Brett Handley

that's the one I had no clue about

I actually got it 2nd. Unusually.

Bronze plaque saying "A Letter to the Future. Ok is the first Icelandic glacier to lose its status as a glacier. In the next 200 years all our glaciers are expected to follow the same path. This monument is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it. August 2019. 415ppm CO2"

TIL about a memorial ceremony in Iceland in 2019 to mark the end of a glacier, changing the place name from Okjökull to Ok (jökull = glacier). Uncompromising wording on the bronze plaque:
"This is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it".

An interesting read, given that @primarychamp.bsky.social 's job is promoting reading for pleasure. I don't think there are contradictions despite the title - it's about seeing that reading for pleasure and being taught to read fluently are different things. You can't do one without the other.

Our 11-16 T&L model is very much "I do/We do/You do". For an enactive approach to work, I assume it needs the learners to be actively engaged in wanting to learn and interact with the subject matter. This is a minority of my students at KS3 and KS4 - though this does change somewhat at A level.

I think we do end up, with biology of the sciences in particular, requiring students to just remember stuff. But this is in a situation where they don't want to be there, have zero interest in the subject and fail to grasp its relevance to their lives. (IMHO)

I completely agree. For many of our students, they will never - for various reasons - grasp the interlinked concepts. Their only way to being able to answer "what is an isotope" (in a foundation paper MCQ) is by remembering it's to do with neutrons. Not ideal by any measure.

That was my first Bryson too, although I've always been a non-fiction afficionado.

I've read and enjoyed so many of his books. The two mentioned here are both brilliant and yet both so wildly different in what they are aiming to (and successfully do) achieve. When we need to do a 'book' thing at school, it's usually a Bryson one for me.

Monday 8th December Happy 74th Birthday to journalist and author Bill Bryson. He was born in Des Moines, Iowa to parents who were both journalists at a local newspaper. He travelled in Europe in his early 20s and got a short term job in England and met his wife. He subsequently lived in the UK for most of his life. Bryson’s experience of living between two cultures helped shape his funny and thoughtful writing. As a child he was fascinated by maps and first became famous for his travel books like Notes from a Small Island, where he explored Britain with a mix of love, humour, and sharp observation. He has also tackled science in his bestselling A Short History of Nearly Everything where, despite no science training, he explained concepts such as The Big Bang and the formation of the Earth for a lay audience. He has also written biographies and books about the English language. He has a talent for clear explanations, noticing important details and for humour; no matter what the subject Bryson finds the humour in any subject and keeps his readers coming back to read more. Do you know anyone who is the product of two cultures? How does this impact them? What skills must you have to be able to explain difficult concepts that you’re not expert in? Why is humour important in nonfiction writing?

Monday 8th December Happy 74th Birthday to journalist and author Bill Bryson. He was born in America but came to England in his 20s and has lived most of his life in England. As a child he was fascinated by maps and first became famous for his travel books like Notes from a Small Island. He has also tackled science in his bestselling A Short History of Nearly Everything, despite no formal science training. No matter the subject of his writing, Bryson writes with humour and brings his readers back for more and more. What skills must you have to be able to explain difficult concepts that you’re not expert in?

Monday's TGT wishes Billy Bryson a very happy birthday. Introduce your students to journalism and the breadth of topics to be written about in non-fiction writing. Or discuss the experience of bridging two cultures.
bit.ly/TutorGroupThink

a billionaire who sees undermining political sovereignty as an alternative to paying a relatively minor fine is a problem that will have to be dealt with eventually

I honestly do not know for certain. I suspect a number of things combined: we move on before things are embedded (time pressure), we do not do enough checks for understanding in lessons, students do not see the relevance of the subject for their lives ... all thing we are trying to address.

Try these in a 1-1.5 cm diameter droplet of water on a polypropylene surface. Why do this? A short activity leads to a long discussion on ionic lattices, dissolving (solvation), diffusion, precipitation & spectator ions.
#chemsky #chemchat #realtimechem #beyondbenign #iTeachChem #Chemistry

where is this available?

But on the way plus side, I travel the UK the whole darn time , and I meet so many kind and caring people. I’m just not sure how the cruel and greedy have taken so much and now twist people with their carefully manipulated hatred - here is to the kind, you are many

Since we're talking about childhood racists, let me share something.

My first direct experience of racism was in South London, age 5. Do not be shocked. In terms of age, it's about average for Black folks.

I arrived at school and nobody was talking to me. I was one of two Black boys in our class.

Trump receiving his Jim’ll fix it badge

If you need to understand what's happening, this farce is a perfect place to begin.

A broken, unhappy man is being given a fake award he doesn't deserve by a corrupt group looking to bribe him and earn favors. It's meaningless, everything he wants, and it won't matter to him within an hour.

