Vine Academy

As a supply teacher, I have had the honour of being able to teach a wide variety of students.  I have taught in schools in London, Suffolk and the Midlands; in the private sector, state-funded and faith schools.  There is a common thread found in every school - kids behaving badly! No matter how prestigious the school, or how faith-filled the ethos, children are children and as such, they are going to push against the boundaries laid out for them.  I actually think that this is a very human endeavour, after all, how would we create new things if we didn't push against boundaries? Once we, as educators, accept the fact of classroom misbehaviour, it is time to decide what we will tolerate and which battles we will fight.  Despite the metaphor, this is not an Us vs. Them fight. It's an Us vs. Exam Resits fight, because let's face it, distracting behaviour impedes learning and ultimately reduces life chances. I have developed a model for how to maintain a serene classroo...

Have you ever listened to a conversation between a toddler and their mum?  Most of the time, the toddler is doing the asking and mum just gives her the answer.  I know from experience that it's the easiest thing to do in the short-term but in the long-term, it's actually the lazy way.  Asking questions is a simple teaching tool, that when done right can be fun, pique curiosity and give learners a real confidence boost. Fun questions are on topics of interest like, 'who do you think will win the Euros?' or 'who are you rooting for in the Olympics?' They can provide excellent answers that can be used as bridges to learning objectives, scriptural debates and political conversations.  For instance, the above can be used to inspire a lesson on Scatter Graphs, a Bible study on the benefits of exercise (see 1 Timothy 4 verse 8), or why Marcus Rashford isn't in the Euros line up.  The key is to keep it fun, even when it's deep. Questions are natural curiosity-je...

There is a well-known principle within church circles that's called the A.S.K. principle.  It is based on Jesus's Words in Matthew 7 verse 7, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you."  One of the features that makes it so memorable is the acronym.  The first instruction to Ask is acronymized in Ask Seek Knock, and although we are going to look at each step individually, they actually represent a learning methodology that is on an upward spectrum. We've heard teachers say that there are no silly questions and that is true, because even questions that appear to be silly can lead to deep and enriching discussions.  Take the 'Would you rather...?' questions, for instance.  I have often wondered why I was defending my choice of Guinness Punch over Ginger Beer, as a drink that I would rather have if I had only one last chance to choose, however, the progress was not so much in my defensive argument, as it ...