Delighted to have started the @histassoc.bsky.social Subject Leader Development Programme this week. A very enlightening and collaborative introduction - a pleasure to meet a diverse range of fascinating teachers. Thank you @catherinepriggs.bsky.social ! Can’t wait to get stuck in #SLDP

Brazen authoritarianism or kitschy branding? www.ft.com/content/78d6... Trump is remaking America in his image

This is a thought provoking article about what seems a brilliant book. It reminds me of when Obama commented in the 2016 campaign that a post-Brexit Britain would be ‘at the back of the queue’. It was taken as manipulative over-reach and helped the Leave campaign. www.politico.com/news/magazin...

FT delivering here. www.ft.com/content/9a52... Fees for seas: a history of taxing waterways

The question that needs discussing: what are the consequences of Trump’s policies failing to achieve their aims?

I’ve read the New Testament over Lent. Covering it at pace and relative brevity (it’s a lot of reading each day) has been enlightening. Bird’s eye view themes and history of early church. The lessons are transformational and it’s Good News! Happy Easter, He is risen! www.bible.com/en/reading-p...

The political power struggle behind the Bayeux Tapestry www.ft.com/content/03dd...

Medieval story time! Let’s talk about Isabel, who stabbed a priest when he told her to shut up in church (relatable) So Isabel lived in London in 1330.

Penelope J. Corfield takes us through some of the Georgian origins and innovations in familiar festive traditions. How were these traditions formed by their Christmases past? And how did they help form Christmases future? yalebooks.co.uk/how-the-geor... #c18th #georgians #skystorians

Been thinking about analogy of the angel grinders sparks. When everything in a practice alines in serendipitous synchronicity, producing beauty, progress and change. Works in teaching, religious practice, relationships. Anything else?

This is an extraordinary article and so prescient. on.ft.com/3WbdPy4 How tech lords and populists changed the rules of power

Hammock. Shade. Sleepwalkers.

To have seen the War on Drugs, Sam Fender and Oasis in the past 13 months is nothing short of a privilege. The latter were something else. I can’t quite put in to words the atmosphere, quality of music, the euphoria, the sounds, the buzz, the mutual ecstasy. It was electric and magical.

'Damn the secret ballot': the UK's public voting system before 1872 historyofparliament.com/2025/07/18/p...

This is a career highlight. My Y8 class made me this Martin Luther frame for my birthday after saying ‘your face lights up whenever you mention him!’. Just shows your the power of the stories in @counsellc.bsky.social ‘s Connected Worlds series!

The opening of my lesson plan for my A level classes tomorrow. Straight into written work afterwards. Let’s gooo!

The question that needs discussing: what are the consequences of Trump’s policies failing to achieve their aims?

Sometimes you catch a glimpse of the world - like Wordworth’s moments in time - and you are utterly convinced that there is a God and he is incredible. A sunset, sunrise, a magnolia in bloom, laughter with a loved one.

I used to find my essay feedback in lessons often went: 1) whole class feedback to discuss common issues and misconceptions 2) hand back essays with written feedback 3) variety of tasks 4) students derailed by comparing performance to friend’s, emotionally digesting result & regretting mistakes

Teach Russian History? As we approach anniversary of February Revolution, students may ask if it was as democratic as it seemed. Here are four reasons why answer may be "no" Third in series of posts on Feb 1917 👇 istorikteach.blogspot.com/2025/02/the-... #historyteacher #EduSky #historyeducation

History Teachers this is absolute gold! oldmapsonline.org let's you explore regions, battles, rulers from 4000BC to 2010! It's a great tool to play around with. #historyteacher

Feeling refreshed and ready for a busy push until the Easter holidays. Lots of exciting initiatives across the school. Let’s gooooo!

This is what happens when you embolden an aggressor by seemingly conceding to all their demands, give their ideas legitimacy and throw your allies to the side. Putin does not want peace, he wants to end Ukrainian sovereignty. www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c8...

My dad was a remarkable man to whom I owe my life, in so many ways. Some advice he gave me over the years has been ringing particularly true as of late: Trust in the Lord, you reap what you so, when the going gets tough the tough gets going, enjoy every moment of life while you have it.

This has been an enlightening and complicating read on so many levels. Peels back a lot of generalisations I had fostered. Stalin the joker, charmer, the lover, the friend.

Munich 2024 - genuinely feels like a significant turning point in the next phase of geo-politics and global history.

Crunching half term. So much progress. Off to Seville, book in hand. Teaching is a dream job.

Sobering reading. on.ft.com/3EG3xR4 Who will defend Europe?

Any OCR A level teachers out there with hints, tips or resources for Unit 3 thematic essays / synthesis? So many ways to skin this cat…

Just stumbled across these photos from my PGCE dormitory, so glad I took them. So much hard thinking was done at that desk.

The best metaphor I can think of for substantive concepts in a curriculum. Lots of loose pieces of knowledge pulled together by common themes and changing definitions. And when the button is realised, the new schema pings to attention. Thoughts? @michaelfordham.bsky.social @counsellc.bsky.social

Snap analysis: Reeves has learnt the lesson from Truss that you must lay the ground for radical change. Significant tax rises and spending announced, but the missing sting of expected wider tax rises means little boost of optimism. FTSE up, but businesses clobbered.

How is this for a segway between high British Empire and WW1? Trying to mix up traditional political lens and de-colonised perspectives, with the latter critiquing the former. Too much?

‘Evaluation is always a matter of emphasis’ - John Guy Possible key to unlocking a tricky concept for students. If we want to make a historical judgement, what do we choose to focus on?

Thank you to @mrsampullan.bsky.social for the previous recommendation of Nick Bryant’s Forever War. Stellar reading. Though, this error has irked me.

Starmer severing all claims to being the heir to Blair. UK to slash overseas aid in Budget as asylum seeker costs rise on.ft.com/3C3Nc7k

My highlight so far this year has been getting Y8 absolutely hooked on the life and work of Martin Luther. @counsellc.bsky.social Connected Worlds has brought out the most enthralling story telling and excitement. Thank you so much.

Happy half term, all. I was told by my PGCE tutor that the 3rd year of teaching is the best. So far, it’s the busiest, but for all the right reasons. Love it.

We’re in that part of term where the days and weeks just fly by in a blur of essays and discussion. How do you stay grounded in the hyper speed? I’d say stay rooted in the planning-teach-reflection-amend cycle, and always have your prior knowledge & takeaways in mind. Let Rosenshine shine.

Finally got round to finishing my blog on the why, what and how of reading in the History classroom! I've tried to keep it as practical as possible with strategies that have worked really well in our context: metaphorsandmeanings.co.uk/2024/09/22/r...

A rotten cold derailed my weekend, but Presumed Innocent (on Apple TV) somewhat compensated. Compelling television!

Delighted to have passed my ECT today. Onwards and upwards!

“For a politician of any stripe, the beauty of the word “media” is that it is fungible. It brings to mind whatever the listener most hates” - good line for a politics A level essay! Kamala Harris versus the media on.ft.com/4e2y1ci

A personal highlight of my European road trip was standing in the exact spot Luther stood in 1521 to answer charges of heresy at the Diet of Worms. Not quite literally, but very much in his enlarged concrete shoes.

Having read this beauty by Hazareesingh, I’m planning an enquiry about Toussaint Louverture and the Haitian Revolution: why did TL fall from power? Lesson 1 - why did the insurrection occur in 1791? 2) who was TL? 3) how free was Saint-Domingue under TL?

Migrated from X. Loving the gained time, but missing the History and Education community - are we all here now?