --> 00:57:51,800
were talking about I've done
loads of this.

1470
00:57:51,880 --> 00:57:53,120
Yeah, it didn't make a
difference.

1471
00:57:53,120 --> 00:57:54,680
No, of course it didn't.
Of course it didn't make a

1472
00:57:54,680 --> 00:57:55,640
difference.
We're happy doing it with

1473
00:57:55,640 --> 00:57:56,240
science.
Yeah.

1474
00:57:56,440 --> 00:57:58,000
Don't learn chemistry at primary
school, do we?

1475
00:57:58,880 --> 00:58:00,200
Biology.
Then you've got to know if it's

1476
00:58:00,200 --> 00:58:02,160
a physics lesson or not.
No, you don't.

1477
00:58:02,160 --> 00:58:03,960
Honestly, No you don't.
You're 8.

1478
00:58:04,000 --> 00:58:05,760
Do you know?
We can say it right, but it's

1479
00:58:05,760 --> 00:58:07,280
just not the most important
thing in the world.

1480
00:58:07,400 --> 00:58:10,040
Do you think there's any parts
of the curriculum that we could

1481
00:58:10,040 --> 00:58:11,640
actually just cut?
Yeah, we said this loads.

1482
00:58:11,640 --> 00:58:13,240
I think there's loads.
I think there's so much.

1483
00:58:13,440 --> 00:58:16,760
And I would start in maths and
English, I'd start there because

1484
00:58:16,760 --> 00:58:18,760
you look at the, the amount
that's written in the curriculum

1485
00:58:18,760 --> 00:58:21,480
for maths and English.
It's like reams and reams and

1486
00:58:21,480 --> 00:58:24,400
reams compared to 2 pages of
history, like history, job fee,

1487
00:58:24,400 --> 00:58:26,760
DT, music, art.
It's already quite open to

1488
00:58:26,760 --> 00:58:28,640
interpretation and you just need
to do a certain amount of thing

1489
00:58:29,080 --> 00:58:31,760
like we, we, I, I'd go to
English and I'd cull so much

1490
00:58:31,760 --> 00:58:33,720
spag spending punctuation and
grammar.

1491
00:58:33,720 --> 00:58:35,880
Go to maths and I would simplify
it so much.

1492
00:58:36,200 --> 00:58:38,600
I would honestly get rid of so
much lower down in the school.

1493
00:58:38,960 --> 00:58:42,120
I I, I really would because as
soon as you see it as a four

1494
00:58:42,120 --> 00:58:45,520
year journey in key stage 2 or a
three-year journey in key stage

1495
00:58:45,520 --> 00:58:49,240
1 or A7 year journey in primary
school, as soon as you start

1496
00:58:49,240 --> 00:58:52,000
looking at it that way, it makes
so much more sense to have it

1497
00:58:52,000 --> 00:58:52,960
top heavy.
Yeah.

1498
00:58:52,960 --> 00:58:56,720
Because do you know what if you
just smash the fundamentals even

1499
00:58:56,720 --> 00:59:00,200
up to year 4, genuinely, if all
of your kids are really good at

1500
00:59:00,200 --> 00:59:03,240
the fundamentals in year 4, year
5:00 and 6:00, you really can

1501
00:59:03,240 --> 00:59:04,960
introduce stuff and learn it
within a day.

1502
00:59:04,960 --> 00:59:06,880
Yeah, yeah.
What what now takes two weeks.

1503
00:59:06,880 --> 00:59:08,240
Would you like.
Oh, I've got to go back over the

1504
00:59:08,240 --> 00:59:10,600
stuff because year 4 didn't do
this properly because year 4

1505
00:59:10,600 --> 00:59:12,360
were going back over the stuff
previously and they were trying

1506
00:59:12,360 --> 00:59:13,520
to introduce new stuff all the
time.

1507
00:59:14,440 --> 00:59:17,360
If you really smash the
fundamentals lower down and it's

1508
00:59:17,360 --> 00:59:19,560
I can see why leaders don't like
it because it leaves only two

1509
00:59:19,560 --> 00:59:21,360
years to get in there.
So oh God, what if they don't

1510
00:59:21,360 --> 00:59:23,640
get it?
But it's not riskier because if

1511
00:59:23,640 --> 00:59:25,840
you absolutely smash the
fundamentals, there's no way

1512
00:59:25,840 --> 00:59:27,200
they won't understand the next.
Exactly.

