Reflections as a Global Educator
“Nothing essential happens in the absence of noise.” Jacques Attali The Germans have a very apt phrase for this time of the year; "zwischen den Jahren" and it refers to the time between Christmas and New Year. A transition between the old year, still to end, and the promise of the new one, still yet… Continue reading The sounds of a school
Les was born in the north Welsh village of Coedpoeth, just outside Wrexham, in January 1933. Les was the youngest of four children. He had three elder sisters, Betty, Dilys and Gwen, who he adored and loved all his life. Les’s mother, Theresa nee Davies, originally from Moreton, stayed at home to look after the… Continue reading Leslie Jones MA (Oxon) 1933-2023, A life.
“Happiness, too, is inevitable” Albert Camus No two school years are ever the same. The calendar and cycle of events may seem the same but what you plan for in the summer rarely makes it into the late autumn schedule. The energy, optimism and enthusiasm of the late summer catapults the school community into the… Continue reading Tenderness needed for tumultuous times
“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea” - attributed to Antoine De Saint-Exupery; ‘The Little Prince’. This life of contrasts is something I will never get used to. The… Continue reading “Both a historian and a futurologist” – Finding the words as a school leader ahead of a new academic year.
I’ve noticed a lot of posts on social media from school leaders taking up new posts, first headships this autumn, all asking for what advice would experienced school leaders give to think about over the summer break. I think I am going to recommend to any school leader the need to be aware of your… Continue reading “The only journey is the one within.” Finding your best self.
“Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.” Ralph Waldo Emerson A year can feel like a long time in education. It’s hard to comprehend the sheer relief, and exhaustion, we all felt at Heritage this time last year, as we danced the hora in the May sunshine. A year, where we… Continue reading Did we just end another academic year so soon? Making moments in education.
“Your feet will bring you where your heart is”. Karen Marie Moning It’s been a long while since I felt so emotional in a concert that tears rolled down my face. It was in the final choral moment of “Ode to Joy '' at the finale of the 4th movement and it took me by… Continue reading I choose Europe
It’s not often I get to stroll across Westminster Bridge, umbrella in hand, on the 1st March, St David’s Day and wearing a Martisor for the start of Spring. The Houses of Parliament, the river Thames, Boudica and Big Ben, all familiar and famous. Especially familiar for me on that first Wednesday morning of March… Continue reading Internationalism over isolation; how to live in an age of stupid.
‘Teaching is the one profession that creates all other professions’ It certainly doesn’t need a blog post to make this statement clear and obvious to anyone who has children or thinks in the longer term. Or cares about the future even. But sometimes even the most obvious truisms need repeating from time to time. When… Continue reading Teachers are our precious assets.
“In three words I can sum up everything I have learned about life; it goes on” Robert Frost I’ve decided not to go all out with New Year’s resolutions for 2023. If the 2020s has taught us anything so far, it is the sheer unpredictability of our global society and almost the fear of it… Continue reading Life; it goes on
Mail from Moldova 