Having recently completed my final fulltime career appointment as a school leader, and being suddenly confined to restricted living due to lockdown, I have had an unexpected opportunity to reflect on a lifetime in schools and to wonder what was it all about? ‘Life is short’ was something I used to hear venerable older people say long ago, it seems, when I was young, and…
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In recent days the former United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, spoke at GEMS Academy schools in Dubai. While addressing students and underlining the role of quality education for a better world, his standout message to students was about the importance of being global citizens and of being compassionate. When an individual of this stature,…
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Increasingly throughout my career, first as a teacher and later as a school leader I have been exercised by the conundrum of how should we assess fairly within schools and, most significantly, at school leaving examination time. For this terminal examination, in large measure, is the tool employed across the world to recognise the achievements,…
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‘A few months into my post as Western Co-Principal of Shanghai United International School my Chinese Co-Principal offered an observation which has stuck with me since as incorporating a wealth of meaning in a seemingly simple statement. This colleague was a lady of perspicacity and wisdom with whom I had established a great professional relationship…
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There has long been discussion as to what should be taught and learned in schools, how it should be taught and applied in life. In the early years of this century the discussion is no less relevant. I was reminded of this recently as I reflected on two conversations with prospective parents from very different…
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