1513
00:59:27,200 --> 00:59:28,960
But it's it's a game, isn't it?
And people don't want to take

1514
00:59:28,960 --> 00:59:30,400
that risk.
What if they didn't understand

1515
00:59:30,400 --> 00:59:31,680
the fundamentals?
Now they're not going either.

1516
00:59:31,880 --> 00:59:32,920
OK, Well, they don't mean they
won't.

1517
00:59:32,920 --> 00:59:34,200
You know what?
They weren't going to get either

1518
00:59:34,200 --> 00:59:36,400
anyway if they didn't get the
fundamentals after you put four

1519
00:59:36,400 --> 00:59:37,560
years of just doing the
fundamentals.

1520
00:59:37,560 --> 00:59:39,800
I tell you what, if you were
doing both at the same time,

1521
00:59:39,880 --> 00:59:41,600
they wouldn't, they wouldn't
know either of them still now

1522
00:59:41,600 --> 00:59:44,040
anyway, so it doesn't matter.
Like you're it's the wrong way

1523
00:59:44,040 --> 00:59:45,400
of thinking.
Yeah, and I know it.

1524
00:59:45,400 --> 00:59:47,120
You know what?
I know it's true because COVID,

1525
00:59:47,680 --> 00:59:50,960
COVID happened and you know what
Kids missed tonnes of education

1526
00:59:51,120 --> 00:59:53,520
and I taught some of those kids
in year 6, two years later after

1527
00:59:53,520 --> 00:59:55,600
they missed so much stuff.
And you know what?

1528
00:59:55,600 --> 00:59:58,000
A tonne of those objectives
where they would have had two

1529
00:59:58,000 --> 00:59:59,640
years of oh, we have a little
bit in here, a little bit in

1530
00:59:59,640 --> 01:00:02,040
year 4, a little bit in Year 5.
They hadn't seen it to year six.

1531
01:00:02,040 --> 01:00:02,880
And guess what?
They learned it.

1532
01:00:02,880 --> 01:00:04,760
Honestly, it felt like just as
quick because they're like, oh,

1533
01:00:04,760 --> 01:00:05,920
our brains are bigger now.
I just get this.

1534
01:00:06,000 --> 01:00:08,080
Yeah, yeah.
It barely took me any more time

1535
01:00:08,080 --> 01:00:09,200
with some of those things to
teach.

1536
01:00:09,200 --> 01:00:11,680
I'm not saying or we can just
stop sending kids to year 4 and

1537
01:00:11,680 --> 01:00:14,160
five, but.
COVID had I think a much bigger

1538
01:00:14,160 --> 01:00:17,720
impact on the social side and
the relationships between school

1539
01:00:17,720 --> 01:00:19,400
and home, etcetera.
Huge impact there.

1540
01:00:19,720 --> 01:00:22,760
Obviously had a big impact on
academic side, obviously.

1541
01:00:22,840 --> 01:00:25,520
But as teachers, that's what
we're quite good at and I think

1542
01:00:25,520 --> 01:00:27,160
there were ways that we could
bring children up and through

1543
01:00:27,240 --> 01:00:28,760
and there was lots of money
putting extra stuff there.

1544
01:00:28,880 --> 01:00:31,280
I think that was more solvable
than the social side.

1545
01:00:31,280 --> 01:00:34,320
Yeah, but I found it super
interesting that there was

1546
01:00:34,320 --> 01:00:36,720
almost like a straight after
COVID being a year 6 teacher

1547
01:00:36,720 --> 01:00:39,160
specifically, right?
I was like, Oh, this didn't make

1548
01:00:39,160 --> 01:00:41,400
too much of an impact because
it's like, oh, because the older

1549
01:00:41,400 --> 01:00:44,680
kids that already kind of got
their foundations in place, it

1550
01:00:44,680 --> 01:00:46,800
wasn't actually so hard to then
teach them stuff on top of that,

1551
01:00:46,800 --> 01:00:49,760
even if they'd missed a bit
three years later as a year 6

1552
01:00:49,760 --> 01:00:53,240
teacher, it was when I started
being like, Oh my God, like the,

1553
01:00:53,320 --> 01:00:55,720
the amount of gaps I'm seeing
now and the lack of mental,

1554
01:00:55,720 --> 01:00:58,440
mental math skills and Orsi in
general because they're just

1555
01:00:58,440 --> 01:00:59,760
not.
They missed school in like your

1556
01:00:59,760 --> 01:01:02,160
reception in year 1.
They actually missed the

1557
01:01:02,160 --> 01:01:04,040
foundations being taught in the
1st place.

