This is turning out to be an emotional day for me. I have accepted a job offer that will take me out of the classroom, working at an assessment body. It was not an easy decision to make, but I have come to realise that in order to influence education more meaningfully, I have to... Continue Reading →
I Am Racist
I am racist. It is not something a man likes to admit, but it is something that has to be acknowledged before it can be addressed. Now don’t get me wrong. It is not a question of hatred. I can love and embrace people of all different cultures and creeds. I respect people no matter... Continue Reading →
A Plea to the Education Fairy
Despite all the resources and the wealth of information at our disposal through the internet, I do not believe that teachers will ever be replaced by computers. I don’t believe they ever should be. You see, teaching is about much more than merely conveying information. It is also about more than simply helping learners to... Continue Reading →
Relooking at Education
A pupil asked me last week what changes I would make to the education system if I had the power to reform it. First I need to express just how thrilled I was that he had asked the question in the first place. It means that not only has he been allowed to develop critical... Continue Reading →
On Humility
Some of those who know me well may see the irony in the fact that I am choosing to write a post on humility. Still, I think humility is a much underrated virtue, and one that seems largely to have been lost in the modern world, where it is misconstrued as weakness. Because capitalist society... Continue Reading →
The Importance of Checking Your Blindspots
A dear friend of mine recently posted this picture. I was immediately taken with it. Doesn’t it sum up the human condition so succinctly? Too often, like the pigeon in the picture, our limited minds seem incapable of comprehending a bigger picture; sometimes they are unwilling to concede that there even is one. We will... Continue Reading →
Exploring the Mystery of the Cross
Imagine that, in the midst of a bout of temporary insanity, you told your wife this: that in order for you to remain married, she would have to dress up like a nun, because that was the only way you could love her and find her attractive. How long do you think that marriage would... Continue Reading →
The Necessity Of Leaving Room For Doubt
One of my pupils recently asked me to list my ten favourite books. It is an unfair question to ask an English teacher. I have read literally thousands of books and to ask me to narrow the list down to a mere ten seems a tad cruel. And what criteria should I use to make... Continue Reading →
Is The Church Losing Its Way?
A colleague of mine, one for whom I have a sincere admiration, recently came back from Iraq, where she went on a mission to provide encouragement to displaced Christians. Ilda’s faith constantly challenges mine. She epitomises for me what true Christianity is about: not just ‘me, my Bible and Jesus’, but a living faith that... Continue Reading →
Avoiding The Void
I am suspicious of hedonism: somehow it is a lie. Now I do not believe myself to be any more incapable of lying than the next person, but I do hold integrity as one of my core values: I do not believe that one can live a fulfilled life when one is consciously living a... Continue Reading →
Vapors In The Wind 