This post is kindly proferred by Derek Allan, Depute at Glenrothes High School.

Tim Brighouse got proceedings underway after lunch with his eloquent and funny discourse on how we educate without unnecessary failure. After reminding us of the economic, moral and cultural purposes of education he delighted conference with a series of anecdotes that packed a heavy punch:

• Watching a teacher’s reactions when he asked kids “which teacher is the best marker?” and seeing her delight when one pupil named her!
• Visiting the maverick head teacher in London whose school was decorated with hundreds of favourite quotes from staff and pupils. The head teacher achieved this by paying “a quid for a quote”. It cost him over £1700 but worth every penny!
• Tim recited the Buscemi poem “The average child” to considerable effect
• He recounted a visit to a school senior management team in a small, cramped office who pleaded to him for more accommodation. His return visit after granting the request saw the team still in the same office and the extra accommodation used for learning!

He returned several times to the concept of “butterflies”, i.e. small interventions that make such a big difference, The ‘quid for a quote’ is an example of a butterfly as was his description of staff in one school who agreed four words to consistently use in lessons to remove barriers to learning. Many of these interventions can be found in Tim’s work online at www.timbrighouse.com.
You can get the gist of Tim’s presentation from the slides below. He ended by reciting from George Bernard Shaw:

“This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.

I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.

I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no “brief candle” for me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations”

Categories: SELMAS
Tags: Brighouse, education, failure