1558
01:01:04,400 --> 01:01:06,040
That's when you saw it like
really impact.

1559
01:01:06,040 --> 01:01:08,280
And it's like, Oh, doesn't that
just reinforce the idea that we

1560
01:01:08,280 --> 01:01:10,720
should really, really, really
just hammer those foundations

1561
01:01:10,720 --> 01:01:14,080
and not overcomplicate
everything when they're five?

1562
01:01:14,720 --> 01:01:16,800
It doesn't make any sense, but
doesn't matter because that

1563
01:01:16,800 --> 01:01:18,920
proves it's obviously I didn't
mean this is next doesn't mean

1564
01:01:18,920 --> 01:01:19,880
anything.
We don't, we don't, we don't

1565
01:01:19,880 --> 01:01:22,400
look at hard evidence.
And this is government.

1566
01:01:22,840 --> 01:01:25,560
Yeah, I think you know the idea
less is more is really

1567
01:01:25,560 --> 01:01:29,720
important.
And if we think about, there's

1568
01:01:29,720 --> 01:01:32,080
some people who sit here and go,
well, you know, because of this

1569
01:01:32,080 --> 01:01:35,000
complexity, stuff's improved.
And it's almost, almost like

1570
01:01:35,000 --> 01:01:38,480
what I said earlier, it's like,
Oh yeah, OK, education is better

1571
01:01:38,480 --> 01:01:40,360
than the 70s.
If you looked at data from the

1572
01:01:40,360 --> 01:01:42,520
70s to now, you could justify
anything, right?

1573
01:01:42,520 --> 01:01:44,400
You could say just because
education is better and, and

1574
01:01:44,400 --> 01:01:46,600
like numbers are better, you
could say, well, everything's

1575
01:01:46,600 --> 01:01:47,880
better.
And isn't this fantastic for our

1576
01:01:47,880 --> 01:01:49,520
children?
And there's probably, there's

1577
01:01:49,680 --> 01:01:51,800
probably some things that are
benefited from being more

1578
01:01:51,800 --> 01:01:56,480
complex in terms of, I think,
you know, the, the standard of

1579
01:01:56,480 --> 01:02:00,440
subject knowledge as a teacher
getting higher, in my opinion,

1580
01:02:00,560 --> 01:02:04,040
of what you should know.
I, I think that is an overall

1581
01:02:04,040 --> 01:02:06,000
good thing for our children.
I think having that high

1582
01:02:06,000 --> 01:02:07,720
standard.
And you know what teachers need

1583
01:02:07,720 --> 01:02:08,960
to know more.
I'm not saying they used to know

1584
01:02:08,960 --> 01:02:11,440
less at all, but you have to
know more now because the

1585
01:02:11,560 --> 01:02:14,320
curriculum is more dense.
You teach yourself stuff as you

1586
01:02:14,320 --> 01:02:16,200
go through.
There's more maths to know,

1587
01:02:16,400 --> 01:02:18,560
there's more English to know.
OK, like I said, we taught

1588
01:02:18,560 --> 01:02:19,760
ourselves what adverbs are
essentially.

1589
01:02:20,280 --> 01:02:23,680
But do you know what, as a
teacher, I think we should know

1590
01:02:23,680 --> 01:02:26,200
what adverts are.
I think we should be able to

1591
01:02:26,200 --> 01:02:28,760
with the children, even if we do
drop the bar slightly and say

1592
01:02:28,760 --> 01:02:30,680
let's just focus on these
fundamentals because they're so

1593
01:02:30,680 --> 01:02:32,200
important.
There are always going to be

1594
01:02:32,200 --> 01:02:34,800
children who we need to push on
right and do more with.

