In ASBO Teacher: An irreverent guide to surviving in challenging classrooms, Samuel Elliott shares the simplest solutions to the toughest problems in today™s classrooms.

Find out more and pre-order your copy here.

Melissa Kite, Contributing Editor, The Spectator:

Samuel Elliott™s ASBO Teacher takes us on a whirlwind tour of the modern British education system that is hair-raising, eye-opening, and hugely entertaining.

I laughed and nearly cried in places as he revealed, through a wealth of astonishing anecdotes and first-hand experiences, the extent of the challenge facing teachers nowadays “ a predicament that went far beyond what I had suspected in my wildest imaginings.

I only remain hopeful for the future of our young people because there are innovative thinkers like Elliott. Once a disruptive pupil himself, he is now a highly articulate and emotionally intelligent teacher whose ability to relate makes him “ yes, I am going to invoke that old cliché “ inspirational.

While his book must be essential reading for those in the education sector, Elliott is a very funny writer, which makes his account a rip-roaring read for those taking a glimpse into his world from the outside. I enjoyed it immensely. I found myself laughing out loud at his stories about attempting to deal with near-impossible situations. I haven™t been so amused by a young professional™s plight since It Shouldn™t Happen to a Vet.

His rapier wit and irrepressible sense of humour lifts what might have been a depressing account of what goes on in our schools into a soaring narrative, and at times deeply affecting. Ultimately, Elliott is a man on a mission. He wants to reform the way we teach our most difficult kids.

I found his arguments deeply compelling, especially the idea that mollycoddling rebellious youngsters only makes them respect you less. He is surely onto something when he says teachers would be better off learning a bit about what is happening on the streets outside their classroom before attempting to reach the kids inside the classroom with gooey compassion that rings hollow to them. I found fascinating the theory that bad behaviour varies in type by area, and that a teacher would benefit from finding out what concerns and motivates the kids in their manor.

Likewise, I also found persuasive the idea that if you are going down this road, you better get it right, as there can be nothing more counterproductive than a teacher trying to reach a kid with ˜Nando™s themed homework™.

Instead, Elliott fleshes out an approach based on really understanding the psychology behind the behaviours that are a barrier to learning. It makes total sense to me that without a way of overcoming or cutting through these barriers to learning there will be no learning, so one might as well not bother. And once you™ve worked out the way the pupils™ minds work, and earned the right to be heard, not letting them walk all over you had better be your next objective.

I only hope his innovative ideas are heeded by those with the power to change the status quo, whereby teachers seem to be caught between patronising and placating their worst charges, and performing like a children™s entertainer for the rest. As Elliott says, the biggest burden on teachers currently is that they are expected to behave like CBBC presenters.

For his part, Elliott is to be congratulated for making up his mind to follow the best research, and, ˜without boring pupils into a coma™, to let the subject he is teaching speak for itself “ no frills, no gimmicks. Perhaps it is simply the honesty of that approach that works. One imagines that Elliott teaches with a sense of authenticity that even the most difficult teenager eventually warms to. And, of course, he comes from where they come from. The ultimate lesson of this scholarly but hugely readable book may be Elliott™s insistence that we should challenge kids to raise their game, as he did himself.



For those embarking on a career in the inner-city classroom this book is surely an invaluable resource, an essential guide, and a compendium of ˜everything you need to learn about teaching that the establishment may never teach you™. I hope many new teachers educate and entertain themselves by reading it.

This book is easy to read, and ideas can be gleaned quickly for a wide range of learning stages and ages. It is highly suitable for our sector, and will be a useful addition to any staff room book collection. Read the full review here.

Discover Cognitive Load Theory here.

Retrieval requires us actively and effortfully to engage in a task, rather than simply guess at or intuit an answer. It is the effortful nature of retrieval that gives spaced repetition its traction: if the correct response is too easily recalled (e.g. if a position appears every day in Review mode), the retrieval practice has minimal effect. Read the full article here.

Discover Barry's book Chess Improvement here.

The following is taken from the Network for Learning Website:

3rd February 2021, 4.00-6.30pm GMT

What is GREAT Teaching in MFL and what does it look like? Crista will lead you through a sensory approach to identifying what GREAT teaching in the MFL classroom looks, sounds and feels like.

Key components such as planning for success, differentiation which raises engagement and learner output through scaffolded support and challenge, assessment and feedback but also relationships, engagement and motivation and metacognition will feature in this webinar.



In 2021 we still need to consider to synchronous and asynchronous teaching and be ready to support learners in the classroom as well as remotely to develop all four language skills.

This course will be online.

• Crista is presenting via webcam, accompanied by slides and activities


• Opportunities for delegate questions and comments


• A copy of the slides will be made available after the course, along with further materials

Find out more and book your place here.

Discover Crista's book Independent Thinking on MFL here.

STEM skills open the door to a wide variety of exciting career paths including some of the highest paid and most in-demand jobs in the county. What™s more, the demand for STEM graduates is only set to grow. STEM education is a fantastic way to bring 21st-century skills into the classroom and foster in our children a long-term interest in these subjects. It helps children to develop their science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills through solving practical, real world problems. What™s more, it promotes critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration and perseverance; skills that are used throughout our lives. Read the full article here.

Discover Emily's new book 15-Minute STEM Book 2 here.

PROS

• The book highlights the emotional, language and wellbeing benefits of having animals in school.


• Considerations are also stressed about the welfare of the animals when in the school setting.


• Risk assessment and cost implications are given due attention within the book for those considering introducing animals into the school setting.


• The book offers a range of cross-curriculum activities to help introduce animal topics, referenced to all UK curriculum guidance.


• The book is an essential 'must read' for anyone thinking of using live animals to support the development of young people in schools.

Read the full review here.

Discover Tails from the Classroom here.