Was Michael O’Leary right about teachers after all?
Teaching exodus continues, but educators are collectively doing little to change their lot
‘There are Caitrionas in every school – young people quietly struggling and suffering’
Return to school is a time when students who are not coping are potentially less likely to be detected. And this is nobody’s fault; it is a systemic problem
Most end-of-year school reports aren’t truly fit for purpose
To limit a report only to the academic is to define a child by one very small facet of their complex selves
‘In every school there are students like John who hunger for fewer disruptions to their timetabled week’
No two students experience school the same way. A heightened awareness of that increases our chances of spotting who needs us most
‘There is a lesson that will never feature on a school timetable but which we could all benefit from’
There is a lesson that will never feature formally on a school timetable but which we could all benefit from devoting more time to
Young people have outgrown our education system. How we respond is a conversation we need to have
Students are missing out by having teachers who choose to bring less to the table than they could if they felt more motivated
The Secret Teacher: Too many achieve too little for want of that one single adult
All youngsters can benefit from an adult who observes their needs closely and attentively
As the mock results sink in, a tide of blame rises in some classrooms
The craic may have been good for best part of two years, but there is now a realisation that a high price is to be paid for taking such a route
‘He has the worst teacher. At this rate, he has no chance of doing higher for the Leaving’
The Secret Teacher: Parents need to trust that teachers will do right by their children. It is a big ask, but a necessary one
The Secret Teacher: ‘Many in our profession wonder how they ever managed without AI’
We should safeguard the classroom so it remains a haven of genuine human contact
The Secret Teacher: The new approach was a no-brainer - it transformed the class and engaged more students
The approach is simple, but it sits in our blind spot for one specific reason: we have been conditioned to prioritise relationships above all else
The Secret Teacher: Too many students don’t feel safe at school. We are in the dark about why
We cannot possibly protect young people from what we do not even know about
The Secret Teacher: ‘Toby died this morning, but Jack’s parents sent him to school anyway’
Many of our students suffer emotional storms on a regular basis and still show up to school
The Secret Teacher: ‘A blanket ban on phones in schools makes less sense the more you examine it’
Many of those I teach are addicts, and rationalising with addicts about what they are addicted to is pointless
The Secret Teacher: ‘Selling the mentally taxing option of critical thinking to modern youngsters is often met with resistance’
We know how we want our lessons to play out, but there’s faint hope of it happening with so many diverse recipients