1595
01:02:35,080 --> 01:02:37,400
And I think as the teacher, we
absolutely need to have a

1596
01:02:37,560 --> 01:02:40,600
higher, much higher level of
knowledge and be almost a master

1597
01:02:40,600 --> 01:02:43,680
of stuff to be able to allow the
children to move 123 steps.

1598
01:02:43,680 --> 01:02:44,640
Forward.
There's more I think.

1599
01:02:44,760 --> 01:02:45,920
That's good.
Yeah, yeah.

1600
01:02:45,920 --> 01:02:47,240
I think I'm a good example of
that.

1601
01:02:47,360 --> 01:02:50,040
I'm sorry to reference, I'm in
the year 6 of the 50th.

1602
01:02:50,040 --> 01:02:51,440
Time are you in Year 6 Is it
music?

1603
01:02:52,040 --> 01:02:54,240
Is it?
Oh yeah, jamming out the

1604
01:02:54,240 --> 01:02:56,960
photocopy every morning because
I've got 74 tests to write.

1605
01:02:57,160 --> 01:02:58,720
I've got it's test week every
other week actually.

1606
01:02:59,720 --> 01:03:02,320
But like, that's a really that
just made me think because I

1607
01:03:02,320 --> 01:03:05,280
teach kids now where do you know
what with GPS, grammar,

1608
01:03:05,280 --> 01:03:07,880
punctuation, spelling, Yes, I
think it's over the top.

1609
01:03:07,880 --> 01:03:08,800
I agree with everything you
said.

1610
01:03:08,800 --> 01:03:12,080
But there are some kids in my
class where because they are of

1611
01:03:12,080 --> 01:03:14,520
that just that higher ability, I
can teach them all those really

1612
01:03:14,520 --> 01:03:16,480
complex terminologies.
And then when it comes to their

1613
01:03:16,480 --> 01:03:19,840
writing, it's so easy to say to
them, I can use that language to

1614
01:03:19,840 --> 01:03:22,000
them because as a teacher, I'd
be, I might be able to unpick

1615
01:03:22,000 --> 01:03:23,640
writing.
I don't care if the kids know.

1616
01:03:23,640 --> 01:03:27,080
But for some kids, I can say,
look, when you put your front of

1617
01:03:27,080 --> 01:03:29,360
the verbal there and you didn't
use it as a verbal phrase later,

1618
01:03:29,440 --> 01:03:31,080
it made a weird flow to this
sentence.

1619
01:03:31,080 --> 01:03:32,920
And they get that I'm like that
sick.

1620
01:03:32,920 --> 01:03:35,200
But I don't think every kid
needs to know that.

1621
01:03:35,200 --> 01:03:37,760
I just don't think they do.
And I'd say that's probably the

1622
01:03:37,760 --> 01:03:41,240
only thing I think has improved
is as a teacher myself, there's

1623
01:03:41,840 --> 01:03:43,720
way more I need to know.
And I think you're a better

1624
01:03:43,720 --> 01:03:46,040
teacher the more you know.
You cannot know everything.

1625
01:03:46,040 --> 01:03:47,280
I'm not saying you should do
everything.

1626
01:03:47,480 --> 01:03:50,040
I teach myself about Egyptians
every time I do Egyptians.

1627
01:03:50,040 --> 01:03:52,360
That's completely normal.
You can't do everything but the

1628
01:03:52,360 --> 01:03:54,440
base level stuff of maths and
English in particular.

1629
01:03:54,960 --> 01:03:58,160
I think you being the expert is
absolutely a good thing and you

1630
01:03:58,160 --> 01:03:59,680
build that up over time.
Yeah, sure.

1631
01:03:59,720 --> 01:04:02,760
So those complexity isn't
inherently bad is what you're

1632
01:04:02,760 --> 01:04:04,320
saying.
It's just that we've kind of

1633
01:04:04,320 --> 01:04:06,960
overkilled it in this.
There was a lot of room for

1634
01:04:06,960 --> 01:04:09,640
simplicity that we've lost.
And I think for the kids,

1635
01:04:09,840 --> 01:04:13,480
complexity is bad.
I think for the children, simple

1636
01:04:13,480 --> 01:04:16,640
goals where we're not reaching
those simple goals, let's not

1637
01:04:16,640 --> 01:04:19,000
add goals to it.
Yeah, let's be really simple

1638
01:04:19,000 --> 01:04:21,480
with them and smash them.
And let's not forget the whole

1639
01:04:21,480 --> 01:04:23,560
point of this, which Dylan has
reinforced a lot for this

1640
01:04:23,560 --> 01:04:28,560
episode, is we make the bars.
Everything is made-up.

