• In Praise of the Essay

  

  19th January 2026

  (Essais, de Montaigne, 1595) The essay is a unique way of approaching education. It can be part science in that it means 'to test' or 'to experiment'. Conversely, it can be part art in that in...
  Read More

• The inevitable growth of standardised...

  

  18th August 2025

  Edvard Munch, "The Oak" (1906) A recent report identified a growth in the use of standardised curricula in both primary and secondary schools in England. These resourced schemes of work are...
  Read More

• Is Philosophy just making stuff up?...

  

  25th June 2025

  One of the most awkward parts of attending conferences, or indeed any work related event, is the requirement to explain what I do. On the train from Sheffield to Oxford for the PESGB annual...
  Read More

• Existentialism in the Classroom: The...

  

  16th June 2025

  Having taught Philosophy A Level in Further Education for two years now, I still find it so striking, and perhaps frightening, the expectations and pressures that our society bestows upon our young...
  Read More

• Phronesis and Virtue: Reflections from...

  

  13th May 2025

  An allegory of wisdom, attributed to Giovanni Domenico Cerrini (1609–1681) Phronesis and Virtue: Reflections from Gdańsk I am a full-time maths teacher at an inner-city comprehensive school in...
  Read More

• Freedom in the classroom

  

  9th May 2025

  Practitioners face questions relating to freedom each day when teaching and planning curricula. How will students engage with the material? How should students be in the learning environment? Do...
  Read More

• The Beautiful Twist in Education

  

  4th April 2025

  In times such as these, it is difficult to ignore the prevailing practice of attempting to measure the success of (formal) educational endeavours using all manner of qualitative and quantitative...
  Read More

• Uncovering Education

  

  27th January 2025

  Book cover for Wrońska & Stern (eds.) (2024). Taken from the Routledge catalogue. Routledge, 2024. ISBN: 9781032471693, Hbk. ISBN: 9781003386100, eBook.  RRP: £145.00 / £39.99,...
  Read More

• Book Review: A Philosophical Inquiry...

  

  6th January 2025

  A Philosophical Inquiry into Subject English and Creative Writing by Oli Belas Book cover for Belas (2023). Taken from the Routledge catalogue. Routledge, 2023. ISBN: 9780367487362, Hbk. ISBN:...
  Read More

• Care. What is it good for?

  

  7th October 2024

  I’m going to ask you a question. I want you to answer the question quickly and without thinking about it. Please be honest, it’s only for yourself. Here goes: Can you teach someone without...
  Read More

• Addressing Higher Education student...

  

  2nd September 2024

  If I was asked to name a pressing issue in Higher Education (HE) student education it would be engagement – lowering or lack thereof.  Speaking to colleagues both internally and externally it...
  Read More

• Book Review: Pedagogies of Taking Care...

  

  2nd April 2024

  Pedagogies of Taking Care by Dennis Atkinson Bloomsbury, 2022 ISBN: 9781350288324, Hbk. RRP: £85.50, 272pp Book cover for Atkinson (2022). Taken from Bloomsbury...
  Read More