Brett Handley

Wednesday 4th February Rosa Parks was born on this day 1913 in Alabama. She is remembered for a moment of defiance in December 1955 when she refused to move from seats reserved for white people on a Montgomery bus. Parks was was not the first to defy the state’s racial segregation laws this way. Earlier the same year Claudette Colvin and Mary Louise Smith had both been similarly arrested. However Colvin and Smith were not seen as the the right face to be a cause célèbre by local activists. Colvin was an unmarried teen and Smith’s family were vulnerable to being smeared in the press. However, Parks was 42 had worked as a seamstress and for the NAACP investigating racial violence. She was married and a regular churchgoer, exactly the type of trusted citizen civil rights leaders hoped would unite the city against unpopular segregation laws. A boycott of Montgomery Buses was organised on the day of her trial, which became permanent when she was found guilty. The boycott lasted 381 days and was ended in court when the segregation of buses was found to be unconstitutional. The victory came at a cost to Parks. She and her husband lost work, faced threats, and struggled financially. In 1957 they moved to Detroit, where Rosa kept campaigning for civil rights, later working with black Congressman John Conyers on civil rights issues. She died in 2005 aged 92. Is it acceptable to pick the most presentable person for a campaign? What does it mean for people who are brave but don’t fit society’s expectations? Is doing the right thing worth disrupting your life for?

Rosa Parks was born on this day 1913 in Alabama. She is remembered for refusing to move from seats reserved for white people on a Montgomery bus in December 1955. She was not the first to defy the law, but as a working, married regular churchgoer she was considered the right face to be a cause célèbre by local activists. A boycott of Montgomery Buses was started on the day of her trial and lasted 381 days. The boycott ended when segregation on buses was found to be unconstitutional. But victory came at a cost. Parks and her husband lost work, faced threats, struggled financially and moved away from Alabama after the boycott. Is doing the right thing worth disrupting your life for?

Wednesday's TGT takes a look at Rosa Parks. I hope many will know her story already. But it's interesting to note she wasn't the first to defy the racist segregation of Montgomery's buses, but civil rights leaders did think she was the right person to be the face of change. bit.ly/TutorGroupThink

Take me down to the Parallax city where the far moves slow and the near moves quickly

Minute Cryptic - 2 February, 2026
"Satisfactory sausage misses first and second medals for delicacy" (7)
🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣
🏆 0 hints – 4 under the community par (32,378 solvers so far).
www.minutecryptic.com?utm_source=s...

Remembering the wonderful actress Elisabeth Sladen on what would have been her 80th birthday 🕯️

#DoctorWho #BigFinish #SarahJaneSmith

You'd be surprised - last oysters I had the in the UK I bought from Morrisons :-)

No. It's what happens when you don't have the rules. Otherwise, we wouldn't need the rules, we'd just allow students to go whenever. We didn't decide to implement toilet rules when there was no need for them :-)

YouTube video by Christopher Bungert Bruce Springsteen - Streets of Minneapolis live from First Ave, Minneapolis, Jan 30th 2026

youtu.be/hyPFxh_XXwY

My first remarks since being arrested last night.

This is just insane. It’s only a matter of time before DHS kills another innocent person here.

(clip via MPR and @davidjbier.bsky.social on X)

from a private chat with some other teachers ...

Nice. Easy. Clever.

No, that would be a whole different kettle of ballgames.

Sheep, ewe etc really don't help

Crazy - got it in par - lovely clue but FFS

I was trying to be diplomatic. But thank you.

Not familiar with that (unpleasant) version!

Again, students can access the loo whenever they want, if they really need to, but allowing free access all the time to everyone would lead to chaos (in some contexts). There has to be some form of rules to make the system work. All I want to do is teach kids stuff, so that they can be their best.

Yes, that is a more complicated issue (as I think I said) ...but we don't address that by just allowing students to opt out. We have to work on inclusivity and making sure all can access the learning.

And it would be great if we just said anyone could get up and go whenever they want - that would be ideal - but in reality, in some schools, that would be chaos in every lesson.

Some students rarely ask, some ask every lesson .. the same students. They have the chance to go at break, at lunch and between lessons. No one stops people going when they need, it's very obvious, when you know the students, who is taking the mick.

Of course you allow students who need the toilet to go, but some students use it as a way of avoiding the lesson. The reasons for this are no doubt complicated but schools do need a policy about using the toilet in lesson time.

I understand your point, but when you have students who have just come in from break or lunch and insist they need the toilet, and do the same every lesson ...

It was!