1641
01:04:28,560 --> 01:04:30,960
Don't forget that.
We've set all of these

1642
01:04:30,960 --> 01:04:34,000
boundaries.
We decide what we even value.

1643
01:04:34,160 --> 01:04:35,520
And all these metrics have gone
up.

1644
01:04:35,520 --> 01:04:37,040
It's like, yeah, because we
don't look at the other ones

1645
01:04:37,040 --> 01:04:38,800
anymore.
We don't even measure mental

1646
01:04:38,800 --> 01:04:39,520
mass anymore.
So.

1647
01:04:39,640 --> 01:04:41,120
So apparently that doesn't
matter anymore.

1648
01:04:41,400 --> 01:04:43,560
But to who?
That's that's the point I want

1649
01:04:43,560 --> 01:04:44,880
to make of this.
You know, I think we've lost our

1650
01:04:44,880 --> 01:04:47,960
way a little bit with education
and the real purpose of it.

1651
01:04:48,360 --> 01:04:51,000
It's driving me away from the
profession a little bit that is

1652
01:04:51,000 --> 01:04:53,880
making me disengaged from it
because I don't think my purpose

1653
01:04:53,880 --> 01:04:56,720
of teaching aligns with the
system of education.

1654
01:04:56,920 --> 01:04:59,880
How often have you finished the
day of teaching and genuinely

1655
01:04:59,880 --> 01:05:04,440
thought that less than half of
that was really, really having

1656
01:05:04,440 --> 01:05:06,560
an impact that's measurable and
good on the children?

1657
01:05:06,560 --> 01:05:09,040
And how much have you thought I
could have done without that?

1658
01:05:09,160 --> 01:05:11,560
You know, I wish I did.
I wish I read that class book

1659
01:05:11,560 --> 01:05:12,960
for longer because the kids are
so engaged.

1660
01:05:12,960 --> 01:05:15,960
They're getting more out of
reading this story than doing an

1661
01:05:15,960 --> 01:05:18,560
extra 2 tasks in the drug free
lesson which was genuinely

1662
01:05:18,560 --> 01:05:19,440
pointless.
Do you know what?

1663
01:05:19,880 --> 01:05:22,360
More than half of the time and I
think that's where I've been

1664
01:05:22,360 --> 01:05:24,120
pushed over.
If it was, maybe if it was less

1665
01:05:24,120 --> 01:05:26,520
than half the time, maybe I'd
still be a bit more optimistic.

1666
01:05:26,800 --> 01:05:28,360
It's gone over that boundary for
me.

1667
01:05:28,400 --> 01:05:31,120
More than half of my week.
I would finish a day, three days

1668
01:05:31,120 --> 01:05:33,520
a week.
I will finish and think I could

1669
01:05:33,520 --> 01:05:33,960
have called.
Is it?

1670
01:05:33,960 --> 01:05:34,760
Three days a week, The whole
week.

1671
01:05:35,760 --> 01:05:38,440
Yeah, true, true.
If I worked five days, two of my

1672
01:05:38,600 --> 01:05:42,200
two of my three days a week, I
definitely, definitely exposed.

1673
01:05:42,520 --> 01:05:44,520
Yeah, big time.
I definitely finished the week

1674
01:05:44,520 --> 01:05:48,360
think the day thinking I didn't
need to do half that stuff.

1675
01:05:48,360 --> 01:05:50,280
It was boring, pointless.
The kids weren't inspired.

1676
01:05:50,280 --> 01:05:52,200
It was relentless.
It's all complex now.

1677
01:05:52,200 --> 01:05:54,240
They think they're rubbish at
these things because we did 72

1678
01:05:54,240 --> 01:05:55,960
things at once.
And you know, what's sad very

1679
01:05:55,960 --> 01:05:58,360
quickly is when it's in maths
and English, you think that

1680
01:05:58,360 --> 01:06:00,480
that's when it's sad because
there's so much maths and

1681
01:06:00,480 --> 01:06:02,960
English that has such an impact.
And you finished, you finish

1682
01:06:02,960 --> 01:06:05,560
doing English sometimes and you
just think, why did I just spend

1683
01:06:05,560 --> 01:06:08,200
40 minutes looking at Test style
questions that start with which

1684
01:06:08,200 --> 01:06:09,280
word?
It shows you this.