I assumed it was a joke, but no, they really did this ...

Friday 5th December Richard Wayne Penniman was born this day 1932 in Macon, Georgia. He had 11 siblings and his father was a bricklayer and preacher. His upbringing was strict, but full of music. From a young age he sang in Church and developed a love of gospel music. He stood out in the choir, in part thanks to his powerful, high-pitched voice. But also because of his playful, mischievous personality that stood out in the choir. He was called ‘Little Richard from a young age because of his slight frame, he began performing R&B music on stage when he was just 15. His father kicked him out of the home at this time for singing ‘the devil’s music’. In 1955 his career exploded with the release of Tutti Frutti, a wild, joyful explosion of sound that Richard composed himself that was unlike anything heard before. He became a pioneer of the early Rock & Roll era that not only broke new ground musically, but also socially with integrated audiences of black and white young people equally enthralled and entertained by his tunes. It was the start of a 40+ year career that included hits like Long Tall Sally and Good Golly Miss Molly (performing aged 60). His wild pounding piano, screeched vocals lit the fire under rock ’n’ roll and influenced the likes of The Beatles, Elvis and David Bowie who came later. He died of bone cancer in 2020 at the age of 87. Have you heard any of Little Richard’s music before? How does it make you feel? Imagine how his audiences felt hearing this new music and going to integrated concerts for the first time.

Friday 5th December Richard Wayne Penniman was born this day 1932 in Georgia. His slight frame led him to the stage name Little Richard. In 1955 his career exploded with the release of Tutti Frutti, a wild, joyful explosion of sound that Richard composed himself. He that was unlike anything heard before. He became a pioneer of the early Rock & Roll era that not only broke new ground musically and socially. Have you heard any of Little Richard’s music before? How does it make you feel?

We've not done a fun Friday musical introduction on TGT for a while. Introduce your students to Little Richard tomorrow. To understand his influence is to realise there was *nothing* remotely like this before. He was a pioneer, musically and socially.
bit.ly/TutorGroupThink

My radical opinion is that we should have a regulator whose job it is to ensure broadcast television is legal, honest, decent and truthful.

Now is the time to speak up and stand up for who we are and who we are not.

A tweet from ReformUK Nearly 1 in 3 schoolchildren in Glasgow do not speak English as their first language. This is not diversity. This is culture smashing. Reform UK will make this a big issue in our campaign. *

A reminder that two of Nigel’s children have a German mother and speak fluent German.

Good enough for his children, but not other people’s.

Are his children culture smashing or is there something different about his children and the children of Glasgow?

In a surprise to absolutely no one, the mum she’s describing is not claiming benefits as a “lifestyle choice”.

This paywalled article is full of “in my grandparents day, blah blah blah” and nasty sneery comments about latest iPhones for spoilt children🙄

🧵
1/9

Well isn't that just stunning ...

Another thing to point out, perhaps, is why comet tails always point away from the sun

Wednesday 3rd December This incredible picture was taken by Ignacio Fernández (Instagram) in October in Alfacar, Spain and shows Comet C/2025 A6, otherwise known as Comet Lemmon. Ignacio made this picture using a composite of long exposure images of the foreground and night sky. (Amazing HD image here) Comets are made of ice and rock and they have large elliptical orbits around the sun. Comet Lemmon has disappeared now and won't be seen again from Earth for over 1000 years. As comets approach the sun their ice melts and leave a visible “tail”. The tail is usually straight showing the path of the comet, however the sun’s output of charged particles has been quite variable recently (leading to strong aurora) and have been buffeting Comet Lemmon’s blue-hued tail around. What objects have you seen in the night sky? Should we create spaces in the UK without light pollution to make it easier to see the night sky?

Wednesday 3rd December This incredible picture was taken by Ignacio Fernández (Instagram) in October in Alfacar, Spain and shows Comet C/2025 A6, otherwise known as Comet Lemmon. (Amazing HD image here) As comets approach the sun their ice melts and leave a “tail”. Comet Lemmon’s tail has been buffeted by the sun’s recent variable solar output of charged particles has has increased aurora activity. What objects have you seen in the night sky?

For TGT tomorrow. Show your tutees this incredible picture of Comet Lemmon taken last month. Not only is it a spectacular picture and composition, but it's a visual history of the recent variable solar output that has also seen high aurora levels.
bit.ly/TutorGroupThink

was marking mocks to kill the time :-)

An added string to our bow, now that we use Sparx Science, is that it can tell us which topics that particular class struggled on in their homework and will suggest relevant do now questions to use.

We have moved away from the mandated format of a do-now, to a more sensible approach - allowing teachers to choose the most appropriate balance of prior knowledge, pre-requisite knowledge or otherwise appropriate questions depending on their class.