#FridayFive
1. Yesterday. The Beatles.
2. Seasons in the Sun. Terry Jacks.
3. These Are the Days of Our Lives. Queen.
4. Yesterday Once More. The Carpenters.
5. Tess of the Dormobiles. Half Man Half Biscuit.

Friday 30th January On this day 1969 The Beatles climbed onto the roof of Apple Corp, Savile Row in central London and played what became their final live performance. It came about in an impromptu way; the bickering band were in the middle of recording songs for the album Let It Be and were also filming a documentary to accompany the album. But they couldn’t agree how to end the film. Ideas floated around, but nothing felt realistic. With a deadline looming, someone suggested the simplest possible solution: use the roof. It was quick to set up and the film crew were already in the building. There was no audience and no tickets; just amps, cables, freezing January air, and a few Apple staff. Down on the street, office workers leaned out of windows and crowds gathered, trying to work out where the music was coming from. The sound of The Beatles echoing across London made the city feel like part of the show. After noise complaints, the police arrived and pressured the band to stop. The set ended after around 42 minutes, mid-moment rather than with a neat finale, which is exactly why it feels now, so legendary. A great band, cut short, like the end of an era. As they wrapped up, John Lennon delivered the perfect closing joke: “I’d like to say thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves, and I hope we passed the audition.” Although Let It Be was a success, the bickering continued and Lennon left the band in September 1969 and McCartney in April 1970 and the gig on the roof turned out to be the last live gig The Beatles ever played. If your band/project was ending, what would you do for a final performance? Why did the police stop them? Where should the line be between public disruption and art? What’s is the modern equivalent of this concert? A flash mob, live stream or something else?

Friday 30th January On this day 1969 The Beatles played on a London Roof Top for their Let It Be documentary. The impromptu gig turned out to be their final live performance as they split months later. There was no tickets, no audience, just amps, cables, freezing January air and a few Apple staff. After noise complaints, the police arrived and pressured the team to stop mid set. If your band/project was ending, what would you do for a final performance? Watch: Get Back as the police arrive to stop the gig.

Friday's TGT introduces your tutees to a band called The Beatles. Amazingly they'll be new to some of them. They played on the roof of their record company offices 57 years ago. They didn't know it, but it was their last ever live gig. Watch the video that ended a dynasty.
bit.ly/TutorGroupThink

YouTube video by Billy Bragg BILLY BRAGG - CITY OF HEROES

I wrote this yesterday about the hero city of Minneapolis

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKOW...

Looking forward to introducing this to Y11 tomorrow!

Thursday 29th January On this day 1845 Edgar Allan Poe’s poem The Raven was published in a New York newspaper. It went about as viral as was possible in 1845 with people reprinting it, parodying it and quoting it endlessly within months. Edgar Poe was born in 1809. His father left when he was one and his mother died when he was two. He was raised (but never formally adopted) by the Allan family in Virginia, though they took him to live in the UK for 5 years as a teen before returning to Virginia. In 1826 Poe enrolled to study of language at University of Virginia but became estranged from the wealthy Allans and had to drop out for financial reasons after a year. Instead he turned his hand to writing. The Raven is simple but unforgettable; a grieving narrator, a mysterious bird, and one repeated word in every verse; “Nevermore”. The rhythm and internal rhymes make it feel like a chant, so it sticks in your head even if you don’t usually do poetry. Poe’s gothic writing, but The Raven in particular had huge cultural impact. The poem is still celebrated today and is still influencing popular culture. For example, The Simpsons first Treehouse of Horror episode (with James Earl Jones’ distinctive reading) and Netflix’s hit show Wednesday, which leans hard into Poe-influenced gothic vibes, right down to ‘Nevermore’ being the name of the school. Listen to Sir Christopher Lee read The Raven. How does this poem make you feel? Can you imagine writing something that people were still inspired by 180 years later?

Thursday 29th January On this day 1845 Edgar Allan Poe’s poem The Raven was published in a New York newspaper. Edgar Poe was born in 1809. He was orphaned at two. He was raised (but never formally adopted) by the Allan family in Virginia but became estranged from the wealthy Allans during University and had to drop out. The Raven is simple but unforgettable; a grieving narrator, a mysterious bird, and one repeated word in every verse, “Nevermore”. It’s gothic overture still influences culture today (e.g. Simpsons and Wednesday). Sir Christopher Lee reads The Raven. How does this poem make you feel? Can you imagine writing something that still inspires 180 years later?

Poetry on Thursday's TGT with anniversary of first publication of Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Raven'. You could discuss Poe and the jaw-dropping achievement to be influencing culture 180 years later. Or you could just listen to Sir Christopher Lee's reading.
bit.ly/TutorGroupThink

and why not?