1685
01:06:09,680 --> 01:06:12,360
I could have done such a better,
more inspiring lesson about word

1686
01:06:12,360 --> 01:06:14,640
meaning and understanding what
words mean without having to do

1687
01:06:14,640 --> 01:06:17,680
it in this test our way.
Which, by the way, I only have

1688
01:06:17,680 --> 01:06:20,520
to do because we all decided
that's how we measure child's

1689
01:06:20,520 --> 01:06:22,880
ability to read.
It's insane.

1690
01:06:22,880 --> 01:06:24,200
And there it comes back to that
point, doesn't it?

1691
01:06:24,200 --> 01:06:26,160
I think we've I think we've
hammered that point home in this

1692
01:06:26,160 --> 01:06:27,160
episode.
I hope you enjoyed it,

1693
01:06:27,160 --> 01:06:28,680
everybody.
Now, Dylan, well done, by the

1694
01:06:28,680 --> 01:06:29,880
way.
Oh, yeah, for making it through

1695
01:06:29,880 --> 01:06:31,480
this episode.
We've only had to do hang on,

1696
01:06:31,480 --> 01:06:33,120
let me just count.
Sorry, guys, you have to wait

1697
01:06:33,120 --> 01:06:38,760
for this.
No, to sorry, 12345678910 only

1698
01:06:38,760 --> 01:06:40,280
12 edits.
So if you've noticed a lot of

1699
01:06:40,280 --> 01:06:42,760
cutting around in this episode,
unlike normal where we're pretty

1700
01:06:42,760 --> 01:06:46,320
uncut, it is because Dylan is
imploding in his in his head.

1701
01:06:47,000 --> 01:06:49,440
When I talk, OK, maybe it's
happening now.

1702
01:06:49,880 --> 01:06:52,440
As soon as I feel fine, when I'm
listening to you, I'm like, I'm

1703
01:06:52,440 --> 01:06:54,680
ready to make my point.
I start talking and my nose just

1704
01:06:54,680 --> 01:06:56,640
goes close.
Yeah, close that off.

1705
01:06:56,640 --> 01:06:58,400
Can't breathe anymore.
So I appreciate it.

1706
01:06:58,560 --> 01:06:59,840
I think most people are ill
right now.

1707
01:06:59,960 --> 01:07:01,480
Listen, you've done well.
You've done well.

1708
01:07:01,480 --> 01:07:02,760
I've done well because you're
the one editing.

1709
01:07:02,840 --> 01:07:04,440
Yeah, I am.
And normally you've had a

1710
01:07:04,440 --> 01:07:06,680
meltdown by now, so well done,
you've made it all the way over.

1711
01:07:06,720 --> 01:07:08,920
How about 5 meltdowns?
Hopefully you cut them out.

1712
01:07:09,400 --> 01:07:11,200
I'll tell you what, I'm going to
make a super edit.

1713
01:07:12,680 --> 01:07:15,480
Look forward to episode 100.
Right, so we're we're looking at

1714
01:07:15,480 --> 01:07:17,360
this now and we're going to let
you behind the curtains to see

1715
01:07:17,360 --> 01:07:19,240
how much this was actually
affecting.

1716
01:07:19,440 --> 01:07:21,080
We have recorded for one hour
20.

1717
01:07:21,200 --> 01:07:23,560
So whatever you're on now,
that's how much Hayden had to

1718
01:07:23,560 --> 01:07:25,000
cut out because of me not being
able to.

1719
01:07:25,000 --> 01:07:27,400
Breathe Dylan's snotting right
and and with that, I'll leave

1720
01:07:27,400 --> 01:07:29,920
you thinking of Dylan's not see
you next see you next time

1721
01:07:29,960 --> 01:07:33,360
episode 99 so.
Close.

1722
01:07:33,360 --> 01:07:35,040
Sweet night.
Night ice cream for the whole

1723
01:07:35,040 --> 01:07:35,400
thing?
No.

1724
01:07:35,400 --> 01:07:35,800
OK.